Pill splitting. The Latest Thing, according to the AARP...

[BiggJawn]

Yeah, I read "AARP". I'm a "partner" member, too.

anyway, there was a bit in there about how you can save money by splitting pills in half. Say your doc wants you on 80mG of diovan, which would cost you about $45 a month if you have no insurance.

Well, why not get 30 of the 160Mg pills for about $55 and split 'em in 2? doctors say that's a reasonable way to economize, and treatment doesn't suffer in most cases.

Now, what does oh-so benevolent PHARMA say about this?

"Oh, HORRORS!!!! You can't be splitting these pills! It lets all the Hot Steamy Goodness leak out through the cut!" or something.

S'Yeah, right....Just like how "Foreign-made" medicine is poison, so I need to get all my meds, including those made in Japan and Germany, from US companies...

But rest easy, folks, because Wellbutrin not only makes it "Fun to be around people again", but if you happen to REALLY take a likin' to one of those people, it has a "Low incidence of sexual side effects"...

I really, really wish I COULD believe that these companies actually gave a fuck about anything except how much money I can get to them....

[RPM]

1. my wife was supposed to split pills...

but the instructions on the label were unclear.

Instruction said take 1 / 2 every 8 hours.

We both read that to be "take 1 to 2 every 8 hours"

It meant: one half

No wonder the wife was sooooo damn loopy.

[indy_azcat]

2. true - but a word of caution

we do this all the time for some meds. The types that can be sensitive to cutting are the time-release type. If the medicine is homogeneous throughout the pill - no big deal. BUT if the meds are located in a central cavity with filler around them (like an egg) cutting them exposes the medicine in a manner inconsistent w/ clinical trial and could have bad effects.

Just a thought
~indy

eta: typo

[BiggJawn]

4. That's why they cautioned with that phrase that has become a cliche...

"Ask Your Doctor"
They mentioned that caution a few times.

What got me was PHARMA's insistence that there is NO time when it's appropriate to cut pills.

Oh, really? I suppose those score lines are just there for the Patent?

[indy_azcat]

5. well, I've had docs actually suggest doing it to save $

My take is that the companies are toe-ing the uber-safety line. Never cut becuase we never tested them that way. Just like, never drive on our meds, never drink on our meds, never do this, never do that. That's the legal/insurance dept's talking.

The real question is - why is there such a discrepancy between the 1X and 2X versions of pills on a $/pill scale? That (and not whether or not to cut) should make ya go :wtf:

You don't even get that big of a sale at CostCo!

[Warpy]

7. Are there any left that use that central core?

I don't think I've ever seen one of those, not since the 70s, anyway. I'm sure they're still around, I've never known big pharma to retire anythign the DEA didn't order them to, but it would be nice to know which drugs they are.

Cutting most frequently used medications is standard practice in hospitals. What one has to be careful of is crushing them for people who can't swallow pills. That's when people get into trouble with time released medications.

Cruising online pharmacy websites will tell you which drugs you'll save the most money on, and there's a nifty little plastic gizmo with a razor blade inside it that'll hold pills steady while it chops 'em in half that works on unscored medications as well as scored medications.

It beats not taking your meds at all because you can't afford them.

[indy_azcat]

8. not sure

Other than the obvious gel/capsule types :)

It's hard to say. If it's a liquid chemical, they'll dope the filler (a homogenous process).

If it's a solid, they'll likely either a) mix it homogeneously or b) have a compressed core and dip coat the filler material. It's probably pretty easy figure out after you cut it though.

I do know cutting nicotine patches is not the safest thing to do :(

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Oh I thought this would be about the other reason for pill splitting

Seniors sharing the prescription costs by splitting up the big purchases they make over the border of those same pills at a much cheaper cost.
Apparently there's quite the underground market in some senior communities.

Fortunately, that new Medicare drug benefit will take care of these inconveniences (sarcasm off)

[warrens]

6. I've done that for years, when I had no i nsurance

I got the doc to prescribe stronger painkillers for kidney stones and broke them in half, getting a two-month supply for the price of one.