This topic is a fear of mine. I was never on the patch but had the oxy and all sorts of other pain pills. They are very hard to come off of. After my last surgery in February the pain was so bad that those drugs were not working. My family doc actually presribed Tramadol which was awesome. It's not a narcotic but feels like one. It helped more than anythng. Unfortunatley, I still take 1 or 2 pills a day. I feel terribly guilty about this. But, when I'm not taking it I get the restless leg feeling and I can't sit at work or relax. When I pop that pill I can concentrate and feel "normal" just like Eric says. My doc said it's ok if that's all I'm taking, but I feel guilty. Not to mention the Lexapro I still take for my anxiety. I'm starting to ween off of that and that scares me.