Can Metoprolol Tartrate be cut in half?

[candi89]

Hello, my doctor is currently weaning me off the beta blocker Metoprolol tartrate and he told me told me to start by taking half in the morning and half at night so I just wanted to make sure that this medication can be cut in half.....?

[Flycaster305]

from what I've read, it can be cut in half safely.  In fact, it has has groove where they  give you a guide where to cut it, I just looked at my Metoprolol pills.  If your doctor suggests you split the dosage in half and take one segment in the AM and the other in the PM I'd procede with great confidence.  

[maralana]

how did you do getting off metoprolol tartrate and how long did you take it? thanks

[jrbon]

Ed,
My concern is not that we get the exact dose.. a little variation will not make any different. Particularly in pills that has "generics". The generics have a +- 20 % of bio availability compared with the original... and they consider that it does not makes a big difference.

However there are medications called "high sensitive" on which the generics are not allowed because the dose should be very precise, an example of them is the thyroxine.

My concern is that there are pills that have a coating to guarantee that they are absorbed in the intestine, if you brake them then they are absorbed in the stomach and the bio availability can be very different. If I am not wrong statins are in this class.

Jesus

[ed34]

The worrying thing with dosages and cutting pills is that the majority of the pill is not the substance concerned (medication). It's a protective coating which ensures the drug for example endures the stomach. I have had several size pills of plavix but all are 75mg. The ones I currently have are over twice the size of the regular ones I receive due to the large amount of coating. So when cutting pills in half, do we assume the medication is always in the exact centre, is this definitely the case?

[Flycaster305]

I was weaned off of a much more potent beta blocker (Coreg) by cutting it in half, then again in half.  I had no problem.  I used a pill cutter which did a good job of splitting the drug, but the cuts weren't perfect.  I think as long as you keep some of the drug in your system, you will be just fine.

[ed34]

It would basically depend on the size of the pill. For example, cutting a 1.25mg pill in half and expecting 50% dosage from each would be very difficult indeed. For most pills you can purchase a pill cutter from your pharmacy.

[beema36]

Yes its ok to cut it in half. It should have a little place on the pill where to cut it. If you want to be absolutely sure you can always ask your pharmacist.