I have been prescribed Carbocisteine 375 mg 1 capsule four times a day for quite some time now, I usually take my other meds twice a day (including 1 tablet Carbocisteine 375 mg) and am constantly forgetting to take the other Carbocisteine capsules.
I am pondering whether to try 2 capsules twice a day instead of 1 capsule 4 times a day and I am whether this would be ok.
Any information or advice would be gratefully received
Philip
Written by
Doggie123-UK
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“After oral administration, carbocisteine is rapidly absorbed; maximum plasma concentration is reached in two hours. Its bioavailability is low, less than 10% of the administered dose, which is probably due to intraluminal metabolism and a marked liver first pass effect. Elimination half-life is about 2 hours.”
I guess frequent low doses are preferred because of the short half-life - if you take every 12 hours, the available concentration would be only 3% of the peak just before the next dose. This is similar to the effect I get with paracetamol; after 4 hours, I find the analgesic effect has worn off and I need a further dose. If your mucous problem recurs in between two divided doses, you might want to revert to 4 doses a day.
As always discuss it with your doctor but my carbocistine prescription is actually 2 tablets x 2 times a day .... increasing to 3 times a day when required (so 4 or 6 tablets a day) .. so yes it's safe to do so .... but 1 4 times a day may be because your at risk of some of the undesirable side effects ..... but you would need to disicss that with your doctor (most tend to be gastric... upset stomach, acid indigestion that sort of thing)
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