Posted by yxibow on September 27, 2009, at 22:16:28
In reply to Can Wellbutrin SR Cut in a half?, posted by HappyGirl on September 26, 2009, at 6:50:26
> Hi:
> Can Wellbutrin SR 150 mg. 'Cut' in a half?
>
> Somewhere in Internet, I read Wellbutrin SR can NOT be cut in a half. If do, Wellbutrin SR lose its efficacy?Mind you, I'm not trying to use you in particular as an example.... but please, people, DONT cut your time-release medications. There's a) no point in it as it will become instant release and b) becoming instant release could spike plasma level all at once and cause serious problems.
So no, do NOT cut SR/XL in half.For one, SR/XL has a purpose, especially SR -- it is one of the few patent extenders that actually has a place in medicine.
Wellbutrin IR has a NON-zero chance of causing seizures, especially in those who didnt know they were vulnerable to them, and even in those who are not.
SR has a much reduced chance of this, it has been noted in studies.
But if you cut through the time release formula, you are dumping IR straight into the intestine and into your blood stream. Hence, you will spike everything at once as IR.
One might as well be taking IR multiple times a day then.
I could go on with other time release medications -- really, besides patents, a fair amount of lab time has been invested in making a tablet/pill/blob that will survive the hydrochloric acid in your stomach in a time release fashion, with food or without food depending on its nature, for a certain period of time.
This also goes for medications that are in capsules and people open the capsule to have "micro-doses" of a medication.There are only a set of medications that are specifically designed for this, and they're called sprinkles.
Otherwise, one runs the risk of chewing the pellets in a capsule, and getting an instant bloodrush of a medication that would not be there had it taken its time to have the gelatinous material holding the pellets dissolve in the stomach.
-- tidings.
poster:yxibow
thread:918554
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090921/msgs/918774.html