Ok, I have been taking pain meds for over 20 years. Ive mostly stuck to hydrocodone however I have been taking 30mg oxycodone one or two at a time for the last two weeks due to a spinal injury but Ive not taken more than 3 in one day. My tolerance to opiates is pretty decent. I have to take 50 mg of hydrocodone at a time which I hate. Anyway my dr. Prescribed 100mg/72 hr fentanyl transdermal system (not gel). I have had fentanyl through iv at the hospital but this is my first time attempting it on my own without dr. supervision. Anyway I waited until I was in excruciating pain before putting it on (rookie mistake..I know) so a guy I work with who has used them for years told me to cut a 3rd of it off and place it under my tongue to get some relief now while I give the patch 8hrs to start working. I was in so much pain that I cut a 3rd off after putting the patch on 5 mins before placed it under my tongue and left the remaining 2/3rds on the patch on without really looking anything up. So now I'm reading threads from here and Im a bit worried. I feel ok. Its been about 30 mins since I put the patch on and Ive had the strip I cut off (1/3rd of the patch) under my tongue about the same amount of time. My tongue is numb and I do feel relief and a little bit of a high. My question is what should I be looking for as far as "danger signs" as time goes by and the patch begins to work? My fear is mostly due to the fact that I'm alone. I normally would never do anything that would put me at risk like this however I was in so much pain in that moment I was just desperate and not thinking I just wanted the pain to go away. I've never used IV opiates or smoked anything however I do have a pretty high tolerance when it comes to orally taking opiates. I was a pharmacy manager for years however Fentanyl patches were not thing then at least not as popular as they are now. I am aware of the signs of overdose, however I've already made this stupid decision so right now I'm just looking for help. So this being my first post on this site and the fact that I don't have friends or family at all that I can call and tell them what's going on, if anyone could please give me advice on this situation because I am concerned after reading all of the dangerous and how quick it can happen. Thank you in advance.