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So my grandmother has a prescription for oxymorphone for pain, and one 20 mg pill is too strong. She cannot get a hold of her doctor for a couple days and doesn't have internet and wanted to know if it is safe to cut one in half to take. So I am finding out for her. She is worried that because part of the pill will be exposed without the time-release coating covering it, she will get too much of the drug at a time. Is it safe for her to take a half of the pill?
It is generally -not- safe to split time-release pills.
Opana ER isn't a time release though. It's an extended-release. It means it's probably enteric-coated, and will take longer to dissolve and absorb into the blood stream, and will be effective for longer as well. 10mg is the lowest dose of Opana ER; regular Opana is available in 5 and 10mg.
What you might want to -consider- doing, is split the ER into quarters, and let her try one quarter of a tablet. The worst thing that can happen, in that case, is it'll dissolve at a faster pace than the ER, but she'll only get around 5mg worth of drug in her bloodstream, which is around the same as she'd get by taking an intact full-strength 20mg ER tablet, unsplit.
So my grandmother has a prescription for oxymorphone for pain, and one 20 mg pill is too strong. She cannot get a hold of her doctor for a couple days and doesn't have internet and wanted to know if it is safe to cut one in half to take. So I am finding out for her. She is worried that because part of the pill will be exposed without the time-release coating covering it, she will get too much of the drug at a time. Is it safe for her to take a half of the pill?
Call the pharmacy. Any pharmacy. They will be able to tell you.
Time released pills should not be cut in half. That will allow the entire dose of med to be dumped into your grandmother's system all at once instead of being released gradually.
It is generally -not- safe to split time-release pills.
Opana ER isn't a time release though. It's an extended-release. It means it's probably enteric-coated, and will take longer to dissolve and absorb into the blood stream, and will be effective for longer as well. 10mg is the lowest dose of Opana ER; regular Opana is available in 5 and 10mg.
What you might want to -consider- doing, is split the ER into quarters, and let her try one quarter of a tablet. The worst thing that can happen, in that case, is it'll dissolve at a faster pace than the ER, but she'll only get around 5mg worth of drug in her bloodstream, which is around the same as she'd get by taking an intact full-strength 20mg ER tablet, unsplit.
At best, it'll solve the problem.
excellent advice and I also had realized the difference between time released and extended release.... thx for common sense info..
Time released pills should not be cut in half. That will allow the entire dose of med to be dumped into your grandmother's system all at once instead of being released gradually.
Don't ever split or cut a time release tablet. It could be very dangerous just like this poster stated.
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