Where the heck do I put my Fentanyl patch???!

[jtroy]

Hello everyone...I am in the middle of an opioid going from Methadone to the Fentanyl patch....plan is to then "wean" myself down from the patch. Anyway, I did the chest shaving thing....I've always had a really bad reaction when I put them there.

Lately I've been putting them on the back....no reactions there. I've also tried the thigh.....mowed the lawn and they came off d/t sweat and all.

I always put the Tegaderm patches over them bc they will not stay on my skin at all w/o them. I an now using 2 of the 100mcg/hr patches....will move to 3 of the 100mcg/hr (300mcg/hr) in a week or so....when I do that I would like to have figured out the best locations to apply them....I know you aren't supposed to apply the over the spot they were removed from....if there is no reaction that isn't a problem for me.

For guys it seems like the hair factor really comes into play. I would like to get an idea from you all about where you prefer to apply them. Any suggestions? Thanks all...T. Jones, DVM

[Nana4&cntn]

Hi Doc,

I had the same question awhile back. I have found putting them on my lower abdomen works best for me, that may mean a bit of shaving for you. I have tried other places and have had reactions to the adhesive. Maybe the lower back region? I just continue to look for areas that don't recieve sun. Hope this helps!

Kathy

[welsh]

Hi everyone when I was on them I put them on my upper arm or at the top of my back below my neck, but I had to come off them unfortunatley as the adhisive was burning my skin so bad it was leaving me with blisters and welts that would weap for ages and be really sore as if I had really been burnt!! welsh

[Diandra]

I only used them briefly but put them on the outside of my upper arm as well. That is what doc had suggested.
Diandra

[Kathi49]

Me too. Doc said upper arm.

[mainepain]

When I was on the patches I was told not to shave the application site but instead to clip the hair as close to the skin as possible and keep them at or above heart level

Apparently shaving the site can lead to more problems but it really did not matter as I too developed welts, and weeping, oozing at the patch site. I tried the nasal spray trick (Nasal Corticosteroid spray) but it really didn't help that much as I was allergic to the adhesive.

As for keeping them on while I was using them, I found that the Bioclusive covers from Johnson & Johnson worked better than Tegaderm. Even better was the fact that if you are taking the brand Duragesic you can get them for free.

[Maggie]

Lower abdomen for me also. Be sure and press for 20 seconds after applying it.
Maggie

[LKAHMS]

no experience with the patch myself however i had a friend that used them and I remember they would fall off easily and before she had more to put on.
I hope you can work it out and get the relief you are looking for.

[Spiney]

Outside of upper arm. I had the best luck using the Mylan brand. It stayed on best for me and there was no reaction. I was on the patches for several years and tried them all. Mylan worked best for me. Best wishes.

[moew27]

I had horrible reactions to the adhesive. I still have the marks.

My doctor told me a trick to help with the adhesive reaction.
I am on a sinus spray, Rhinocort Aqua. He told me to spray the area where I was going to apply the patch, with a squirt of the spray, and let it dry. The spray sets up a kind of a barrier between the skin and the adhesive but lets the medicine go through. It works really well!

I find that placing the patch on my back near my shoulder works best for me.

[sandi1016]

Upper arms , with tegaderm to hold in place. You can buy tegaderm on ebay for a lot less money than you would in a pharmacy.
I also get a nasty, angry, weepy rash from the adhesive, but am doing okay so far with the tegaderm to hold them in place.
Sandi

[Peter B]

Doc,
Back in the day when you used to wear 10 at once where did you put them?

Pete

[jtroy]

Hey there Pete....I tell you what, whenever I was discharged from the hospital on that crazy dosage of 10 (ten) 100mcg/hr patches Q48-72hrs I looked like a plastic man!!! The nurses made fun of me....I had to date and time them....it was a huge pain bc we started going at like 2 at a time....would wean down the PCA, put on the patches, etc., so there was this 2+ hour differential between them......and you know how it gets in the hospital......it was a heck of alot easier to just let me go a little longer on the PCA whenever they more "important" stuff to take care of.....then get back to me.

Basically, there was 2 on each upper arm, 4 on my chest area (had to shave it) and then the last 2 on my abdomen----sometimes would rotate to my back....

I am currently rotating my patches between my thigh and upper back....I know, I know....you aren't suppsoed to sleep on them or get them warm....that was really hard for me to do whenever I was on that high of a dosage......also.....I simply think that my skin is nothing like the skin I see in the Duragesic studies.....there is some sort of evil little metabolism man in my skin that magically turns the Fentanyl into sweat.....I'd like to get my hands on him.......another story. Anyway....I also use the Tegaderm (reminds me that need to order some more.) We throw those "suckers" on my patches like crazy or else it is a nightmare dealing with them later....I'm sure you all know what I am talking about.....anyway...hope that helps....as always, email if you feel like t.....tjandfon@hotmail.com

Regards,

T. Jones, DVM

[Diandra]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_keep_fentanyl_patches_stuck

maybe this will help, i had never wiped the area with alcohol.

I feel so bad you are having such hassles with this.

Hope things are improving Dr Jones.

Diandra

[Kathi49]

Troy,

I had to smile about the evil metabolisim man living in your skin. :) I felt the same way and know that sweating is a SE. But it was getting ridiculous. And I was only on the 12mcg. But I was drenched in sweat almost every day for a full month. Hot flashes were coming every few minutes too. One morning I just decided to count how many. So, between 9 and 11 am I counted 11 of them. Evenings or sleeping were the worst and I did my best not to lie on that particular arm. But that's when the drenching really came on. It is true that I had stopped the HRT patch but that was early on or rather a few months back and I had not had any flashes except for an occasional night sweat. But something Pharmacist Steve had mentioned awhile back stayed in my mind; said that internal or external heat...didn't matter...it was still heat. So, I started looking into menopausal hot flashes some more. But my ob/gyn was in disagreement only because those hot flashes had stopped or rather had really almost come to a standstill prior to putting on the pain patch. To make a long story short, my other PM said I just couldn't tolerate them and for whatever the reason my skin was just drinking it up all in one day. So, naturally the first day was all heck while I waited for it to work, and the third day was heck because it was all gone. Sure, on the 2nd day I had pain relief but was too out of it to do much of anything. And she said a lot of this should have abated or I should have adjusted. I just never did. So, no more for me. Now that I am off of them and it did take a couple of weeks of some minor withdrawals, I do NOT have the hot flashes from the pain patch nor sweating like I was. I just think and of course I am no doc that my skin just absorbed it way too fast due to SOMETHING...not positive what it was. It just might have been that it all happened through the night when I did have a night sweat or something. And don't get me wrong, I realize that people need them and/or they help them. But I was totally miserable while on it. Sorry, I didn't mean to go into the menopausal bit but I think that may have been a factor even if minor. It is just odd that I could have a night sweat and then during every cycle with the patch just be drenched. And also I went from Vicodin to that patch. I said all along I thought it was too big of a leap. And I found out the hard way...I think it was! :eek::) Oh, and my PM did say the other day he was glad that I HAD tried it because now we know how it really affects me and was glad also that I had come off. So, it was just a trial and error thing for me. He did say too he was very glad he had NOT gone ahead and put me on the 25mcg...just glad we had started that low.