$200 for 60 Patches? You only need one patch a week ( switch out every 7th day) so 60 patches is 14 months worth for just $200...That's $14.29 a month . Worth self pay if they do manage pain...I'll post here as my dose increases and maybe you might want to try for a month and see if you get relief.

Glad to hear you will be able to join in puzzles again as not wise to be stuck in your rooms.

Always good to hear from you Connie!

Jen

Thanks Connie, here in Ontario the patch is not that expensive, wonder what it would cost you self pay? 4 patches to a box, so month's supply. Tomorrow I start next dose up: 10 micrograms per hour patch, and will try for 3-4 wks, and will post here and on arthritis forum how it goes. Was hoping to hear from someone on it and what dose they settled at. The 5 micrograms p/hr does pretty much nothing for me.

Connie, sorry to hear you are progressing to an electric chair/scooter, but at least you will be safer than trying to walk. Getting older and in pain sucks! Goid luck and thanks for answering. I am not on Facebook so have lost contact with former regulars here and wonder how people are doing.

hugs

jen

Hi Everyone: I hesitate posting here as our OFF is pretty much dead. Just in case some old timers lurk, am posting although I also posted on the Arthritis forum but got no response.

Maybe someone here has been prescribed the Butrans patch (Buprenorphine Transdermal patch) for ongoing chronic pain 24/7. It is switched out every 7 days, like a square bandaid, supposedly good for arthritis, fibromyalgia and other pains. Has existed since 2005 or so, so not exactly "new" but seems few family physicians know about it. Google it and see the info available.

Since we RnYers can't do NSAIDs, and opiates like Percocet and Dilaudid don't do much for inflammatory arthritis, there is not much out there unless you do steroids. Prednisone for on and off treatment is not what I want because of the weight gain, plus can tip my diabetes into insulin dependance ( once on insulin for diabetes it is rare you get off it). So don't want to go there.

Do you know of someone on the Butrans patch for chronic pain? What are the experiences with the patch?

Good luck.n God bless

Hi there. I saw your post and thought I would reply. I have only been on here for a week or so and this is the first time I have written anything. I am 61 also. Last November I ran across a normal sized woman who told me she had just lost 175 pounds. She had gastric sleeve surgery a year or so before and told me alll about her experience which was quite positive. I too have been on many diets and on some lost weight but as I got older I have gained it all back plus some. So I decided to check it out and attended a weight loss surgery seminar presented by her surgeons office. It was quite informative. I did a lot of research and decided I wanted to have gastric sleeve surgery. The surgeon required that I get clearance from a pulmonary doctor as I had been hospitalized in December for acute bronchitis. They also required a psych. exam, blood tests, meet with a physical trainer, meet with a nutritionist, 3 hour pre-op class, have an endoscopy and lose 15 pounds. After the endoscopy the surgeon told me I was not a candidate for the sleeve because of my severe GERD (stomach acid) as it would only get worse with that type surgery. So he recommended a gastrc bypass instead. I researched that procedure and met with his physician's assistant who answered all my questions and basically told me that if I did not know which surgery I was having afterwards I would not know the difference as the diet, reovery, etc. was pretty much the same so I have decided to go with that. Just waiting for it to be scheduled. Before surgery I will have to be on an all liquid diet for 2 weeks (which I am not looking forward to!). I am pre-diabetic, have high blood pressure not well controlled by meds, take a proton pump inhibitor for the GERD. If things go right I should be off all of those meds within a year or less after surgery not to mention hopefully living longer and being able to do lots of things I can't do now because of my weight - especially doing things with my granddaughters! I hope this helped. Goood luck to you!