ACTIQ Reviews (FENTANYL CITRATE)Average Rating: 3.4 (104 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ACTIQ with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on ACTIQ: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ACTIQ | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Migraine | I had nausea and vomiting from the Actiq (on top of the nausea and vomiting from the migraine) until I learned to titrate the dose better. Slower dosing & removing the lozenge from my mouth after a minute of application and waiting a few minutes before using more has eliminated the opioid-induced nausea I used to get (unless it's tolerance that explains it). I was concerned about my teeth from the start so I always brush after Actiq as soon as I feel up to it. | Actiq has been wonderful for my migraines. Nothing else had worked, and trips to the ER had been miserable experiences. The rapid time to onset of relief coincides perfectly with the time from my migraine aura's time of onset to the onset of pain. My migraines, averaging about a dozen times a year, used to make me non-functional for a couple days feeling like I was going to die in tremendous agony. Since Actiq, they are now just a tolerable headache through which I can function adequately. I can't benefit from oral meds because my migraine makes me vomit whatever I swallow (and I didn't respond to injectable Imitrex). Now, I can often even avoid vomiting from the migraine if I am cautious about the rate at which I absorb the fentanyl. | 4 years | 4/15/2007 | 3 | Lower back fusion L5, L4 and L3 | I don't believe that Actiq helped with the pain in the right way. I personally believe that it softly gets you high to where you just don't care as much about the pain. The company needs to be responsible for their patients teeth. They should have to pay for not only people's teeth, but their pain from both mouth and mind. If anyone knows of any lawsuits or a up and coming lawsuit please let me know. Thank you Mark | 52 | 3 years 1200 | 5/20/2019 | 5 | Fibro, Lupus, migraine,chronic pain | None | The only medication that made my life bearable. I was on it for 16 years and then they stopped. Now the pain is so bad, and nothing works like Actiq. It made it possible to live, I am a disabled senior with a husband who is partially paralyzed and brain damaged and a paralyzed dog. I have to take care of both of them myself without help. | F | 61 | 16 years 800 mcq 3X day | 12/26/2016 | 5 | Chiari pseudotumor cerebri ischemia | Severe tooth decay while taking brand name | Actiq is the worst! I was lucky enough to find a pharmacy that makes sugar free fentynal pops I get 1200 mcg 120 per month for 300! They actually work better for me then actiq. But after 5 yrs of brand name my teeth are shot & I'm only 36! I think the new formula did more damage with its sweettart texture! Swirling those against your teeth was bound to eat away at enammal! So my 5 is not for actiq but the ones my pharm. Is authorized to make. If you live in IL email me for info. I also take Mscontin 75 mg 3 times a day soma & a few other things. I can't use patch due to systemic lupus. Actiq was 5 yrs generic is 3 plus | F | 36 | 8 years | 8/9/2008 | 5 | Chronic Back Pain Syndrome; RSD | My ONLY side effect was the rotting, decay, breaking of, all my teeth that are in desperate need of extraction, to the average person this side effect is similar to photos of "meth mouth!" When first prescribed Actiq it contained NO dental warnings, approximately 1 year later the package insert was changed and included consulting and visiting your dentist. However the damage to my teeth had already been done. I'm in desperate need of dentures with no way to pay for them due to this medication. No physician, pharmacist, or dentist warned me of this problem. My dentist seems to be unaware of the problems it has caused to date. Next: I will find a caring dentist. | Actiq allowed me to participate in my life; for the first time in over 5 years! The back pain and bilateral radioculpathy was so unbearable became totally bedridden for 5 years. Actiq afforded me the luxury of a pain tolerant life. (I controlled the pain, the pain no longer controlled me.) During my divorce proceedings I quickly learned that Medicare and Medicaid would not pay for this MIRACLE drug. I stop taking this medication because I lost the luxury of private health insurance during my divorce in 2004. I stopped Actiq cold turkey on my own without side effect or symptoms (pain came back with a vengeance). Was placed on 100mg MS Contin, 3x a day and 2 Narco 10mg 3x a day. I am bedridden again! I hope one day all clinicians will learn to be more sympathetic when treating their pain patients and realize they're not "drug seekers" attempting to get high. We need more medications like Actiq, and less governmental control and limitations over the usage of such wonderful medi | F | 48 | 2 years | 9/4/2008 | 5 | DDD, Cervical Radiculopathy, etc. | 4 surface cavities plus 11 teeth with no enamel at the gumline (high risk for future cavities). These were my first cavities ever. I brush my teeth 3x/day & that's probably why I went 6 years with no problems, but now my teeth are a mess. It is not just the sugar, but also the citric acid in Actiq that supposedly contributed to them. I always put the medication on one side of my mouth -- that's where all the cavities were & most of the teeth with the stripped enamel. | Works great for pain. Fentanyl is the only narcotic I'm not allergic to. Tried Duragesic, but even the lowest dose available caused an overdose. No other side effects besides the tooth decay. I've gone off it for a month or so at a time to manage tolerance & didn't have any issues. | F | 32 | 7 years | 12/19/2009 | 5 | 6kyphplasties drunk hit me 75MPH | Rotted out teeth over $20,000 to try to save them(teeth) it didn't.! it is the only thing that stops my pain. F---in insurance as if Cancer was the only pain the reason cancer gets terminal is because it doesn't hurt usually until its advanced,then its the chemo&radiation that causes the majority of pain.The lobbyists want to make it hard to get &more profit if denied these suckers &I've never had a drug dealer say I got these suckers that wont get you high but if you stub your toe for a mere $55 for a 5 cent sucker I can hook u up. This product that costs 5 actual cents 2make & is 95% sugar. People we are getting scammed.What about a burn,MS, Lou Gerhigs,arthritis. Since when does this government have a right to dictate what is prescribed between me & my doctor who studied pain for 12 college years alone.The politicians are funded by big Pharma & they dont want to pay 4 it.The best way to do that is make it only 1 thing it will pay for it under think of how r | Can you please help us fight these insurance companies & the government on the suckers? Why dont they make them like they were in 2002 where they weren't made of chalky, crumbly stuff they were make of real sucker material. I didn't have to go threw a whole days worth due to them crumbling in seconds. The LAST of my life savings is going to a billion dollar industry and thats not enough. Hello immigrating to Canada here I come.Medicine shouldn't be dictated by ability to pay can Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand etc all be wrong to get rid of these blood suckers insurance companies.I am paying the price for some jerk who wants to get high off of this pain that feels like someone hit me in the back with a bat while putting out a fire on my back. Also stabbing when I get back spasms. All this headache & heartache & scare tactics because some idiots probably 1 person put the patch in their mouth. I dont care if those opiate addicts die for screwing things up because Mommy didn't want to say no to Jr male or female and that created unbearable treatment by doctors & people who dont know me in pain and they are usually spoiled young & healthy. Id give anything to get my health back & never touch this medication. I have Sarcoidosis and Lupus due to TCE or trichlorolethyline in our well drinking and cooking and bathing water which gets more potent with steam.I was never sick before this chemical was in my body and I developed rashes and couldn't breathe | F | 56 | 12 years 400mcg 6X day | 10/7/2014 | 5 | Adhesive capulitis in shoulder | None and don't understand all the people that complain when they are taking it not what it was approved for and most are taking 2 to 3 times the strict recommended dosage of no more than 4 a day | F | 54 | 8 years 600 mcg | 4/22/2013 | 5 | Severe abdominal pain | Absolutely none | I have been using 5 1200 mcg a day for two years and my pain has been well controlled. Had to use it as my main pain med because all of the others I tried (methadone, oxycontin, etc) gave me severe side effects due to the amount of other medications I was taking for other problems. Now my pain doctor is getting out of the business because he can't take the political pressure and no other doctor in southwest Michigan will prescribe it. They won't give their real reason for not prescribing; they are trying to say they're afraid someone will break into your house and steal it or a child may get it but can't they get the other drugs prescribed too? Totally assinine coming from medical professionals. Let's just be honest. So now I have to use drugs that are not as effective and will probably end up back on my couch with a heating pad and of no use to anyone, not my husband, daughter or anyone else, most of all to myself. I'm sorry about other people and their teeth, but I would trad | F | 49 | 2 years | 1/2/2006 | 5 | chronic pain and Fibromyalgia | None thank God this is the best pain medicine that I take. I also have a infusion pump. | I take 800mg, for pain that comes out of no where. | F | 53 | 3 years | 11/12/2006 | 5 | chronic pain and Fibromyalgia | None thank God this is the best pain medicine that I take. I also have a infusion pump. | I take 800mg, for pain that comes out of no where. | F | 53 | 3 years | 11/12/2006 | 5 | chronic breakthrough pain | worked great back to a normal life again | insurance stopped paying for actiq in 2009 now my quality of life went from 85%-10% cannot afford without insurance. insurance won't pay unless I have cancer, why did they pay it for 5 years? | F | 43 | 6 years 1200mcg 4X day | 3/22/2010 Patient History | 5 | severe cronic back pain neck &low b | Like just about all pain meds. DRY MOUTH is main one. if these other people would have read the inclosed drug info they would have read that BRUSHING YOUR TEETH more is necessary with sugar content of Actiq. Any dentist will tell you side effects of dry mouth: the decaying of teeth & gum disease!! drinking soda is the worst...but it worked for me. Dentists can also prescribe special toothpaste to help. The best side effect.....I was able to have somewhat of a more normal quality of life! So many meds. make you feel so tired, ACTIQ didn't for me. Can someone tell me why it's so expensive?????? The cost is just not right. The people that need it can't afford it. | ACTIQ name brand works. It's the only one. The first generic to come out did not! Not at all. Pharmacists kept telling me they were the same. Who would you believe the person one it for years or someone that never used it! Most Insurance company's would then only pay for generic (which wasn't much cheaper) then they said unless you have a severe form of CANCER that they will not pay for it. It was the best pain regiment I had when ACTIQ was included. I told my Dr. that it made me feel like a real person again. I felt great! now I can"t have it. Why is it so expensive?????? | F | 50 | 800mg 4X day | 7/31/2010 | 5 | Fibromyalgia | Tooth decay & sleepiness | I actually take 12/day, but the pull-down menu didn't offer that choice! This is a miracle drug for me! I tried just about every other pain medication out there, and few worked. The few that did work, I quickly built up a tolerance to and they quit working after 3 months to a year. I was mostly bedridden from Fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis in my right knee before using Duragesic patches (3 50mcg patches at once, change oldest patch each day) and Actiq. My husband's company switched from Express Scripts to Cigna, and now I'm having to fight to get my Fentanyl. We got my patches approved with just a preauthorization. But it's taking us forever to get the Actiq approved. I just pray that they eventually do approve it. I don't want to go back to being bedridden. For me, it's worth losing my teeth to get my life back. I have two young daughters who need me. | F | 44 | 3 years 800mcg 10X day | 1/24/2011 | 5 | arachnoiditis,5 spinal surgeries | I had perfect teeth, always from childhood til date seen dentists and kept great oral hygene. I began a couple of years ago with extensive decay to now 2 teeth and 16 drilled to the gum all of which will be extracted on or about March 1st. Dental Caries cause by Actiq has caused me to need a full mouth recunstruction after 60k of root canala,prostho to help save and oral surgeon as well as infections. Just yesterday my face blew up and I waqs rushed over and had two teeth removed and grafted to releive the serious infection. I have been hopitalized for c-diff colitis fro clindomyacin 3 times. I am at my wits end and now a full mouth recunstruction after all this work.I have been so sick physically and mentally and without our Government thinking out mouth is part of our bodies when it comes to medical coverage it is making people struggle even disbled with no where to go when these problems occurr except blogs like this for us to vent and know we are all not alone. | I think we all need to get a class action started, I am sure any attorney would take this on as there are enough of us out there if anyone agrees or is interested respond here or to my email and put it on any site you see someone has to help us all get some help with our teeth and medical issues compromised from this as well. thank you | F | 48 | 6 days 600 mcg 4X day | 2/19/2011 | 5 | severe degenerative disc disease | only side effect; I did eventually lose all my teeth except 5 on the bottom | Actiq was the very best medication for pain relief without causing sleepiness and lethargy. I was able to care for my mother who had a terminal illness and live a productive lifestyle. I'd trade my teeth again for a quality life. They would not prescribe it for my mother for fear of her falling asleep with it in her mouth; gave her fentanyl patch instead, which I believe contributed to her respiratory failure. She was 79 yrs. old. | F | 62 | 6 years 400mcg 3X day | 4/14/2011 | 5 | Bilateral TotalJointReplacement TMJ | I LOVE this medication because it has been the only medication that has really helped my severe chronic pain from my total joint replacement of my tmj. I also take avinza. From the first day that I started this medication I had NO idea that I would lose all of my teeth. It has been literally terrible on my quality of life. There should be a class action lawsuit because all most EVERYONE that has taken this drug has lost most or all of their teeth. Since my total joint replacement I cannot open very wide at all. I just had to have a total mouth extractions last Oct. and I have had terrible problems. One being that they (meaning the dentist) left me with literally NO ridge at all so I am unable to wear a bottom denture. Now I have to have implant surgery that my insurance will NOT pay for even though all of my doctors say it is medically necessary because my total joint replacment will fail since I have no proper support. My top denture is completely crooked and I have been in more extre | If there are any attorneys who are considering a class action lawsuit please email me as I would be interested in getting on board. Although I am not sure that if you sue you would have to stop using the medication and Actiq has been the only pain med to really help my severe chronic pain. It is a very difficult situation and now since my insurance will not pay for my medically necessary implants I don't know where to turn. I cannot eat anything but very soft food and have lost my appetite and only eat 1 meal a day. It is usally oatmeal or applesauce or something along those lines. | F | 42 | 8 years 1600 MCG 7X day | 11/12/2011 | 5 | clinic pain syndrome | not much other than the teeth decay, root canals, ect, the up side was it was the only medicine that worked for me, for the break through pain I have, this all due to multiple surgeries,I think around 30 or so, for one problem or another, so always had this constant cronic pain, that for the most part can be unbearable. now at my wits end I'm through pain management x 12 some years now. Dr started me on percecets, but they don't help any, and still taking my Oxicontin. wish my insurance would pay for my actiq, would be cheaper than the hospital, which I know it's going to end up back to. is there anything out there that is around the same strength as my actiq, that I can take. I take Oxicontin 80 mgs,3 times a day for the past couple of years now. insurance just changed through husband's employment, so the new insurance no longer covers my actiq, So looks like I'm back to square one, prob and up in the ER Again on a weekly basis for pain control. tried everything else nothing helped like the actiq, and my Oxicontin combo, and even the Oxicontin insurance after may 1st is going to stop. | F | 43 | 8 years 800 | 3/6/2013 | 5 | Myofascia Chronic Pain | None. | I LOVE this drug for breakthorugh severe pain. I am on a durgesic patch, currently getting trigger point injections, I just lowered the patch dosage to 50 mg from 75 mg. I use a 400mg lollipop and it usually lasts for hours. I am spending a small fortune because Blue Cross Blue Shield will not touch it, even though it is the same drug that is in the stupid patch. Jansen has assitance in fighting/pursuing coverage w insurance. I save this drug for the emergency | F | 43 | 13 weeks | 6/14/2005 | 5 | Myofascia Chronic Pain | None. | I LOVE this drug for breakthorugh severe pain. I am on a durgesic patch, currently getting trigger point injections, I just lowered the patch dosage to 50 mg from 75 mg. I use a 400mg lollipop and it usually lasts for hours. I am spending a small fortune because Blue Cross Blue Shield will not touch it, even though it is the same drug that is in the stupid patch. Jansen has assitance in fighting/pursuing coverage w insurance. I save this drug for the emergency | F | 43 | 13 weeks | 6/14/2005 |
ACTIQ (FENTANYL CITRATE): This medication is used to help relieve sudden (breakthrough) cancer pain in people who are regularly taking moderate to large amounts of opioid pain medication. Fentanyl belongs to a class of drugs known as opioid (narcotic) analgesics. It works in the brain to change how your body feels and responds to pain. This medication should not be used to relieve mild or short-term pain (such as due to headache/migraine, dental procedures, surgery). FDA Approval Date: 1998-11-04 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)