Are fentanyl patches as effective as MS Contin pills? My cousin has rectal cancer and is in horrible pain.?
My cousin has rectal cancer. He has been using Fentanyl patches. He thinks that they offered him some relief in his pain. Now, he is starting to take MS Contin because of very bad break-through pain. Is there a person who has taken BOTH of the drugs listed in this post who could tell me which medication is best for eradicating pain? Please let me know. My cousin is still in terrible pain.
Tagged with: cancer • cousin • drugs • fentanyl patches • medication • ms contin
Filed under: Colon Health Questions
Denisedds (88)
I’m surprised that he is on 2 long acting pain medications (Fentanyl & MS contin) and not Fentanyl & a short acting or " break through" pain medication (hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine,dilaudid or morphine.) The drugs that have Contin in the name mean long acting (MS Contin is long acting morphine) so they really don’t give relief right away & it sounds like he needs something that acts right away. Sometimes you don’t get good pain relief with the patches because they don’t always stick to the skin well.I wouldn’t recommend taking the 2 long acting ones & if the Fentanyl helps him I’d continue with that & suggest starting on a low dose of morphine like 5 – 10 mg every 4 hours, preferably in the liquid form. I’m thinking of the future when he will probably have problems swallowing & by that time you should be able to give him the liquid. It comes in a small bottle (30 cc or 1 ounce with an eyedropper for measuring the dosage) and is easy to give that way.Don’t be afraid to give someone with cancer morphine for this is what they need & even just a small amount is better than trying to give someone a pill to take when they have problem taking food or pills.I’ve worked with hospice patients for over 10 years & worked with pain management & know about the problems trying to make someone comfortable going through the final stages.The only way you will know what works for him is to try the drug combinations but please try to give him a long acting medication (Fentanyl or a Contin) and a short acting one (morphine liquid 5 -10 mg would be my 1 st choice if his pain is that bad).Please speak with your doctor & see if you can get the pain medication that acts right away for your cousin deserves to be comfortable. God bless.
Well, I think the idea is for them to be used together. If he got the morphine for break through pain, it kinda sounds like he should still be using the patch, and taking the ms contin in between patch changes.
But, if your cousin is still in pain after taking the meds as directed, he should call the doctor and ask them what to do. Those are both hard pain killers, so he should NOT alter the schedule without talking to the doc.
Fentanly is absorbed slowly so will give good background pain relief. He need short opioid to help with breakthrough pain. Also other drugs are useful for nerve pain.Also local anesthetic blocks can be useful
The Fentanyl Patch is a 72 hour controlled release (long acting) medication, where as MS Contin is a short acting pain medication. Using the Fentanyl on a regular basis (changing the patch every 3 days) and taking MS Contin for the break through pain is the best way of utilizing both medications effectively.
Time release opioid medications should never be combined with other time-release opioid dmedications, and the Fentanyl Patch and MS Contin are both time-release. The drug in MS Contin is morphine, and the breakthru formulation of morphine is called MSIR (morphine sulfate immediate release), and is also available in liquid form (Roxanol).
After the first few days on the patch, the amount of medication in the users system is pretty consistent, so you don’t need to add anything in between patch changes, but breakthrough medication will likely still be needed at times when the pain is worse. Fentora and Roxanol are both very effective with cancer pain, as they work very quickly, probably the fastest pain relief that doesn’t have to be injected.
But no responsible physician will EVER prescribe MS Contin AND the fentanyl patch to be used at the same time without significantly reducing both dosages.
I’ve been a cronic pain sufferer for over 15 years. Currantly I have a 125 fent. patch that I change every 48 hrs, 30 mg of MS Contin twice daily and 25 mg morphine that I take 1-3 of usually only once a day for breakthrew. This regime works well for me and I have managed to remain at this dose for several years. This allows me to keep busy with life and that’s the important part, is to keep funtioning.