Has anyone had bad side effects to buprenorphine patches?

Posted by lgumerman @lgumerman, Oct 2, 2023

I had horrible allergic reaction to buprenorphine patches. My doctor was ingnorant of these reactions so I did my own tracking of symptoms and discontinued use of the patch and symptoms went away. What symptoms did you or do you know about? I had uncontrollable spasms, slurred speech, breathing problems, drop in white blood cells (detected in ER), intense stomach pain (my reason for taking this patch), hallucinations, and more. I had to visit the ER 3 times. Anyone else? Liz

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hmaze25 | @hmaze25 | Jan 19, 2025

In reply to @lildiva4jc "The literature that comes with it tells you it will rot your teeth. You need to..." + (show)

Yes it absolutely will. I’ve been on it for about 4 years and all my back teeth are almost completely gone and had to pull 2 so far. Now my front is being affected and I just want to cry!!!!! But this medication works amazing for my pain so I’m in a pickle

kerryflow | @kerryflow | Mar 29 7:32pm

My adult daughter has been on the patches for 2 weeks . She has experienced dizziness , and yesterday had a high fever of 102 . Thankfully today the fever has gone down . It's making her sleepy but hasn't affected the pain yet .

kerryflow | @kerryflow | Mar 29 7:33pm

Also , she's experienced burning and itching around the area of the patch .

ga1rose | @ga1rose | Mar 30 10:09am

Hi Liz,
I was given the patches (7-8 years ago) for chronic pain and I had horrible side effects like you (uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, pounding headaches, sweating while also being freezing). I also was not informed of the possible side effects. My side effects started a day or so after first started the patch and once I realized why I was feeling so awful I ripped it off - which was two days later.
It sounds like you were given too high of a dose.
Four years ago I tried the sublingual strips and pills for chronic pain which worked better and without those side effects BUT I was NOT told that using this medication, especially in the sublingual form, could cause dental “problems.”

4-5 months after starting the strips and pills some of back teeth started break when k was chewing something, then pieces of my teeth would just crack off i my mouth while talking. I had no idea what was causing my teeth to crumbled. I stopped taking the pills 1.5 years ago but it was unfortunately too late for my teeth. I had several tooth extractions bc of the decay caused by the highly acidic medication and in rhe midde of last year I was down to 4 teeth and had to get those extracted bc o developed a bone infection.
I’m trying to save for implants by until then I’m in dentures (I’m 42 for reference).

If you decide to try this medication at a lower dose I cannot urge you enough to research how it affects your teeth and gums.

ga1rose | @ga1rose | Mar 30 10:12am

In reply to @ga1rose "Hi Liz, I was given the patches (7-8 years ago) for chronic pain and I had..." + (show)

@ga1rose I forgot to mention that there are several class action lawsuits for people who took the dissolving strips and pills and then had decay of their teeth, gum diseases, and loss of teeth.

jenatsky | @jenatsky | Apr 5 11:32am

The law suit was for a product that developed a nasty side effect. That formulation was for a specific class of patients to prevent abuse.
There is a period of learning and introduction when you first start using buprenorphine patch. Firstly I required an increase in my dose after 2 weeks and I went from 15mcg to 20mcg and have been on same dose for years. I tried switching it to various locations on my body and have settled on my upper outer arm where you get tetanus injections. I go from one side to the other and have no further issues. I also apply a good hand lotion to the old spot to help it feel fresh again from being covered. But only once so it doesn’t remain all greasy for the next weeks change.