I was hoping someone would be able to tell me at what weight they switched from using the Junior version of the EpiPen to the regular EpiPen. It's something I forgot to ask the doctor, and didn't seem to be a real issue since our son was no where near the age/weight to use the regular one. He is almost 35 pounds now and I have read somewhere that the junior epipen should be used for children under that.

Does anyone know what would happen to a child that took the adult epipen dose and it was too much for them? Is there such a thing as OverDosing on Epinephrine?

Or what if he's just 33 or 34 pounds and the Junior pen is not enough? Any suggestions/comments?

Thanks, Michelyne

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On Feb 22, 1999

Michelyne, I believe the weight for switching over is 50 lbs. I plan on asking next week when I go to the allergist. I'll let you know unless someone else posts the answer before then. I know that not getting a sufficient dose could be fatal. I think you would see significant side affects if you gave too large a dose. My son is about 36 pounds and still has the Epipen JR.

------------------ Valerie

On Feb 22, 1999

Our son is 43 pounds and still has the Epi-Pen Jr. We were told to call when he reaches 50 pounds to switch to the adult strength.

On Feb 22, 1999

It should say on the instructions ,and ou r pharmacist recommended 40lbs. The pharmacist would be the best to confirm as thi is there job to know, and if they don', they will find out for you. I noticed wgt differences, so you best ask the professionals Take care

On Feb 22, 1999

Thanks for the input. The one difficulty I have in asking the pharmacist is that we obtained it via three or four different hands.

You see, we live in Ankara, Turkey and it was sent from a company in Istanbul. You can get all kinds of drugs here without having to go through 'formal' channels, and that's how we got our Epipen. In fact our allergist didn't even bother writing a prescription for it. He just gave us the address for the company and told us to get one of the secretaries at our workplace to order it for us.

Are there different kinds of EpiPen Auto Injectors? I thought that one company made them, so shouldn't the weight thing be the same for all? We do have the trademarked EpiPen brand pen, not some weird ripoff. Thanks for you help.

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[This message has been edited by Michelyne (edited March 02, 1999).]

On Mar 1, 1999

Hello!

I have heard that there is a large discrepancy when it comes to the Epi Jr and regular Epi. At our last support group meeting, our medical board advisor (who is also on the board for FAN) said that Dey Lab contradicts themselves as to when to switch over. I believe he said that their information way vague between 35 and 45 pounds. He recommended switching over on the low end.

We have a rep coming to our meeting on Thursday who will be specifically addressing this issue and I will "report" back when I find out more information! [img]http://client.ibboards.com/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Kristin LeClair FEAST Coordinator (425) 482-6465

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On Mar 2, 1999

At our last support group meeting, we had a Rep. from Dey Laboratories (the maker of epi-pen). He gave us a pamphlet that states the epi-pen jr is for 33 to 66 lbs. and the epi-pen is for over 66 lbs. BUT I would highly recommend you get the opinion of a pediatric allergist. I think they might give different advice. For instance even though my child is less then 33 lbs they said it was ok to give the epi-pen jr. And i have "heard" of cases of children needing more then one dose or needing the epipen adult dose to get results.

On Mar 2, 1999

At our last support group meeting, we had a Rep. from Dey Laboratories (the maker of epi-pen). He gave us a pamphlet that states the epi-pen jr is for 33 to 66 lbs. and the epi-pen is for over 66 lbs.

The pamphlet also says the following: "the prescribing physician has the option of prescribing more or less than these amounts, based on careful assessment of each individual patient and recognizing the life-threatening nature of the reactions for which this drug is being prescribed. The physcian should consider using other forms of injectable epi if doses lower then 0.15 mg are felt to be necsesary. With severe persistent anaphylaxis, repeat injections with an additional epi-pen may be necessary."

So, I would highly recommend you get the opinion of a pediatric allergist.

[This message has been edited by brenda (edited March 02, 1999).]

On Mar 2, 1999

Thanks Brenda for updating me with that information. In fact, I don't feel confident enough with the pediatric allergist here in Turkey, so when we go home for vacation this summer I will seek the advice of an allergist there.

By the way, is there anyone from the Toronto/Kingston region of Ontario that can recommend a pediatric allergist? We haven't lived in Canada for thelast 8 years and our ties are somewhat severed.

Thanks for the help Stay Safe.

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On Mar 2, 1999

We just had our yearly appointment with the allergist today. She said to switch over when he is 40 lbs. We also decided to have a RAST test done. I am praying that knowing his numbers won't make us feel worse.

On Mar 3, 1999

Michelyne, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has a "Find a Doctor" function on their website. I have used this search engine with many library patrons who have been looking for physicians. I am a librarian working in a large public library. The address is [url="http://www.cpso.on.ca."]http://www.cpso.on.ca.[/url] You could also telephone the College when you are in Ontario as they have a toll-free number: 1-800-268-7096. Hope this information helps you. Take care.

On Mar 3, 1999

Thanks Kathryn. Will do.

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By Day Family on Oct 25, 2009

We live in England and my son had his regular check-up at the hospital last week. He is allergic to peanuts and had been prescribed the Epi Jr but we were told that it is now time to switch him to the adult Epi as he weighs over 25kg. I do wonder if it depends on the manufacturer of the device as there seems to be a variation on the advice given. Hope this helps!