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by mstdawn on January 28th, 2007

mstdawn

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If you take a perscription pill and cut it in half, do you get half the medicine, or half the effects? I.E. a 500mg tylenol, do you get 250mg for 4 hours, or the 500mg for 2 hours?

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Answers. 6 helpful answers below.

  • by Anonymous on January 28th, 2007

    Anonymous

    It is possible that you would not get a half dose, as the raw ingrerdients may not be mixed evenly across the tablet. You could end up with half a tablet that contained 400mg and the other half containing 100mg.
    If you do half tablets (which pharmacists do regularly as the aforementioned risk is not that bad) then you will get half the dosage. It should take nearly the same amount of time for your body to metabolise it, the the effect should last the same (just be less of an effect - due to the lowered dosage).

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  • by fataka on January 28th, 2007

    fataka

    Medicinal tablets have many more constituents than the real ingredient such as binder and preservatives and some ingredients which only enhance the taste.
    And usually this might not be a homogenous mixture. So you are not sure which half you are having!!!
    So it would be a bad idea after all to take pills that way.

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  • by ChrisDC on June 5th, 2009

    ChrisDC

    You really don't want to do this without talking to your doctor or pharmacist.

    This is especially true because some pills (not all) have a timed release feature. They're coated in a membrane that releases a certain amount of the medication at a measured rate -- if you break the membrane by breaking the tablet you'd get the full dose (i.e., an overdose) immediately.

    As to the specific question you asked, it would depend on the medication and there are so many possible answers I wouldn't want to speculate.

    Call your pharmacist -- he or she can tell you what the implications are for whatever medication you're concerned about.

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  • by staffie on January 29th, 2007

    staffie

    most people cut tablets in half, but recently its been on the news that you should swallow them whole because if you dont the tablet gets into your blood stream quicker and can be fatal. i dont know why this information as come out now because everybody i know breaks tablets up before they swallow them unless they are the capsual tablets. normally people say if you cut them i half you are getting half the amount

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  • by The_Professional on January 28th, 2007

    The_Professional

    That is gennerally true that you can half pills - especially over the counter.

    Controlled releas can be a problem though - and yo can overdoes depending on the type of controlled release.

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  • by Engeltje on January 28th, 2007

    Engeltje

    I really believe that one should not mess with prescription medication until you have asked your doctor.

    The rule may be different for different kinds of medication, e.g. if you take halves of antibiotics, it may not kill off all the bacteria and they may multiply and become resistant against that bacerium.
    Then you will be worse off- you will need something stronger which is worse for your body.

    Always follow the doctor's specific instructions and when in doubt, ask him or her before you do your self damage.

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