One Person’s Experience with Fentanyl
. . . Mine
Many years ago, I was prescribed Fentanyl patches by a doctor in Florida to treat the excruciating pain I was experiencing in my back and left hip. The prescription instructions called for placing one Fentanyl patch on the pain area for relief. I was also seeing a physical therapist twice a week to help deal with the pain.
As the days and weeks wore on with very little pain relief, I added an additional patch alongside the first patch, hoping it might assuage the pain. It did not. I remained in quite a bit of pain, had difficulty walking, and needed a cane to get around. I was in my 50s, and I was completely clueless of the predicament I was placing myself in.
My first husband and I lived in Florida during the winter months, and so when we returned to our summer home in Michigan, I made an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at a reputable Grand Rapids hospital. Upon meeting the specialist at my first appointment, I asked if I can get a new prescription for Fentanyl as I was running low on the Florida prescription I was given. The doctor looked at me strangely and said, “We don’t do that here.” He explained the dangers of Fentanyl use, but agreed that my pain was real, and with further testing, determined I needed a total hip replacement.
I destroyed the few remaining Fentanyl patches I had when I returned home, and waited a long and painful six weeks for the scheduled surgery. However, the first couple of days without the use of Fentanyl, and with increasing pain, I became extremely lethargic, and all I wanted to do was sleep. And sleep I did . . . spending as much as 18 hours a day lying in bed, barely able to lift my head, and not wanting to get up. I was in a stupor, and more than likely, dealing with Fentanyl withdrawal. I toughed it out for those six weeks of waiting for surgery.
As I look back at this experience, I’ve come to realize how close I came to overdosing on Fentanyl. My original thought, “if one pain patch isn’t enough, I’ll try two”, could have killed me.
I have always avoided taking any drugs, even aspirin, but if and when I do, I limit myself to the dosage prescribed. I look for more natural means to treat any ailment I have. I only wished I followed that method of treatment. Fortunately, I have never had an addictive personality, but I see now how easily an addiction can develop.
Photo credits: Google Images
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Thank you for this.
I'm sorry you weren't given adequate pain relief for the circumstances you were in. That had to be excruciating.
My experience with Fentanyl is through my mother. In her last months dealing with chronic, horrible pain from Parkinson's disease, she was on doses of Dilaudid and morphine that the hospice nurses couldn't believe she tolerated and that she was still conscious and lucid. In her final days, unable to swallow (morphine dribbled from her mouth), Fentanyl is what managed the pain "enough." There are things I will never be able to unsee or unhear....and if it weren't for that drug, I cannot imagine how much more torture my mother would have endured before she transitioned and found peace.