Dear Bonnie --

Actually, my husbnad was happyty to get off the oxycodone and onto the fentanyl as he felt FAR LESS DRUGGED! The oxycodone made him woozy and he was, for example, unwilling to drive, on the Duragesic he felt pretty normal. Also, it controlled his pain better -- as the oxy is short-term (4 hours) whilst the Duragesic lasts 72 hours.

One caveat -- when he first went onto the fentanyl (25 mcg) he had 2-3 nights with vivid dreams and restless sleep -- apparently this is not unusual -- and he kept a night-light on! (By then I was sleeping in the guest room anyway, as he was having to get up several times in the night with the usual phlegm issues.)

If your daughter is feeling that kind of "worst pain" she needs more help. Suggest she try the Duragesic with perhaps the oxy for "break-through" pain -- that's the norm at Johns Hopkins and they treat 100s of cancers a year.

Gail