Butrans 10mg

Treatment and medication
1

Would anybody be able to help me with this question please?

I have been using butrans patches for approx 6 weeks, I started off on the 5mg patch for the first 4 days then went to the 10mg patch for the next 7. The first couple of weeks on the 10mg was fine, but recently they have started to itch in a big way, almost as intense as a mosquito bite. After I have scratched the area its wet and the plaster starts to peel is this the medication that is coming away from the patch, or is it just that I have scratched so hard that the area is becoming redder and redder. Half way through I have to use sticking plaster to stop the patch from coming off. At the end of the 7th day when the patch needs renewing, I am left with an awful Burn on my skin which takes about 3 weeks to heal. Is there anyone else out there with the same symptoms.

2

I have been using butrans patches for about 12 weeks and a first everything was good then about 4 weeks ago i started having the same problems that you have so i have to go in see the docter tomorrow about this as there is a problem there i think

[quote:5ae5564a5c=\"karen_1\"]Would anybody be able to help me with this question please?

I have been using butrans patches for approx 6 weeks, I started off on the 5mg patch for the first 4 days then went to the 10mg patch for the next 7. The first couple of weeks on the 10mg was fine, but recently they have started to itch in a big way, almost as intense as a mosquito bite. After I have scratched the area its wet and the plaster starts to peel is this the medication that is coming away from the patch, or is it just that I have scratched so hard that the area is becoming redder and redder. Half way through I have to use sticking plaster to stop the patch from coming off. At the end of the 7th day when the patch needs renewing, I am left with an awful Burn on my skin which takes about 3 weeks to heal. Is there anyone else out there with the same symptoms.

3

Hi Ralph,

I thought I was the only one to experience this, The butrans 10mg does help in controlling the pain but the itching and redness is unbelievable. I went to see my consultant last week and was showing him all the marks that the patches leave and yes he was concerned about the soreness and scaliness of each one. He seemed to think that butrans made a patch for sensitive skin but when I went to ask the pharmacist they said they don't. Another idea was to change from butrans to transtec, but was against this as transtec starts at 35.5mg which is 3 times the amount but seems to be less irritant. My consultant then said to put a steroid cream on approx half an hour before applying the patch and then taking a antihistamine but this makes you so out of it and extremely tired, just to say that the itching is still just as worse using the steroid cream. Has it ever been so itchy for you that the underneath of the plaster has become wet- I think when this happens its releasing too much medication, then the patch only works for about 3-4 days then the pain comes back. Also another issue is constipation - it can be very severe, the pharmacist recommended Movicol or Lactulose both are very good, Movicol works quicker though. Hope you get on well with your appointment and if you here anything regarding a better patch/plaster please let me know. That way its saves me shouting out - I FEEL LIKE I WANT TO RIP MY ARM OFF! Lol Take care, Karen

4

Hi Karen,

In reply to this post from over a year ago, I'm having the same problem with burnt looking skin where the patch has been and itching all the time it's on.  I did read somewhere that steriod cream had helped to sort out the problem.  Did you you ever find anything to solve the problem?

I don't want to stop using the patches as they're the first thing that helped that seemed to be able to tolerate, having had alot of problemss with other opioids and don't want to have to stop using them.

I hope you get this post.

Diane

Diane

5

Hi Diane, I have just joined this forum and read with interest your post about itching skin while using patches. I have severe lower back pain, with two bulging discs which are pressing on my sciatic nerve.  My GP is trialling me with several medications to see which works best.  I was on 5mg Norspan patches for awhile and felt wonderful !  My pain levels dropped dramatically and I found I could function well throughout the day with minimal pain.  Unfortunately, my skin began to itch after the patch was on for about 4 days.  Blistering, oozing and eventually the patch fell off.  I too, was left with a square patch on my arm which took ages to heal.  I have tried Oxycodone, Endone etc and am currently on Palexia SR 50 mg twice daily.  This is helping a little although I still experience strong pain off and on.  The oral medication is nowhere near as good as the Norspan patch.  I tried the patches again, putting steroid cream on about half an hour prior to using the patch, to no avail.  I still ended up itching madly and removing the patch.  Wish to goodness someone would invent a remedy for this ! Surely there must be thousands of people like us who are experiencing the same thing ??  Dianne

6

Oh my gosh! I was just prescribed this medication yesterday. 10mg patch. I put it on last night and was fine. I didn't get uncontrollably itchy until after I showered. I'm only itchy right where the patch is and just right around it. I am going to take a Benedryl, but just like the other replies, I don't want to have to take this medicine for another medicine, and also don't want to be tired all the time. Does the itchiness ever stop?!

7

Hi , its the adhesive you are sensitive to and is a very common problem, i was left with blistered patches , and found that evn going for higher doses, there came a point I couldnt tolerate them .

however ,please be very careful when you tape over them , if ithe tape occludes the actual patch , it will increase the dose you get and then will not be as effective by about day 2 .it is common even among professionals to suggest putting cream under them , but dont , it really affects the delivery . I used to nurse in a hospice and it was a very common reason for discontinuing them . 

I assume you are rotating the passages round your upper body to give your skin a chance to heal ? I found using a good moisturiser like e 45 , really helped clear them up , but I discontinued them eventually .

Hope this helps , go back to gp nad ask for an alternative..fentanyl doesnt seem to do the same , but get changed after 4 days .

good luck with the pain 

8

You should never apply steroids under a dressing / patch as it absorbed faster into the skin , even if you use it before  you apply the patch it can be a problem , its better to wait till dressing is off . But there are alternatives if your pain is severe , oramorph , or sevredol  being just 2 opiates . 

I wish you look I had them for 2 years and didnt want to stop as the pain relief was so good , but eventually I ran out of good skin! 

Good luck .

9

This is very common. When applying a new patch, put it on a different place.

if you have to move it mid week, hold the edges down with micro pore tape.

use an antihistamine cream on an old site.

10

Gosh that sounds like a skin reaction you should contact your gp incase you gave an allergic reaction I do hope you get it sorted kind regards Katie.

11

I've been using butrans patches for a good couple of years now in varied strengths.  They do help somewhat, but I do react to them from time to time with blisters or burn like marks or a raised redness that is patch shaped.  Returning to my GP we seem to control it  about 95% of the time now by shanging the patches more often, I find every 3.5 days to be about right for me, athough I do still need use a hydrocortisone cream to help alleviate the irritated skin from time to time.  I also not that when its been warmer weather or the heating has been on it encourages irritation too.  I don't get the sickly feeling from the patches that I get with Oramorph and feel more focused too, so its down to which is best persevered I suppose, but yes you need to change the area of skin you put it on regularly, - I tend to do front and back of upper arms rather than trunk as the skin seems less delcate there. There are smaller makes of the patches out there but they make little difference regards reaction.   Hope this serves of use to some of you.

12

Hi Karen, have you tried a H1-H2 inhibitor like Ketotifen? It is also a Mast cell stabilizer so controls the release of histamines. I think it could help in your case.

13

Hi, I used the patches for just over a year and had exactly the same side effects. Red rash and itchiness. I rotated the site of the patches every time I changed it and put moisturiser on the rash. If it's still bothering you and you're still using the patches, see your dr ☺️

14

I have the exact same problem as yourself,I work in a dispensary but currently been signed off.ive had this for 2 years now and it's very depressing,I've had 3 MRI scans,1 root block with electronic pulses and 2 other root blocks (the last one made it worse,hence why I've been signed off since October 2016).i started on co-codamol and Tramadol then naproxen and omeprazole which didn't help,was taken into hospital and put on OxyContin 10mg and Amitriptyline 10mg and Lyrica once sent home within 18 months my OxyContin was increased to 120mg,Amitriptyline 100mg and Lyrica 600mg,still with huge amounts of pain and can hardly walk far without having to stop or lean onto something my GP suggested Oramorph which I declined as I have a 4 year old to look after (I have 4 older children as well).he then said BuTran patches 5mg which helped a bit 3 weeks later they was increased to 10mg plus still taking all the other meds.i am still in pain and can't do much as my left leg goes numb and I can't feel it much,I too have the itching on my arm and once I take it off and put new one on I have a mark on my arm which looks like a red raised patch that still itches even tho the patch itself is on the other arm.i have an appointment with Josiah the end of the month and Gp next week to see what he suggests now.ive got to the point where I feel my family would be better off without me being a burden on them xx

15

Absolutely! I had the same exact symptoms until I told my doctor. He advised me to use Flonase, Nasacort or similar allergy spray before putting the patch on. Just spray it, a couple of sprays, on the skin where you intend to put the patch. Let it dry for a couple of minutes the put the patch on. It really works! I thought maybe I no longer had this reaction and just a couple of months ago I used the patch without the spray and it was just like before. Very, very unbearable itching, blisters and literally scarring when I took the patch off lasting a couple of weeks and I only had it on one day! I sprayed a different area, put the patch on and all was good again!

16

Yes both my arms are burnt from that patch same as you.  And itched so badly, Drs took me off it .

17

Hi Dianne

I have been reading all of these as I have just gone on to a 15mg patch of NORSPAN

I was on 10 for 3 yrs, and have had Lyrica, Oxycodone, PALEXIA Tabs which work well at 100 mg twice a day and A little Oxycodone Liquid if needed if pain starts SEVERE. No more than 5 ml in a drink of something

I do want to say that if you are taking all those Meds together like 1 LADY WAS, you must go off a lot of them and find out THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM

NOTHING IS WORSE THAN BEING DRUGGED UP ALL THE TIME, if you try another Med, stay on a little for months & try to miss some days so u don’t get ADDICTED, as I know how easy it would be , BUT JUST ON THE NORSPAN PATCHES????

I get the same thing, but it doesn’t worry me now

DOES EVERYONE USE A PURE GOAT SOAP??

Or ones with Perfume???

Might be the difference??

Or Q.V. NON SOAP, for people with Exsma etc

I have had IMMUNOTHERAPY INJECTIONS FOR YEARS FOR GRASS AND DUST MITES AND MY ARM GETS SO ITCHY FOR DAYS I THINK I AM GOING TO RIP IT OFF

SO WASHING IN THIS MIGHT ALSO HELP

IT IS OAT SOAP WITH THE GRAINS THROUGH IT

BE GREAT FOR MOSQUITO BITES ETC TOO

GET A BLOCK OF OAT SOAP WITH ROUGH BITS IN IT, VERY CHEAP, WET IT UNDER WATER SLIGHTLY AND RUB ON YOUR SKIN

IT WILL DRY AND YOU WILL HAVE NO MORE ITCHING.

So try washing with GOAT SOAP OR THE OAT SOAP WHICH IS GRAINY AND U MIGHT FIND IT HELPS WITH A FEW THINGS

I JUST GOT USED TO IT AND DIDNT TAKE ANY NOTICE AFTER A WHILE, mine still gets RED, BUT NOT SEVERE AND KNOWING I CHANGED MY SOAPS AND THE OAT SOAP STOPPED THE TERRIBLE ITCH OF IMMUNOTHERAPY INJECTIONS

IT MIGHT HELP IF YOU WASH WITH IT ALL THE TIME OR THE GOAT SOAP

HOPE THIS HELPS ANYONE

LET ME KNOW AS WE DONT THINK ABOUT WHAT WE USE IN THE SHOWER

18

Can I ask what your Doctor change your brutrans too? I'm having the same problem The patch burns my skin and itches I was wondering what your doctor put you on in replace of the Brutrans patch 

Thank you 

19

My doctor told me to use Flonase or one of the similar corticosteroid drugs that can reduce inflammation caused by allergies.  He instructed me to spray it directly on the skin where I was going to put the patch.  Let it dry before putting the patch on and there should not be any abnormal release of the Butrans med.  I have been using this for over a year and it works PERFECT!  A few months back, I thought maybe it would be okay without using the Flonase, so I tried just putting the patch on without spraying the Flonase!  BIG MISTAKE.  Since then, I always spray before.  Hope this helps.

20

Kirstie

Hiya 

I know this was a year ago but have to ask are you OK? Your post ended very negatively abd it made me worry. I have often felt this way but can pull out of it. I pray you came through the other side.  Our families keep us going but occasionally we all feel a burden.  I.knpw in do . X