Therapy for Clients With Pain and Sleep-Wake Disorders

To prepare for this Assignment:
You will be asked to make three decisions concerning the medication to prescribe to this client. Be sure to consider factors that might impact the client’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes. At each decision point, stop to complete the following: Decision 1 Which decision did you select? Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #1 and the results of the decision. Why were they different? Decision 2 Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision #2 and the results of the decision. Why were they different? Decision 3 Why did you select this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. What were you hoping to achieve by making this decision? Support your response with evidence and references to the Learning Resources. Explain any difference between what you expected to achieve with Decision 3 and the results of the decision. Why were they different? For each of the decisions, also include how ethical considerations might impact your treatment plan and communication with clients. Please note that we are graded on APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, parenthetical/intext citations, and reference list; therefore, you should follow the writing template used in the nursing program. It can be found below. The labels that should be used for the level I headings within the body of the document are Decision #1, Decision #2, and Decision #3, respectively. In writing each of these labeled sections, be sure to clearly and concisely address the items above. The document (excluding the title page and reference pages) should not exceed four pages. My Decisions:
Decision Point One


Amitriptyline 25 mg po QHS and titrate upward weekly by 25 mg to a max dose of 200 mg per day
RESULTS OF DECISION POINT ONE

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
Client comes to the office still using crutches. He states that the pain has improved but he is a bit groggy in the morning
Client’s pain level is currently a 6 out of 10. The PMHNP questions the client on what would be an acceptable pain level. He states, “I would rather have no pain but don’t think that is possible. I could live with a pain level of 3.” He states that his pain level normally hovers around a 9 out of 10 on most days of the week before the amitriptyline was started. The PMHNP asks what makes the pain on a scale of 1-10 different when comparing a level of 9 to his current level of 6?” The client states, “I’m able to go to the bathroom or to the kitchen without using my crutches all the time. The achiness is less and my toes do not curl as often as they did before.” The client is also asked what would need to happen to get his pain from a current level of 6 to an acceptable level of 3. He states, “Well, that is kind of hard to answer. I guess I would like the achiness and throbbing in my right leg to not happen every day or at least not several times a day. I also could do without my toes curling in like they do. That really hurts.”
Client denies suicidal/homicidal ideation and is still future oriented
Decision Point Two


Continue current medication and increase dose to 125 mg at BEDTIME this week continuing towards the goal dose of 200 mg daily. Instruct the client to take the medication an hour earlier than normal starting tonight and call the office in 3 days to report how his function is in the morning
RESULTS OF DECISION POINT TWO

Client returns to clinic in four weeks
The change in administration time seemed to help. The client states he is not as groggy in the morning and is able to start his day sooner than before
Client’s current pain level is a 4 out of 10. He states that he is now taking 125 mg of amitriptyline at bedtime.
Client’s has noticed that he is putting on a little weight. When asked, the client states that he has gained 5 pounds since he started taking this medication. He currently weighs in at 162 pounds. He is 5′ 7”. He states that his right leg doesn’t bother him nearly as much as it used to and his toes have only “cramped up” twice in the past month. He states that he is able to get around his apartment without his crutches and that he has even started seeing someone he met at the grocery store. The weight gain seems to bother him a lot and he is asking if there is a way to avoid it
Decision Point Three


Continue the current dose of Elavil of 125 mg per day, refer the client to a life coach who can counsel him on good dietary habits and exercise
Guidance to Student
At this point, the client is almost at his goal pain control and increased functionality. Weight gain is a common side effect with amitriptyline and should be a counseling point at the initiation of therapy. He has a small weight gain of 5 pounds in 8 weeks. A reduction in dose may have an effect on the weight gain but at a considerable cost of pain to the client. This would not be in the best interest of the client at this point. Amitriptyline has a side effect of cardiac arrhythmias. He is not experiencing this at this point. The drug, qsymia contains a product called phentermine which has a history of causing cardiac arrhythmias at higher doses. This product is also only approved for a client with obesity defined as a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2. Your client’s BMI is currently 25.5 kg/m2. He does not meet the definition of obesity but is considered overweight. His best course of action would be to continue the same dose of Elavil, counsel him on good dietary and exercise habits and connect him with a life coach who will help him with this problem in a more meaningful way than a 10 minute counseling session will be able to accomplish.
Resources: There need to be 2-3 class resources utilized as well as 2-3 outside resources used.
I have added the class resources below:
Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Stahl, S. M., & Ball, S. (2009a). Stahl’s illustrated chronic pain and fibromyalgia. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.


National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. (2019). Chronic pain information page: What research is being done? Retrieved from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Chronic-Pain-Information-Page

****Rubric attached as well! Please let me know if you have any other questions or feel the decisions are not accurate. Thank you