I have never tried the Butrans patch myself, but the 5mcg/hr patch is listed as being roughly equivalent to 5mg oxycodone spread over 24 hrs, so, while dose conversions are inherently imperfect and should be taken with a grain of salt, I would assume for most people it's not going to be very strong compared to oxy. I'm sure everyone is different in how they react to it though. It says not to consider raising the dose until you have worn the patch for 72 hr, so that means it should reach peak effect/steady state within 72 hr. It also says patients' current opioids sould be tapered down to no more than 15mg oxycodone per day before beginning treatment with Butrans; for patients whose max daily dose was less than 15mg of oxycodone, initiate treatment with Butrans 5 mcg/hr and increase patch dose if needed at minimum intervals of 72 hrs. I don't often hear of people being prescribed Butrans and oxycodone together, some sources say the Butrans might make oxycodone less effective. I am assuming you were not physically dependent on oxycodone or other opioids before starting the Butrans?
