What is fentanyl transdermal for?
The fentanyl transdermal system (patch) is used for the management of persistent, moderate to severe chronic pain in opioid-tolerant patients when a continuous, around-the-clock opioid analgesic is needed for an extended period of time.
How long does it take for a 25 mcg fentanyl patch to work?
Your medical practitioner will use this information to calculate the starting dose of Fentanyl patch. Your patch will take approximately 12 to 24 hours to reach peak pain controlling levels. During this time you may have be instructed to continue to use other opioid medication.
What is the brand name for a fentanyl patch?
The fentanyl transdermal system, which is available as a generic product and marketed under the brand name Duragesic, is a patch prescribed by health care providers to be applied to the skin.
What class drug is fentanyl patch?
Fentanyl patches are used to relieve severe pain in people who are expected to need pain medication around the clock for a long time and who cannot be treated with other medications. Fentanyl is in a class of medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics.
What are the long term effects of fentanyl patches?
Opioid Tolerance. One of the long-term side effects of any sort of opioid use is tolerance. Essentially,over time,the brain becomes accustomed to the effects that opiates generate.
What drug is in a fentanyl patch?
Duragesic skin patches contain fentanyl, a very strong opioid narcotic medication. These patches continuously release fentanyl in the same amount over a three-day period. Fentanyl binds to a specific type of opioid receptor, called the opioid mu-receptor.
What is the starting dose of fentanyl patch?
The recommended dose is 25 to 100 mcg/hour patch applied every 72 hours. The manufacturer considers a fentanyl transdermal dose of 100 µg/hour approximately equivalent to 360 mg/day of oral morphine.
What are the recommended fentanyl patch doses?
Fentanyl patches should only be used in people who are already using an opioid pain medication, at a dose equivalent to at least fentanyl patch 25 mcg. Each initial dosage is highly individualized. The initial dosage your healthcare provider recommends will mostly depend on the type and dose of the other opioids you have been taking.