I used the patch for a little over a year. It was great a lot better than the narcotics i used for break through pain. I found that the further out of treatment I was the more that the patch seemed ot put a film between me and the world. I opted to quit using them because I wanted to be as present as possible for my life. Not everyone is the same. I also was only 36 y.o. and was afraid if I got into pain again and was still on the patch what were they going to use then??