Sodium Amytal

Hmm...I was under the impression that this had been discontinued several years ago. Anyway, sodium amytal belongs to a class of medicines called barbiturates which were developed 50-60 years ago for all sorts of indications such as insomnia. Unfortunately they are not particularly nice medicines to take because of the risk of dependence and side effect profiles. If they are to be discontinued, they should be done so slowly (the longer the time taking them the longer the discontinuation period). Medicines may be discontinued for a number of reasons e.g the manufacturer thinks it is no longer commercially viable to continue to produce. The problem is that community pharmacists will have to obtain this as an import from outside the UK and to make matters more complicated, barbiturates are classified as "controlled drugs", i.e their prescription and use are legally controlled through legislation. I imagine there will be a number of hoops for chemists to jump through just to obtain this legally and legitimately. I think it is worth having your mother's medication reviewed by either the GP or consultation with a pharmacist (who can provide this for free). A lot of patients were prescribed such medicines for reasons which are no longer clinically appropriate and there may be safer alternatives if something is still needed.

Tarun (hospital pharmacist)

Thank you very much for your very informative reply Tarun. She really is struggling and I think that her GP has been negligent in prescribing this drug for 55 years (she has attended the same Surgery for all of that time). I am wondering if I should insist that they source it for her even if it is problematic because at her age I am certain that the adverse affect the withdrawing is having on her is far more dangerous than continuing to take it. She has awful palpitations at night, her head and hands are shaking continuously, she has lost weight, it really is quite profound.

As a class of medicines, they are used much less frequently now. The only patients I have ever come across who are on barbiturates are those who have been on them for many years. They do tend to hang around in the body for a long time and are not removed by the body very quickly. Consequently they can be associated with adverse effects such as sedation and dizziness, which can be problematic in elderly patients. I think this is a discussion you may need to have with the GP - some people can struggle to wean themselves off despite slow weaning - might it be worth getting a geriatric (elderly care specialist) opinion ?

I have thought about asking for a referral to a Specialist and after reading your comments I think this is what we should do. Thank you again for your comments, they are very much appreciated.

I have bean on this tablet for about 40 yrs is my old doctoters at fault I am with a new doctor now who is trying to ween of them I think it would take me a long time to get of them