Splitting Pills

[Breez]

momof3 provided a great article on Topa in Research.

Awhile ago an issue of splitting pills came up & I mentioned I read somewhere that you shouldn't & on my pill bottle there are markings stating not to chew, split, crush. Someone said it was due to the bitterness.

The following is a link from mo3's article re:Topa where it states:
Topiramate tablets have a bitter taste and lose their effectiveness quickly when broken, so you should swallow them whole. Do not split, chew, or crush them.

I'm no pharmacist...but pass the FYI

MedlinePlus Drug Information: Topiramate

[Beaches]

Splitting Pills

Very good to know because I was actually thinking about that...thanks

[momof3]

Splitting Pills

Hi All,

There's conflicting information out there about splitting pills. Althought the medline plus site says not to split the pills because they lose effectiveness, if you look at the prescribing information sheet for Topamax on the Topamax website, they advise not to split the pills because of the bitter taste. They make no mention of them losing their effectiveness.
I am also attaching a link for the C.A.R.E. center for addiction research at the University of Virginia--Dr. Bankole Johnson, the principal research for the original topiramate research is having ongoing success with the use of toprimate.

UVa Center for Addition Research and Education

Dr. Johnson was also featured on the recent documentary on addiction on HBO where people talk about their successes with toprimate. See HBO Online

[momof3]

Splitting Pills

Oops! That link didn't come through. Here it is again...

UVa Center for Addition Research and Education

[Breez]

Splitting Pills

Just to add:

Pills are scored (a line provided on them) that allows for splitting. When you are splitting on your own -your accuracy of dosage is questionable.

RJ was catching up on pm's and wrote me:
"When a pill is not scored it generally means the dose is not evenly distribute within the tablet. If you split an unscored pill you can never be sure of the dosage you're getting...in fact you can end up taking anywhere from half to one and a half the required dose. Not good!"

I took pharmacology classes & was told to never cut pills unless they were scored for you. As RJ pointed out you never know when you cut the pill.



Again I'm only FYI-ing.

I also found this:


Pharmaceutical companies manufacture a wide variety of drugs and the less common drugs are often only produced in limited dosages. When a medication is available in large and small dosages, the manufacturer will often charge a similar amount for both the large and small quantity. The pharmaceutical companies claim that they do not want to punish people who require greater amounts. They also claim that the cost of producing smaller dosages is relatively equal to that of larger dosages. The majority of the cost arises from packaging, advertising, and Research & Development, which remain the same regardless of dosage.
Since large and small dosages are often available at a similar price, patients who split their pills can save between 23 and 50 percent per year depending on the medication. However, many doctors and pharmacists discredit the practice of pill splitting because of the very few types of pills that can reliably break into two equal halves. Studies have shown that many pills crumble depending on their composition, coating, and whether they have a score mark. This inaccuracy in cutting pills even when using a conventional pill splitter can lead to harmful under- or overdosing.

[rottrod]

Splitting Pills

so what is the consensus? not to do it right?

[Breez]

Splitting Pills

my personal vote would be no.

[WilliamTheFree]

Splitting Pills

Well...I'll put my vote in here...not a Doctor, Health Care Practitioner or anything just using Topa...my 50mg pills are scored....I got the 50mg pills so I could work up to the higher dosages...they seemed the most economically priced...I purchased a pill splitter and split them on the score mark...as best I could.
Is this PERFECT?....probably not...
Is there a better way to do it?...probably so....
Would it be BETTER to get 25mg pills....probably so....
Would I do it this way again?....YES...
Why?....Personally, I believe I did receive benefit from the split pills...perhaps the pills were a "bit" degraded because they were split but they still seemed to be effective, at least for me. I didn't notice any degredation...perhaps if I were a scientist and ran some studies with a split pill up against an unsplit pill I might see some difference but for me the pills seemed to work fine. From what I'VE read the biggest concern is the bitterness....this didn't seem to be a problem at all for me....I just swallowed them down quickly...they didn't seem to be any more bitter than any other pill I've ever taken.

The bottom line for me is that TOPA seems to work...I've been AF for a month now...something I don't believe would have been possible without the TOPA....SPLIT or UNSPLIT....mine have been SPLIT and they have worked......

[Breez]

Splitting Pills

That's it-they are scored (telling you it's ok). Some people have pills that are not scored because people are ordering from different places (so they are all not manufactured by the same company) and I've heard of people splitting their pills 4x ie. 100mg pills being split 4 ways (which I have seen mentioned here). As long as they are scroed it's fine.

[WilliamTheFree]

Splitting Pills

That is a good point...if they are scored it is an indication that it is OK to split them...I too have read of pills being split 4 times but if I recall that has been in the cases of folks who have ordered 50mg or 25mg tablets and received 100mg tablets in error...as for my personal experience I ordered 50s and got 50s and they were scored.