Pill cutter is rubbish

[Caitlyn6]

I bought a pill cutter from the chemist but it never cuts my beta blockers (bisoprolol) exactly in half. It’s yellow and called pill mate. It cuts more like 60/40 or 70/30. I am on a tapering schedule and need to get it pretty accurate. Any ideas? Resorted to cut them with a knife tonight.

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

If it is the Pillmate I can see on Amazon it is incredibly cheap (~£2). I think it may be sensible to spend rather more money - say maybe £7 - £8.

[Caitlyn6 in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks. Do u have any suggestions or perhaps other people can offer a good suggestion?

[mornhill in reply to Caitlyn6]

A sharp pair of scissors really do work.

[Seal59]

My husband has Metoprolol cut in half and when he used the pill cutter they always broke messily. 2 months ago the pharmacist gave him a different brand which seem slightly thicker and cut perfectly.

[Peony4575]

I used a blade that you get for cleaning the Aga. A new one obviously ! So a safety razor blade or Stanley knife blade are more or less the same . I also used a magnifying glass as they are such tiny tablets and then you can use the letters on the tablet to help position the blade . Good luck

[EwaUK]

I bought one in Asda over two years ago now and it's still going strong and does cut very well.

[Alison_L]

Do the pills have a line across them? If so, put one on a flat, hard surface (kitchen top) and use both index fingers to press either side of the line. They will break easily. (But they probably don't have a line!!)

[Caitlyn6 in reply to Alison_L]

No line and they are about 2mm wide

[Alison_L in reply to Caitlyn6]

Haha, oh well...

[Handel]

We gave up!! Our doctor just prescribed lower dose pills! Good luck xxx

[Hidden]

Why can you not get the right dosage of Bisoprolol? My supply consists of all variants from 1.25mg right up to 10mg. Even my NP asks what my current stock is when making changes in medication 👍

As for cutting in half, i use a pair of long nose pliers (never been used for anything else) and a Stanley knife (again, only used for tablet cutting) for the odd times i need to do some tablet spitting (yes, my NP knows i have this kit for such emergencies)

[Caitlyn6 in reply to Hidden]

I am currently tapering down from 1.25 for an overactive thyroid so I need to take 0.625 on some nights.

[Hidden in reply to Caitlyn6]

OK, didnt realise they went for doses lower than 1.25mg. I ask because of personal experience - isnt there another type of medication that does the same job but comes in whole tablet form? I've been moved from Ramipril to Entresto to Candesartan pre surgery, and from Bisoprolol to Verapimil and back to Bisoprolol post surgery. All those tablets were doing a similar job but with slight differences to cater for differing medical situations...

Just seems as though a call to check for alternative medication might be worth a try and reduce the grief you are currently having to undergo in splitting tablets

👍