Opioids What happens to tolerance when you cut down your dose?

I have a question.

Lets say someone was on 80mg Oxycodone for chronic pain and they ran out of Oxycodone but they still had boxes of 12 mcg fentanyl patches...

Now obviously the 12mcg fentanyl is far weaker then taking an 80mg Oxycodone. In fact 12 mcg fentanyl is equivalent to 24mg oxycodone which will not be effective for painfor someone who is used to taking 80mg Oxycodones but my question is if the person just sticks with the 12 mcg everyday for many months will they eventually find that with persistence and time the 12 mcg fentanyl will start to be effective for pain? and their tolerance will drop below the 80mg Oxycodone?

Probably, but it's often dependent on the person.

It should fall, but very slowly. It could take several weeks for your tolerance to fall enough for you to notice and benefit more from the fent.

Just thought I'd point out that, though wearing a 12.5 mcg patch is roughly equivalent to taking 24 mg of oxycodone per day, these patches are 12.5 mcg per hour, and not just 12.5 mcg. More for the benefit of anyone reading this who might not be aware than anything else.

Your tolerance will fall relatively quickly, and you might even find yourself in fairly uncomfortable withdrawals for the first 3-4 days, depending on how long you've been taking the oxy for, etc. The 12.5 mcg will probably be effective sooner or later, but it may just be an insufficient dose, depending on the person etc.

Thanks for responding guys, your advice is very helpful