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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?
Not a Dr, but I believe every other day defeats the purpose of a steady dose. The 1/2-pill is done for dosage only as whole pill is too much at this time. Every other day isn't even, and regardless, I personally always follow medicine instructions as provided.
I am doing something like you are doing OP with thyroid med and it's fine so far. I think I was getting to much thyroid and so talked to my MD and she didn't argue about taking less, and she's doing new labs. I agree ask the pharmacist.
Also, could depend on the med, how precise does it have to be. Do we really ever know. I don't use a splitter I just bite a piece off and that's how I do the splitting.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 01-02-2019 at 03:19 PM..
Not a Dr, but I believe every other day defeats the purpose of a steady dose. The 1/2-pill is done for dosage only as whole pill is too much at this time. Every other day isn't even,
THIS! Your wife is spot on. If the medication was most effective when used every other day, the prescription would direct you to take it that way. If your dose is so low you have to split a pill, chances are you can cause yourself problems taking twice the amount at any one time.
Tell your prescribing MD or the pharmacist you are having trouble splitting the pills. There are ways to avoid it.
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?
Dpctors sometimes have patients split pills to save money. Whether you can take it every other day depends on how long it takes for your system to eliminate the drug.
Most medications are eliminated from our bodies by "half-lives." The timing of doses is determined by that drug's particular half-life. The general rule is that a drug remains in our system for ~4 half-lives, so, in order to maintain a "steady state" you gotta take the next dose on time.
For example, say a drug's half life is 6 hrs. You take only one dose and 100% (theoretically) gets into your blood. After 6 hrs, half of it is gone. After another 6 hrs, another 50% of the remaining drug is eliminated, leaving you with only 25% of the original dose still in your system. After the next 6 hrs only 12.5% of the original diose is left and after the fourth 6-hr period, only 6.25% of the original dose is still around.
If a drug is supposed to be dosed on a once-a-day schedule, then skipping a day and taking double doses every other day will leave you with a blood level that's at first too high and maybe in the toxic range and then falling well below the therapeutic level for an extended period, ie- you're only getting a useful blood level for a few hours out of the 48 hr interval. You may as well not take any.
Think about using insulin this way: if you take a double dose one morning, you risk an insulin reaction at first and then the second day (no dose) you're not covered at all.
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