This is a bit of a strange and difficult one

Yes ask your Dr when you get your review, try a paracetamol/codeine low dose to help too

You still didn't answer the question. Though I see in another post you have a husband.

There's something weird here.

@oldanddone have you tried Lidocaine patches? They could help, if you do decide to taper off Tramdol I found Magnesium and also Vit B complex helped with the withdrawals. I've had problems with a pharmacy before too, they were adamant I was at fault and the GP was reluctant to issue another script. Turned out the missing boxes were in another drawer in the pharmacy. If I hadn't demanded they looked I would be suspected of over medicating myself.
Stand your ground and insist the pharmacy go over the process of who dispensed and checked your prescription. X

Don't know how you can make that judgement without being a medical professional who has access to ops files. A lot of people on this thread don't know what they're talking about.

Following a major accident I was on tramadol for about 18 months- 2 years.

It's not uncommon where there has been major trauma (ie parts of the body have been squashed torn or otherwise significantly damaged).

I undo the bag and check everything before I leave the pharmacy. There are frequent errors and it is necessary to establish who made the mistake before leaving the pharmacy. To be fair it is usually the GP, but the pharmacist needs to establish that before I trek back to the surgery. It is very stressful if you have chronic illness/constant pain.

I'm quite shocked that OP has been taking tramadol
for years, it's only ever meant to be for short term use.
Has no other treatment been offered?
Too many GPs just doling out prescriptions rather than treatment or a path to recovery.

so take what you have (and your husband )to pharmacy. They may well have made an error.
are you prescribed 6 tramadol a day?
if yes-the chemist may be able to provide you with 6-on daily script-in the short term?
failing that call nhs 24/7 for advice?they surely cant leave you in pain and rattling?

How was the box sealed? What was the printed quantity on the actual box, rather than the label? Was it a pack size of 20 with a sticky label that said '68'?

Could it be that there's a second prescription in a drawer or on a shelf that they failed to give to you? So part of the prescription, but packed separately? It might still be there. It could certainly happen at my local pharmacy. I would start asking along those lines, even if you don't think it's likely at yours.

Pharmacies usually know if they have made a genuine mistake. I take a medication and the tablets come in almost identical boxes of 28 and boxes of 7. Our pharmacy has twice given me two boxes of 7 instead of two boxes of 28. They have acknowledged it immediately when I have gone back.

Is it worth going along to the pharmacy asking to speak to the pharmacist and showing them the box and explaining your recent concerns? It is much better done face to face.

A repeated mistake though? She says she’s been requesting her tablets sooner than usual lately.

The box was sealed shut, so not her household. Not impossible but fairly sure there would be signs of drug use or someone having more money from selling them.

If OP did have 168 last Friday and now has 20, she probably wouldn’t be here making a post on Mumsnet!

It’s easy to prove either way. OP opens her tablets at the pharmacy, then checks every day at home.

@oldanddone

I ripped it to open it and there were only 20 tablets in it instead of 68.

This makes me feel a pharmacy level issue as opposed to your family. I would do as pp mentioned above and raise with the appropriate body. It may spur them into either rectifying or owning up.

Good luck.

I don’t know what’s going on with pharmacy’s but twice in the last month my prescription has had either my first or last name completely wrong but I hadn’t noticed until I had left.

Luckily they were only for a cream and antibiotics but I am still baffled at how this has happened. Twice in a row!! Two different chemists.

Pharmacies are clearly not being very careful.

You need to switch pharmacies as if this has happened multiple times something is very wrong. Once it's an error, not a big deal if it's been happening for months something more is happening

You need to open the next box in front of the pharmacist.

I've had issues with my tramadol before, well not just my tramadol but because tramadol is a controlled drug it's the Jen that causes problems as nobody will accept that they fucked up.

I get my meds delivered and one month the pharmacy sent me the tramdol THREE times in as many days and because I was anxious about looking like I had done something wrong, I went back to the chemist and they told my my go practice must have sent the script in three times by accident, my gp practice insisted absolutely not and that's it's the chemist that had made the mistake.

The same happened the following month with a different medication but this time the pharmacy was like "oh it's probably just an admin error don't worry about it"

I get anxious when mistakes are made with the tramadol, I worry that counting them in front of the pharmacy makes me look like a drug seeker but also worry that when they over deliver it makes me look shifty too.

If it was a none addictive drug you'd not be disbelieved so much and because you're saying you've had a lot less than you should and are trying to get more, they'll be assuming you're a drug seeker rather than look at the possibility someone hasn't followed protocol.

Most people would be addicted or dependent on it after three years and staff will look at your ordering patterns and see you've been ordering earlier than you should have been while also saying you don't take that many, and if you're also telling them you don't take it everyday, it's gonna look like you're not being consistent with your and because of the nature of the drug, they're gonna assume you're drug seeking wether you are or not. Getting snappy when someone asks won't help you either, I'd try and practice a calm reply to that question because it's a reasonable question and one you'll get asked when errors like this happened.

It's shit for those who have had genuine admin errors, believe me I know but that's the way it is. Lots of people in long term pain relief have anxiety around raising issues with certain meds because of this assumption that it must be you trying to get more rather than a member of staff somewhere along the line not doing their own due diligence.

You need to cut down anyway OP. Daily for 3 years is really not good

I agree with Shakethedisease

You need to speak to your husband and your mother

Something doesn't add up here. You say you've been trying to cut down, but also that you're aware you've been putting in repeat prescriptions more often. Which is it? Are you saying you've found yourself running short of tablets for a while now?

Think about this carefully. Could either your husband or your mum - who you said also takes them - be taking tablets from your supply?