diff --git a/kpatch/kpatch b/kpatch/kpatch
index 814bfe0..86a91af 100755
--- a/kpatch/kpatch
+++ b/kpatch/kpatch
@@ -98,9 +98,13 @@ core_module_loaded () {
 
 load_module () {
 	if ! core_module_loaded; then
-		find_core_module || die "can't find core module"
-		echo "loading core module: $COREMOD"
-		/usr/sbin/insmod "$COREMOD" || die "failed to load core module"
+		if modprobe -q kpatch; then
+			echo "loaded core module"
+		else
+			find_core_module || die "can't find core module"
+			echo "loading core module: $COREMOD"
+			/usr/sbin/insmod "$COREMOD" || die "failed to load core module"
+		fi
 	fi
 	echo "loading patch module: $1"
 	/usr/sbin/insmod "$1" "$2"