If, and this is a big if, you can get a patch, they are better than the pills. The pills are like being on a roller coaster. The patches take most of that out. Patches do have issues, like where to put them, falling off in the shower, or in bed.
The only problem we had with the patches was coming off them. My wife was on 75mcg of Fentanyl for almost 4 years. This was on top of Oxy as needed for breakthrough pain. When the doctor decided to pull her off ALL pain meds, he originally wanted to have her go cold turkey off both pills and patches. My wife threw a huge fit in the waiting room and basically said that would kill her. Literally kill her. We found out later the preferred method to come off Fentanyl is through an in-patient detox facility where you can be monitored while you are stepped down. My wife's pain doctor gave her a laughable two week supply of patches. This consisted of two 50mcg patches and two 25mcg patches. Have you ever seen someone going through ****** withdrawals? It's not a pretty sight. Fentanyl withdrawals are similar. At least she was at home when the hallucinations kicked in.
Once she had all the pain meds out of her system, she found that she didn't actually need them as much. Apparently prolonged use of painkillers decreases one's tolerance for pain, and increases one's sensitivity to pain. Once she came off the patches and the oxy, and got them out of her system, she found she wasn't in as much pain as her body was leading her to believe. I am in no way saying this is what is happening to you, though. Only you can determine what's right for you. I'm just relating what happened with my wife.
So, for pain relief the patches do a pretty good job. It's just what comes with them that we didn't like. Ultimately, it's your call.