Posted by viridis on February 13, 2003, at 22:07:31
In reply to Re: To split or not to split Wellbutrin SR, posted by paxvox on February 13, 2003, at 18:37:50
I don't know if the IR version might be better or not; I was simply suggesting an option that I've tried after being told by the manufacturer and my doctor that it was OK.
In my case, I had a bunch of the 150 mg SR pills (which I'd been given by my previous doctor as free samples; he had cupboards full of them). Rather than getting a prescription for a new dose etc., I wanted to see if 75 mg of the SR would be easier on me. It was about half as bad as 150 mg, so I gave up on it. Maybe the IR would have been better, but Wellbutrin was so negative for me that I didn't pursue it.
I think your point about the risk of chewing the pills is a good one -- that could definitely cause a much faster release of the med than swallowing, so maybe they want to cover themselves by just saying don't divide in any way (which would include chewing). Also, as I mentioned, the person I spoke with did say that it's difficult to get accurate dosing since the pills are hard to cut; that was his explanation for why they discourage it.
Anyway, I really just wanted to suggest that if a person has WB SR and wants to try a lower dose, it appears to be quite safe to split the pills, based on my experience and the advice of both the manufacturer and a doctor.
poster:viridis
thread:140001
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030208/msgs/200248.html