Splitting tablets

[tempusfugi]

I'd like some advice, please, on splitting tablets.

Firstly though, how can I be reassured that the Pred I take is not coated? I think they are non-coated but am not absolutely sure.

Secondly, I am trying to reduce from 9mg to 8.5mg, V slowly. I bought a Medisure Pill Cutter some time ago in anticipation of splitting Pred. It was quite cheap, I remember, and when I just tryed it, for the first time, it cut the 1mg ok but it doesn't look that even to me. Am I being over cautious ie does it really matter if one half is slightly bigger than the other? Or should I buy another cutter which someone on the forum will no doubt recommend?

I did look at FAQs for advice and found info on splitting Pred but it appears to be about 6 years ago, so thought I'd check for any more recent views. Many thanks in advance...😄

[PMRpro Ambassador]

What colour are they? If they are white they are plain pred. E/c are red for 5mg, dark brown for 2,5mg and I think 1mg are pale yellow - they look a bit like small Smarties.

It really isn't the end of the world have a big half and a small half - balances out over 2 days! All that matters it is less than the "old" dose.

All the FAQs are updated regularly and where the original posts were older, they were checked.

[tempusfugi in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks for your reply PMRpro. The tablets are white so plain Pred. I shan't worry unduly about how big the half is, thanks.🤗

[herdysheep]

You could get to 8.5 with a combination of 5mg, 2.5 and 1mg. If they are white, they are plain and ok to split. Enteric coated are coloured. I don't think uneven halves make that much difference at that dose. Sometimes, if not on a flat surface, the pill cutter does a good at makong crumbs!

[tempusfugi in reply to herdysheep]

Thanks herdysheep (I do like using people's nom de plume)! I can confirm that my Pred is uncoated so will continue to use my pill cutter. 😀

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

I bought this brand years ago whilst still on Pred… have used fairly recently on some different pills…good as ever…as as PMRpro’s says doesn’t have to be exactly 50/50…. And most pills that can be cut have a line on them….a coated one won’t !

If you’re still not sure then check the box - it will probably say gastro resistant or enteric or similar or check with pharmacist -

Or as also suggested - mix and match different strengths.

Pillcutter

[tempusfugi in reply to DorsetLady]

Grateful for your advice, DorsetLady. My Pred is definitely plain white, so good to get confirmation. I saw the Pillcutter you showed some time ago on here and tried ordering, with some other items from that big river company last year. Unfortunately, the order went awry and I ended up getting a refund. This was after I had a conversation with a 'chatbot' or whatever, being quite convinced I was speaking to a human! Dead clever, these Chinese🤣

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to tempusfugi]

Yes they are! Better luck this time around….

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tempusfugi]

Not the Big A but the chatbot I had a dispute with was in India I wasn't impressed as even the clear request "I want to speak to a human" took 5 goes to get through!!!!

[tempusfugi in reply to PMRpro]

I can imagine but they are interesting things, those Chatboxes! I presume they pick up certain words and then respond, suitably, though they obviously took time over your request...praps they didn't like the word 'human'😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tempusfugi]

It's the word they use in the intro!!!! It kept offering me "I think your complaint is ..." and were never within a million miles.

[tempusfugi in reply to PMRpro]

Bet you were pulling your hair out (what you've got left anyway - mine seems to be disappearing by the day since being on Pred)! Friends say, it's an age thing, but I know otherwise😒

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tempusfugi]

I have an awful lot of hair! Shoulder-length and curly It fell out with PMR, improved with prednisolone. went nuts with methyl pred and improved a bit with prednisone. Came out in clumps with methotrexate! Soon stopped that ...

[tempusfugi in reply to DorsetLady]

As a matter of interest, Dorset Lady, how does one attach a photo onto a post/reply? I feel thick because I can't work out how to do it!🤔

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to tempusfugi]

just tap the picture icon below -will ask if you you want to take a picture, go to library or select file. If you select library will take you to your pictures. Select what you want and select Choose or Use (varies) -will also as you to add a title.

Should then appear - then reply as usual

[tempusfugi in reply to DorsetLady]

OK, many thanks. Actually, I did just tap it and it took me directly to my library ie it didn't ask me the questions you posed. No matter. It will take me to where I want to go...thanks.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to tempusfugi]

it varies depending on what device you are using ….

[Ozziedays]

in Australia they come in 1mg, 5mg and 25mg so I had to do a lot of cutting over my two years. A heavy kitchen knife, plastic chopping board, and go for it. As others have said, if you get bigger / smaller pieces just alternate which days you take them. At the end I was cutting to get 0.25mg!

[tempusfugi in reply to Ozziedays]

Thanks Ozziedays. So you didn't actually use a pillcutter then. Well done on managing to size downwards - 0.25mg must have been V tiny😅

[Flivoless]

Being tight fisted, I have always used my trusty Stanley knife. Works well but, of course not very even. Its never caused me a problem though because, as others have put, it evens itself out over two days anyway.

[tempusfugi in reply to Flivoless]

Thanks Flivoless. I don't know about tight fisted, I'm more ham-fisted, so think I better stick to my pillcutter! If it stops working, I'll try a Stanley knife😂

[Sharitone in reply to tempusfugi]

I have the cutter recommended by DL, but actually I find it gives roughly the same result as a sharp vegetable knife. More of an issue is the tablet. The flat ones are ok, the concave ones crumble, and I wish the pharmacy would stick to the flat ones.

[Noosat]

I have cutter with5mg and 1mg work out combination to get righ d ose now down to4mg after 3 pius years

[tempusfugi in reply to Noosat]

Thanks, Noosat, your pillcutter sounds good and tis good to hear you've managed to get down to 4mg. I look forward to the day but have a feeling it'll be a while yet!😉

[Viveka]

Sometimes it takes a couple of goes to get good halve so I use the non even ones together as 1mg. Magnifying glass to see the line helps!

[tempusfugi in reply to Viveka]

Thanks, Viveka. I'm not all sure that the rather cheap pillcutter I bought makes it easy for me to line up easily. I mean, it's worked ok but I may send for the one that Dorset Lady sent a picture of.

[Viveka in reply to tempusfugi]

I'm using one I got for the dog, so perhaps I need to invest too!

[tempusfugi in reply to Viveka]

🤣😂🐕

[Stocdeb]

I couldn’t get on with the pill cutter I bought but now my pharmacist does a percentage of my tablets each month for me as he has, I assume, a better cutter. Worth asking if you have a friendly pharmacist, it is quite a laborious job.

[tempusfugi in reply to Stocdeb]

Did you get a reply from me, Stocdeb, only it hasn't come up?

[Stocdeb in reply to tempusfugi]

Not received anything

[tempusfugi in reply to Stocdeb]

This is what I was going to say:

Wow! Stocdeb, he does sound a friendly pharmacist...I can't imagine my pharmacist doing that but I could be wrong. Will try asking. Probably be blasted out of the place! I live in a village where there are a lot of retirees and, consequently, the pharmacist is extremely busy.😒

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to tempusfugi]

Keeps them in a job! 😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tempusfugi]

They do get paid for it!

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to tempusfugi]

if it doesn’t show on here, then it’s not been posted. Sometimes you can leave page without realising it hasn’t gone through -and forum doesn’t always remind you…depends whether you are on iPhone/iPad or laptop/PC

[CathyMeg]

I have a pill cutter. Since at the 7mg to 5 mg levels I cut several 1mg tabs and leave them in the box. So tapering down I use the slightly bigger halves for the first few weeks and then the smaller halves. So I figure that is an even slower taper than half a mg.

Seems to be working. Still feel bit rubbish first few weeks on new dose. Taking it super slow !!!!

[tempusfugi in reply to CathyMeg]

Good idea, CathyMeg. I shall follow your advice! I can certainly echo your last para: super slow is the way to go, it seems...😉

[MikeVanBC]

I have a pill cutter but find it much easier to just snap the 1mg tablets in half using my thumbnail, even though they don’t have a cut line like the 5mg do. As PMR Pro mentions later, the 2 halves become a whole by the following day.

[tempusfugi in reply to MikeVanBC]

You must have very sharp thumbnails, MikeVanBC! Hope you don't mind but I looked up your profile because I wondered if you were from Canada (I used to work on a desk that dealt with Canada)! Your PMR journey sounded similar to mine at the beginning, but you're a lot further down the track than me now. Do hope all continues that way.😊

[MikeVanBC in reply to tempusfugi]

Hello Time Flies My thumbnails aren't long or sharp. I just happen to find it very easy to snap these little tablets in half by pinning one between the side of an index finger and a thumbnail, and then just folding the pill up toward me with the same digits of my other hand. They almost always snap near perfectly in half, and I lose less to dust than using the pill cutter. And it's way, way faster! I just throw all the halves into different compartments of a few pill containers, drop in the 5mg tabs, and I'm fully loaded for another 2-week run

[tempusfugi in reply to MikeVanBC]

That all sounds highly technical to me...can I send my 1 mgs to you every month..you could start a business🤣

[MikeVanBC in reply to tempusfugi]

Have you ever played the card game 'Snap'?

[ImC_]

I have a pill cutter, I'll try to paste the picture, £3.99 on amazon. The pill wedges in a V shape and when you shut the box a razor blade comes down onto it. It is certainly good enough for halving pills and serves as a pill box for the other half.

Good luck.

cheap pill cutter

[tempusfugi in reply to ImC_]

Actually, that looks just like mine, ImC_ Thanks posting/pasting!

[Temeraire]

Just to add. I use a cutter too but have found some brands cut much cleaner than others. Some brands just shatter. Persevere, you’ll get there.

[Temeraire]

I meant brands of Prednisolone by the way. Not brands of cutter😂

[tempusfugi in reply to Temeraire]

Thanks for clarifying, Temeraire, coz I did think you meant cutters. Was thinking that I would need to buy half a dozen to find the perfect one! I shall persevere...😉

[HeronNS]

I got a free pillcutter from my pharmacist, about seven years ago. It had a pharma logo on it, long since worn off. Works very well, at least it does since I learned a little trick. Sometimes a pillcutter will give you a good half and a pile of little crumbs and mine was like that until I found out by accident if I held it in the air when snapping it shut it would give me two creditable halves. I suppose there's less vibration than when it sits on a kitchen counter.

[tempusfugi in reply to HeronNS]

Blow me, HeronNS, that sounds even more technical than MikeVanBC's method. Must be something in the air in Canada! Ha! 'in the air' it is, next time I try👍