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Old 01-02-2019, 03:27 PM
 
17,378 posts, read 13,154,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caco54 View Post
I have a med that says I must take 1/2 a pill a day which requires splitting. Using a splitter a lot of time I end up with crumbs. I am taking the pill every other day. Wife says I'm off base here. Thoughts?
It all depends on the med. Probably a bad idea. Ask your doc, there might be a half dose size tablet available.

FWIIW, splitter blades are like razors, they get dull and cause tabs to crumble. Splitters need to be replaced several times a year

I'm a retired pharmacist.

Last edited by mike1003; 01-02-2019 at 03:39 PM..
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Old 01-02-2019, 03:31 PM
 
17,378 posts, read 13,154,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greatblueheron View Post
This. Sometimes a sharp knife works well....just don't cut yourself
DO NOT use a knife. Not safe, lots of hand injuries with knives splitting tabs.

Plus, knife blades are bigger than splitter and crumble the tabs.
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Old 01-02-2019, 03:46 PM
 
Location: Nantahala National Forest, NC
27,074 posts, read 11,745,284 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike1003 View Post
DO NOT use a knife. Not safe, lots of hand injuries with knives splitting tabs.

Plus, knife blades are bigger than splitter and crumble the tabs.

They work better that splitters, IMO. Didn't have crumbling with mine...I held the thin knife as when chopping food, the other hand flat on top to control, no where near blade.

But I agree it's not a good practice in general. Luckily I've only done it several times...
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Old 01-02-2019, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Log "cabin" west of Bangor
7,058 posts, read 9,035,551 times
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Guido has it right- many drugs have a dosing schedule based on the half-life of the chemical, it is designed to achieve a 'steady-state' level in the body. For some drugs, efficacy is not achieved until this 'steady-state' level is reached, and the level must be maintained in order to be properly effective. Dosing guidelines generally indicate minimum effective dose, doubling the dose but halving the frequency results in an alternating cycle of being below the minimum effective level and then rising above it, which could result in the drug not working correctly and/or cause adverse effects.

Use a pill splitter, split the pills and take them at the prescribed frequency.

I *have* to do this with my pain med, because the 'normal' dose that most people can handle is far too much for me and results in debilitating side-effects. They don't make a pill in a small enough size for me, so it is necessary to split them. A cheap purpose-made splitter works well, with minimal crumbling and is *much* easier than trying to use a knife. I can't take enough to make the pain 'go away', but it takes the 'edge' off to where I can deal with it and function (most of the time). The positive side of this is that I am in no danger of becoming 'addicted', unlike an apparently large percentage of the population.
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Old 01-02-2019, 04:16 PM
 
Location: Central IL
20,726 posts, read 16,250,320 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caco54 View Post
I have a med that says I must take 1/2 a pill a day which requires splitting. Using a splitter a lot of time I end up with crumbs. I am taking the pill every other day. Wife says I'm off base here. Thoughts?
Depends on the half-life of the medication - something like Synthroid has such a long half-life you can take your whole dosage for a week at one time! Other meds have a very short half life and need to be taken in small doses multiple times a day.

You can look up the half-life online but you should really check with your doctor or even your pharmacist to see if you need to keep splitting or if there is the option of a different (or smaller) dosage you can change to or add on so splitting isn't necessary.
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Old 01-02-2019, 06:02 PM
 
4,985 posts, read 3,931,187 times
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regarding "crumbs"...collect them.
place a towel (or something) underneath the splitter.
we do this for our mother's medication. it saves money.
of course, we do have a digital food scale which is precise.
when the accumulated crumbs equal 1/2 of the pill's mass,
there is her correct dose.
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Old 01-02-2019, 06:17 PM
 
7,420 posts, read 2,690,066 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike1003 View Post
It all depends on the med. Probably a bad idea. Ask your doc, there might be a half dose size tablet available.

FWIIW, splitter blades are like razors, they get dull and cause tabs to crumble. Splitters need to be replaced several times a year

I'm a retired pharmacist.

Retired R.N. here. Pharmacists know best. Always thought of them as my best friends professionally. Treasure troves of knowledge and wonderful teachers.
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Old 01-02-2019, 06:53 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 7,901,024 times
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I had to take 2-1/2mg of Lisinopril for years,would get a 45 day supply of 5mg and had to split them,no problem with a splitter from Walgreen,shaped like a boat with clear plastic cover.the pill is held in place for splitting.
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Old 01-02-2019, 07:00 PM
 
Location: Surfside Beach, SC
2,385 posts, read 3,656,570 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by caco54 View Post
I have a med that says I must take 1/2 a pill a day which requires splitting. Using a splitter a lot of time I end up with crumbs. I am taking the pill every other day. Wife says I'm off base here. Thoughts?
Most likely, you should not be taking one whole pill every other day. There are exceptions to this. What is the medicine? That makes a huge difference.
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Old 01-02-2019, 11:10 PM
 
6,063 posts, read 4,420,928 times
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Ask the pharmacy if they can split the pills for you.
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