Radiation Day 27 Down - 5 More to Go

Day after number 27, Elroy has decided to kick the pain up a notch.  Fentanyl having little effect today, but it only hurts when I swallow so just have to minimize that.  My Fentanyl patch is 25 mcg/hr, applied to the skin every 72 hours (Guess that means it releases 25mcg per hour).  I am 48 hours into this patch. I keep pushing on it like it a button to get some medicine to "release" but apparently it doesn't work that way.  Needs an "Easy" button..................Yeah, I'm just goofing off, I know you can't push on it to make it work..duh.

Fentanyl as described on the DEA Website:

First synthesized in Belgium in the late 1950s, fentanyl, with an analgesic potency of about 80 times that of morphine, was introduced into medical practice in the 1960s as an intravenous anesthetic under the trade name of Sublimaze®. Thereafter; two other fentanyl analogues were introduced; alfentanil (Alfenta®), an ultra-short (5-10 minutes) acting analgesic, and sufentanil (Sufenta®), an exceptionally potent analgesic (5 to 10 times more potent than fentanyl) for use in heart surgery. Today, fentanyls are extensively used for anesthesia and analgesia.

Duragesic®, for example, is a fentanyl transdermal patch used in chronic pain management, and Actiq® is a solid formulation of fentanyl citrate on a stick that dissolves slowly in the mouth for transmucosal absorption. Actiq® is intended for opiate-tolerant individuals and is effective in treating breakthrough pain in cancer patients. Carfentanil (Wildnil®) is an analogue of fentanyl with an analgesic potency 10,000 times that of morphine and is used in veterinary practice to immobilize certain large animals.