That's funny, I put in a new tube to finish the ride, then I patch.

I don't flat that much and so far I only have one tube with 3 patches on it. I would have had more but I threw out a set of tubes that were filled with that god-awful Slime crap.

Patches should not be making the tube leak. The patch should be the strongest part of the tube. If it's not, you're not patching right. Either that or you're using those stupid self-adhesive patches. Those are fine for limping home but they should be torn off and replaced with real patches ASAP.

I'd probably throw the tube out sometime before it got to be more patch than tube. Well, OK, I wouldn't throw it out. When I have a dead tube, I get out the scissors and turn it into patches, and then cut some of it diagonally to make rubber bands to hold my spare tubes in a bundle.