Can we use half of tdf?

[Cjb3695]

Considering Gilead has almost approved TAF. Can we cut the TDF tablet in half? Just wanted to ask some of the knowledgable guys.

[stef2011]

i mean it hasn t changed much from baseline before tdf start, everything is fine

[stef2011]

if baseline creatinine is about the same and creatinine clearance about the same everything is fine

[Royal36]

Aduski what other tests do i need to know how well my kidney is functioning? I have a GFR of 90.12 though. When I start my treatment hbvdna was arround 1 million

[luckyman316]

Simple answer.. no, you can not do this. Do some research on this forum and there are some scientific reasons as to why you can't. These were given by some of the members like studyforhope and stef.

[Jatashankar]

certainly tdf MIC(minimal inhibitory concentration) is much lower than 300mg but after a series of researches and trials this dose is found to be most efficient in max people. This means reducing the dose may still inhibit the virus in u at the same side it may be inefficient. Standard  Dosing is also done on the mean value of bodyweight, so if u are somewwhat heavy then also it may be inefficient. Also it depends on how ur guts absorb the drug, as it varies person to person.

[Aduiski]

I am not a kidney expert, but for females a normal result is usually considered to be from 0.6 to 1.1 mg/dL. Is that the only kidney result you did?

How high was your viral load when you started taking medication? Sometimes doctors put those with relatively lower DNA viral load levels on entecavir rather then on tenofovir.

[Royal36]

Aduski I had two times my creatinine test & came out 0.89mg/dl(<=1.34mg/dl), do you think b/c of this result she finally decided to put me on 0.5mg of entecavir? By the way is this a normal result? Thanks in advance.

[Aduiski]

TAF contains less tenofovir than TDF, but it works smarter in the way that more of it gets absorbed in the liver, whereas only small portion of TDF gets absorbed in the liver.
1 tablet of TDF probably corresponds to the strength of 1 tablet of TAF (according to the strength/power of controling the virus), so if you cut it in half, you would be absorbing the half of the TAF/TDF dosage.

Whether that would be sufficient to control your virus, i have no idea. If your kidneys are OK (you can do tests to verify that) then you can take TDF and later switch to TAF when it becomes available in your country.
If your kidney don't work well, you might want to consider starting entecavir.
In any case you better consult with a good hepatologist regardin this.