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For Those On Fentanyl (2)

Just a thought.....

I picked up my scripts today and took them to my pharmacy where I presented them my $50 off coupon for the named brand Duragesic patches. About 5 minutes later one of my pharmacists yelled for me and told me that my insurance, Tricare, did not cover name brand medications, only generic, so I asked him how much it would cost me out of pocket for them. I wanted to try the Duragesic, because I have only found one generic patch that works for me and that is the Watson brand of Fentanyl. About 5 more minutes went by and he yell's for me again and when I got up there he told me that my insurance DID cover name brand and proceeded to fill my scripts. About 10 minutes later it was ready and I went to pay thinking that it was going to cost me a hundred or two for the Fentanyl, my vicodin is only $3 for 120 of them, for the month, and my generic Fentanyl is only $6 for 15 for the month......well.....the name brand, Duragesic, only cost me $9!!!! Needless to say, the $50 coupon is only if you do not use your insurance or do not have any so I couldnt use that, but at $9 it didnt matter.

Anyways, just wanted to let those know that your insurance may pay for the named brand if you so choose to try it, if you havent already, even if they tell you they dont cover name brand. Now, maybe he just filed it and told my insurance that he was out of the generic, as my pharmacy will do anything to help their customers, but if thats not what happened then maybe yours will do that for you as well. You wont know for sure until you go to your pharmacy and have them check when you get your Fentanyl script filled next.

I am not due to change my patch until tomorrow and that will be the start of the Duragesic patches. So, if there are any responses that warrant it then I will post another thread tomorrow, or the next day, and let those that want to know how it has worked compared to the Watson, Mylan and Sandoz as I have tried all of those.

Well I don’t take the patch but do take other pain medication. I will say but some may differ that I prefer name brand on all medication. I am fortunate to have a great plan, 2 dollars for generic 5 for name brand. Honestly don’t know who your insurance works but if I want name brand I just say so, and they must fill it with name brand.

Good luck on the name brand, please let me know if you notice any difference.

Keep in mind that all namebrand meds are only 9 bucks from Tricare. Only the military hospitals carry only the genric brands unless there is no generic for a particular med. And in most cases, the docs then rx a med the hospital carries.

Sounds kinda like a tongue twister eh?

I was always told that they didn't cover name brand. I know that Tricare Prime Remote does not, which is what I had when active duty, but I am now on Tricare Standard and they obviously cover the Duragesic, which by the way, works much better then the Watson did. I was first put on the Mylan, which worked ok, then I tried the Sandoz which was garbage and then finnaly the Watson which worked better then the Mylan did, but now I am on duragesic and will stay on the Duragesic, provided of course, that it still works tomorrow and then I change it on Thursday so I dont see any problems and it works great.

I am with you in that a lot of meds I actualy find work better then the generic form. My vicodin works better then the hydrocodone does, but a lot of meds do not matter and it could be just a mental thing as the generics are SUPPOSED to be the same medication, but when it comes to Fentanyl there IS a differance and it is not a mental thing so if you can or havent already, I would reccomend the Duragesic for those of you that can get it.

just wondering what did you do or have wrong with you that you are on duragesic pain patch and also what strenght patch are you on, the docs here had me on the 100's and all that they did for me mostly was mess up my skin. every time i would change it i would take a layer of skin off. now i was told that they have changed there sizing of the patches and also that the different makers of the patch make them i different sizes, i dont know should be starting to take the patches again her next month or two not sure what the doc is going to do with me i can not stand my pain that i have.

I've been using Fentanyl Transdermal (100 micrograms) for the past 12 years, to treat chronic severe nociceptive and neuropathic pain (degenerative disc disease and failed back surgery). Fentanyl is by far the most powerful pain medication. It has been a godsend for me. Fentanyl allowed me to work 9 years longer than I had imagined possible. I still require oral pain medication for breakthrough pain, and I use two off-label drugs for pain. But, Fentanyl is a powerhouse in my arsenal of pain medication. I can't imagine living without it.

Yes, skin irritation is a problem (less so with the smaller patches). However, you can combat the contact dermatitis by using prescription-strength topical cortisone medication. Regardless of skin irritation, Transdermal Fentanyl is far more efficacious for me than any other pain medication (and I've tried them all). Nothing else comes close to my pain needs.

I have now been on every Fentanyl patch, the Mylan, Sandoz, Watson and now the name-brand Duragesic's which work the best. I have never had any problems with the site of the patch. I wear them on my upper arm/shoulders and change each arm every other day. I am not sure if you are wearing them there as well or on your chest or flanks which is more sensitive, at least for me, so that could be the cause.

I am currently on 50mcg's an hour patch and will be on the 75mcg's in November at my next apt. My back and knees are trashed and I have FM. The Duragesic patch is the same size as the generic forms in the 75mcg's. All of the patches, as far as I know, get a little bigger with the increasing of dosing, at least in the last 5 months that I have been on them anyways.

Fentanyl has given me most of my life back. Prior to being on Fentanyl I was, and have been on, every other opiat pain medication. I was on 160mg's of Oxycontin 2-3x's a day prior to this and on around 800mg's of Kadian a day, 400 2x's a day, and nothing has worked as good as Fentanyl has with ME anyways. Everyone is differant and reacts differantly to medications. Hopefully your doctor takes care of you and you are better off then you are now. Take care,

hey thanks for replying not too many people in chat rooms or message boards take the time out of there day to answer some ones questions. I was appling the patches to my upper chest pec region i guess you could call it, because that is were the doc told me that i would have the best results with it there. when ever i would have them on my arms they would always come off the second day. So then i got intouch with Johnson & Johnson and they sent me a cover patch for the patches. that helped out but i live in arizona and the heat here made it unbearable some days to have the patches on, mostly cause i would sweat and i would get in there and itch like crazy Then i tried them on my back and my doc at the time found out and told me if i did not have them on my chest that he would no longer keep me on the patches. I am going to a different doc now and hopefully he will not be as anal as the last guy was. I will let everyone know what happens and how everything works, One last question for you did your doc taper you down from your meds that you were on to get you on the patches, or did they just take and switch you from one med to the other. Thanx for you time in responding to me i apprieciate it very much and it gives me something to look foward to during the day.

Yeah that doctor was an idiot. It states on the patient hand-outs AND in the papers in the box themselves that you can wear it on your chest, flanks and upper arms so he is rediculous to tell you that.

I never tapered off of the Oxycontin when I was switched to Fentanyl and you dont need to be tapered down. They are supposed to start you on the 12.5mcg or 25mcg patch anyways and slowly increase the Fentanyl so that didnt matter.

My pharmacist stated she hasnt had the Sandoz brand in 2-3 years due to a recall. She only carries the Mylan brand. Any idea on WHY there might have been a recall on the SAndoz

To you that was wondering why they did not have a sandoz pain patch is because all the 25mcg's patches with experation date of 12/2009 has been under recall by the feds because the possibility of the patch seams coming apart and more of the med leaking into your system than what should be there. Also they should have replacement patches with different exp. dates on them so i would check with another pharmacy. Best of luck to you

There was a recall but that was eight months ago. I've had trouble finding Sandoz too but finally found it at Walmart and my small (non chain) local pharmacy. Just check around, someone around you has to have them. I've tried the Mylan brand and it was awful for me, went into withdrawal, felt a lot of pain etc. but everyone is different. Good luck

I have no idea because the pharmacy's around where I am have every brand of patch in stock and told me when I just called them, after reading your post, that they haven't been told of any recalls recently on any Fentanyl. You may want to check with another pharmacy.

Just to show you how stupid that doctor was he did not start me out on the 12.5 or even the 25 heck for that matter did not start me out on 50's the very first time that i started duragiesic patches he put me on the 100's and i told him that i thought that it was too much but he told me that i either take what he prescribes me or i don't see him any more...... guess what option i took. Its doctors like him that give all the other "good" ones bad raps. thanks for your time talk to you later

Well that doctor, and more importantly yourself, are VERY lucky that you did not die from Respitory Failure as that is the #1 cause of death from the Fentanyl and also why people have died on them. They are prescribed them incorrectly and yes, your right, that doctor is making the good ones look bad and, if he keeps it up, will end up without a license when he kills somebody.

can you explain this to me....."Chandler~ "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." US Const. Ammendm"

I'm a frequent rifle sportsman. I'm all for the right to keep and bear arms!

Its the 2nd ammendment which gives us the right to keep and bear arms and the US Supreme Court voted that the "militia" part does not matter as most of the liberal democrats tried to say would not allow us to keep and bear arms in these times as there are no militias, specificaly in DC and other locals that had previously had certain restrictions that VIOLATED the 2nd ammendment.