Our local pharmacy needed a few days to stock the fentanyl pain patch, so I had been continuing on the Vicodin every four hours. Yesterday afternoon we picked up the patches. You unpeel one and stick it high up on the arm, near the shoulder. It has an adhesive backing. Because the patch takes about 12 hours to become fully effective, I continued to take Vicodin until last night. The skin absorbs a constant dose of pain medication, so that your pain is constantly controlled and there are no times when pain increases at the end of one dosing period and before ou can take another pill.
I woke up this morning and my hands felt a little itchy but not the burning, stinging pain I had been experiencing. Even the tender tissues of my mouth and the sore in the back of my throat are less bothersome. I was able to wash without feeling pain while I held the bar of soap, brush my teeth, swallow pills and eat breakfast with much less discomfort. Asking for this pain patch might have been the smartest thing I've done so far in regard to managing the side effects of Doxil.
No comments:
Post a Comment