This is a bit of a strange and difficult one

[oldanddone]

I take Tramadol for my back, which I fractured almost 3 years ago. I have really been taking these ever since then. I had noticed that I had been running out of them more quickly and putting in more repeated prescriptions but didn't look into it. The doctor phoned to say that I have had far more than needed and they won't give me another prescription. I take 6 a day. I phoned the pharmacy and they say I received 168 tablets last Friday. I have just checked and I had a box that hadn't been opened together with some other tablets. On the outside of the box it says there are 68 tablets. I have just opened the sealed box and there are 20. I have phoned the pharmacy and they don't believe me. I don't have anyone who could have taken them and anyway, the box was sealed closed. What do I do. I am seeing the pharmacist tomorrow but I only have enough to do me 4 days in total.

It says on the outside of the box there is 100 but they say they sent 168 so the 68 is the second box but only 20 inside.

Who else has e cess to them? Or yo your handbag?

As you know, Tramadol are abused often. Including being sold/taken for recreational purposes.

I get the fear of pain thing though. That's tough.
I have arthritis and take painkillers every day and I'd worry if I didn't have enough.

Ps this also explains my shit typing. But not my inability to proof-read.

How are the 100 organised?
Is it 5 strips of 20?

Speak to your GP for an opiate substitute, perhaps that might help you wean off them. Good luck OP.

'I know I will be physically addicted'

So OP as per my previous post, get some help. I am sure there could be another solution. This is too much Tramadol and for too long.

I'm sorry OP, but with painkiller misuse, there is no type. All it takes is for your H to have taken couple for a headache that wouldn't shift, then again and again. It's an incredibly common to misuse and become addicted to or dependent on these meds. I'm not saying it is your H, just that you can't rule out anyone on 'type'.

Poor you. This must be very upsetting. The issue is they happily allow people to become drug addicts, then if they need more, they're a 'drug seeker' and they try and cut you off, cold turkey.
It's very very dangerous to take too many tramadol. They lower your seizure threshold significantly. But equally it's horrific to go through withdrawal and very physically painful.
They need to be responsible in trying to help you manage your pain adequately. To be honest I think they're a bit negligent for allowing you to stay on the tramadol when they could have brought you down to dihydrocodeine when you left hospital which is less addictive.
If you need to could you take OTC things like solpadeine max. It has codeine so will relieve the withdrawal a bit.
I hope things improve for you. X

You can report to the Pharmacy Regulation if you have concerns they are short changing you. They will be investigated and a report comes back to you. My pharmacy made two serious errors in a short space of time and had to undergo further training. In your shoes, if what you say is found to be true, I would tell both your GP if you do this but also the pharmacy. It might concentrate their minds a bit.

www.pharmacyregulation.org/concerns-form

When you say there is no one who could have taken them, do you mean you live alone or are you assuming there is no one living in your house who would have taken them?
The way you have phrased it sounds like you don't live alone (otherwise you would have said I live alone). If you do live with someone it's a possibility they might have taken them.

Even if someone came in the house and took them, the fact is one of the boxes was completely sealed. I ripped it to open it and there were only 20 tablets in it instead of 68. I really don't want to keep taking these tablets and was well due an appointment to go over the medication. However, my back is extremely painful and I know I am going to suffer. Sitting at work is painful and that's what I'm most worried about.

As you are getting a lot of questions from OPs I just thought I would show some solidarity.

I have been on highly addictive painkillers for over 5 years and like you I can cut down on them when I am not in pain. I was expecting my doctor to take me off them as I know they are v addictive but they have added morphine patches to the mix - they may be something for you to try if you can get to see your GP.

The thing you need to focus on is how long you have been requesting more repeat prescriptions than the doctor says you need for 6 pills a day - logically if there is an assistant at the pharmacy who is incompetent or selling the excess drugs you would have thought that other people would have had the same issues as you and the practice needs to audit it.

Good luck in trying to sort it out - I think your best bet is to be very calm about it - difficult I know when you feel very vulnerable and worried

I've had this.

Not with painkillers but with duloxetine.

Go in to the pharmacy and show them the packet.

After I had this I now open every packet at the pharmacy and check I have all the medicines I need and the right numbers. There's usually a chair to sit down in.

I've caught a couple more errors since.

Anyone who has doubts about OP’s story should listen to a podcast called Serial- series 11, The Retrievals. It is a true story about patients of the Yale Fertility Clinic, who as part of their IVF went to have egg retrievals. They found the process absolutely agonising. This was surprising for them as they were all hooked up to fentanyl (a very strong opioid). They complained at the time that they were in agony and the nurse would say, “I’m sorry, you’ve had as much as I can give you”.
The nurse was addicted to fentanyl. She was stealing the fentanyl prescribed to the patients and replacing it with saline.

OP might not find Tramadol addictive but it is very addictive. If they can’t get it prescribed, people steal it or buy it and take it for pain, to make them feel normal due to an addiction, or as a recreational drug.

Pharmacists do fuck up sometimes. We once had a lady knock on our front door to give us our son’s asthma prescription which she had been given by mistake.

All you can do is raise it with the pharmacist and the GP, preferably with one written letter addressed to both to document your concerns.

You are being very coy about who you live with though OP and have avoided the question several times unless I’ve missed it. Who do you live with?

Crikey that's a nightmare. I take duloxetine and tramadol. I've never checked the boxes of any of my medication.

I take slow release tramadol. Was going to check my box for op, but I think she's likely on non slow release.

OP I don't know the answer but I hope you get sorted ASAP

The fact that they made a podcast about this shows how rare it is though. Far more common, and not worth making a programme about is:
The pharmacist making a mistake,
Someone in the OPs house stealing them,
The OP not realising how many they are taking or
The OP knowing how many they take, but are trying to hide it.

A while ago I had this with 30mg codeine tablets. I get 28 in a sealed box and I noticed the box wasn't sealed. When I checked it had 4 tablets in! I rang the pharmacy and they told me to come in and they would swap it for a sealed box

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?

I agree with Shakethedisease

You need to speak to your husband and your mother

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

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 open the next box in front of the pharmacist.

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

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.