Amitriptyline - advice about dose - any Drs or pharmacists?

[Blu]

DS's consultant has put him on Amitryptyline as a drug to modify his perception of pain. He is undergoing bone-lengthening, and has been waking at night in pain, and also finding it painful to keep his leg as straight as he needs to while he is in his wheelchair. She advised that this would help him sleep and possibly enable us to reduce the other painkilling drugs he is taking - codeine sulphate, paracetamol and ibroprufen.

He has the first dose last night, and did indeed sleep through, but it was no hep to our getting ay sleep as he shouted and yelled in his sleep fo hours, on and off. (he has no recollection of bad dreams this morning) he was very hard to wake this morning, and went back to sleep after breakfast.

I have looked on the instructions and he seems to be on a v high dose.

It is a solution of 25mg/5ml, and he has been prescribed 5.5 ml. He weighs about 17gk and is almost 7.

I a wondering about reducing the dose?

holy cow .. I also have only just seen this after checking the blog

I can't believe how stupid you pharmacist was? Really, he should be seriously admonished, re-trained or maybe even struck off

It is a serious error

I am glad Boy-Blu is fine

but what a farkin' shock

Unbelievable! Good job you looked into this! Glad your ds is ok.

My dd (12)takes this drug as she suffers from fybromyalgia. She only takes 10mg in a 5ml spoonful each evening before she goes to bed.

Absolutely fine on it, not at all zombie like and it helps her sleep and most of the joint pain and headaches have disappeared. Supposed to be quite safe for children and non addictive but the dose they had put your ds on would have flattened an elephant! Serious complaints need to be made.

We received a written response from the pharmacy yesterday.

It does seem pretty comprehensive - they admit that the pharamacist made a mistake making pthe label for the bottle - that because the prescription was written as 7.5 mg AND the dose in syrup (with the 25mg/5ml volume specified) he had let his eye settle on the wrong number and written it up a as 7.5 ml dose.

They have identified that he often works alone in the small shop / pharmacy, so there is no separtion between the writing up and the checking - they have intrduced a form for that, an extra check to be ticked off whenever a prescription for a child is collected - and will be re-designing the behind-the-counter area so that the pharmacist is not distured / distrace by customers when making up prescriptions.

They offered unreserved apologies.

The hospital also made some form of complaint.

Smartiejake - interesting to hear that this drug works well for your dd. Certainly, ds is now off the big round-the-clock doses of all the other painkillers he was on, and is being much less protective of his ficator frame - which means he is walking on his leg more...and he bone is growing!! 3cm, now!

So - yes, it was a huge shock. I was focussed on dealing with it at the time, but now get cold shivers and feel sick when I think I could just have carried on giving him that dose! DP was beside himself - had I not been pouring with rain (he is very very nesh in bad weather he would have been down to the pharmacist shouting.