Flector Patch?

[sassy411]

Anyone tried these?  Results?  My OS just gave me some samples yesterday.  I'd not heard of them before.  Now I'm curious about whether anyone here has used them.

[dm]

It's a patch version of diclofenac gel. trade name Voltaren gel, a topical nsaid. It's an anti-inflammatory that's directly applied to the joint, and as such, is not absorbed systemically to the level that pills are, and is better for people who have stomach issues like reflux etc, because you're not digesting pills, and having the bleeding risk associated with pills. The fact that less of the drug gets into the bloodstream is also a plus, in that less of it interacts with other meds you could be on. There's some articles out on liver toxicity issues, but those apply to the pills, but the warnings are issued regardless of form of the drug. Dosages with patch or gel are much lower than with pills, so I doubt that it's an issue with the topical forms, but they have to include the warnings.

Detractor for these patches - cost. The patches aren't cheap, and many insurances have them at tier 3 because the Voltaren gel is the same thing, and is a lot cheaper, and that's tier 1 or 2. So if your insurance will pay without a monstrous copay, count yourself lucky. Mine wouldn't pay when they first came out. Now they do almost 2 years later, but they're like 50 bucks a box of 30, and the gel is 20 bucks a tube, so guess which one I end up with.

[LurkNessMonster]

Like many people, I am unable to take oral NSAIDs. I get stomach pain after a few days. Fortunately, topical NSAIDs have come onto the market, just in time for me.

I get great relief from the Flector patches. I find them much more effective than the Voltaren gel. Yes, the price is a drawback, but my insurance brings the cost down to about a dollar a patch. I also use Lidoderm patches. (They are a painkiller, not an NSAID, but I find they help keep the swelling down, just like an anti-inflamatory.) I alternate one day Flector, the next day Lidoderm because I don't want to get too used to one or the other. I haven't had any problems to date with skin irritation, and I pray I never do! Give the Flector a try since you have the samples.

[dm]

The plus to the patch is that it's good for 12 hours, but you have to use the gel 3-4 times a day to get the same effect, which is the bummer to the gel. But, when money is tight, you do what you gotta. I cheated and used a overwrap of plastic wrap to make more of the gel absorb in to the skin, and that helped some, even though you're not supposed to.

In these days of increasing health insurance premiums and copays, you gotta do what you gotta do to get the relief you need. It sucks that insurance companies make outrageous profits on the backs of sick and injured people, and supposedly "non profit" companies claim to be that way by passing what would be profits to their parent companies, so they can then say they have no profit, which is just a scam! And since the health care legislation passed, all the health insurance companies are raising premiums 20-50%, and for what? to cut services and increase copays and deductibles? It's getting so that people can't afford to be sick even when you have insurance....

[eaglemom]

I do kind of like them.  What I do that stretches the box further is to cut the "patch" to the size needed.  Sometimes I cut 1 patch into 3rds or sometimes 1/2.  That does make them go a long way. eagle