Cutting tablets

[Exhiker]

Im being forced to taper down to 2mgs from 3 even though i don't feel ready but they are cutting down my tablets on my prescription. No one will listen. Anyhow i would prefer to go to 2.5 but am not even getting enough for that now. I have got some 5 mgs left and i bought a pill cutter. If i halve the 5mgs, will that be ok will it be accurate enough ? Sorry if it's a silly question but just wanted reassurance. Apart from this forum i feel I've been on my own with this as no gp only locums at the moment and lack of response from rheumatology.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

Cutting tablets is absolutely fine, and don't worry if they aren't exact halves....just so long as it gives you less than dose you are trying to reduce from...

[Hidden]

I did that when I dropped down from 15mg to 12.5 mg back at the beginning and it was ok. I cut them with a sharp kitchen knife and it more or less worked. Sometimes the tabs would break up into more than two pieces though and I had to add an element of guesswork but had no real problem. It might be a bit more critical to get it right with you being on such a low dosage and it being a relatively bigger percentage drop than if you were dropping down from say 8.0 - 7.5mg. Why wont they listen to you? If they didn't listen to me I'd make more of a big deal out of it and lay it on a bit more thickly, and having read a fair few posts on here now I would say that a 1mg drop at the stage you're at is too much. I've got to phone the doc for an emergency consultation tomorrow and am planning it all out so I can get past the phone answering dragon and get a callback from the doc to amend my prescription because I'll be in trouble if I can't get it sorted.

[Seacat30]

Yes I just cut a batch of 5mg to use them up. (I also seem to have started being rationed by my GP.)

You can use slightly badly cut halves for a subtle taper. Use the biggest first then the smaller bits so long as they are not drastically wrong?

[Bcol]

Cutting tablets is fine and the 5mg ones seem to cut well. Think it might also be time to pay a visit to the surgery and make a fuss.

[Exhiker]

Thankyou for your replies. I will start cutting tabs tomorrow. As far as the medics go, I'll have to stop being such a shrinking violet!

[piglette in reply to Exhiker]

If you feel you need more tablets stand by your guns and tell them!! I know it is difficult and we tend to be shrinking violets and then suffer the consequences!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Exhiker]

not always easy F2F …..ok for us to say virtually…

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Doesn't need to be that accurate, just less than the previous dose, and over 2 days it will balance out anyway even if they crumble. But not a silly question at all.

This form of controlling how much you take is appalling. You should be allowed a buffer in case of an emergency and an adrenal wobble - especially if they are making you reduce so much at a time at this stage.

[Exhiker]

Thankyou, yes i knew it would come to this. I was doing a much slower taper than what the rheumy set me last year. I was doing well and when i had a telephone appt. In August, a full year from last appt, i explained to the doctor that the slower taper and going down by 0.5 was going well and suited me but he wouldn't listen. I knew then that sooner or later i was going to have trouble getting the amount of 1mgs i needed.

[Nextoneplease in reply to Exhiker]

good grief, Exhiker, you’ve done brilliantly. Do t know why they can’t see that and give you what you need 😊

[Exhiker in reply to Nextoneplease]

I know, it's frustrating. All about control i think. Some doctors just don't seem to like any ideas/ suggestions from patients.

[Nextoneplease in reply to Exhiker]

Not a nice thought, but unfortunately in some cases I think you’re right 😟

[herdysheep]

Apologies if someone has already said this, but you shouldn't cut enteric coated tabs. I now have a mix of coated & uncoated to allow for cutting!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to herdysheep]

Don't need to cut until you get to under 2mg - you combine a 2.5mg with the others.

[herdysheep in reply to PMRpro]

II am down to 4mg and can't get enough ec 1mg tabs, so use ec 2/12, 1, and then cut non ec. Nothing is as simple as it could be!

[Sharitone in reply to herdysheep]

It's possible to cut2.5s into quarters and then you have 1/8 doses. It has worked well for me.

[Hidden]

Yes quite correct. My last lot of 1mg were not the correct ones, only cut if it has the line across it. I too am on mix and match ones.

[whitefishbay]

Chop as best as you can. I use a knife. It seems to work.

[Exhiker]

Thankyou everyone. They aren't EC ones so ok to cut. I used a pill cutter this morning and have worked it out I've got enough 5mgs and 1mgs to do the slow taper until my next prescription. Thankyou all for your help.

[Sharitone]

I suppose the worst-case scenario is that you get withdrawal/ AI symptoms, and then you have evidence for needing to decrease more slowly.