mikeamadison@sbcglobal.net asked:
I am taking tramadol for fibromyalgia. (regular not extended release) I need to cut down from 100mg to 50mg but only have 100mg tablets. I want to break them in two but keep hearing people say to not do it because of dosage problems. Even the pharmacy is unsure. Any medical or pharmacists’ help will be very much appreciated. Bill my doctor said I could lower my dose myself to the smallest amount needed but not to take more than 300mg a day without calling him first, but I believe 50mg to 100mg a day would work quite well. The only other medication I take is 350mg carisoprodol once a day. Thanks again!
Carisoprodol, Fioricet, Tramadol
I am taking tramadol for fibromyalgia. (regular not extended release) I need to cut down from 100mg to 50mg but only have 100mg tablets. I want to break them in two but keep hearing people say to not do it because of dosage problems. Even the pharmacy is unsure. Any medical or pharmacists’ help will be very much appreciated. Bill my doctor said I could lower my dose myself to the smallest amount needed but not to take more than 300mg a day without calling him first, but I believe 50mg to 100mg a day would work quite well. The only other medication I take is 350mg carisoprodol once a day. Thanks again!
Carisoprodol, Fioricet, Tramadol
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Taking Fioricet
You’d need to double-check with another pharmacist if you can, but I think it would probably be okay if they really are regular. That said, I thought that the only 100mg tramadol tablets were the controlled release ones.
The reason that you can’t break controlled release tablets is that they are specially coated so that they DO release at a controlled rate. Breaking that coating can cause release of all the drug at once, and therefore can be quite dangerous.
Regular tablets are ‘instant’ release anyway, so you don’t have that risk associated. One clue – have a look at the tablets and see if they are scored down the centre. If they are, then they are manufactured so that they can be split. If they’re not, my guess would be that they need to be swallowed whole and that you shouldn’t split them.
I hope that that helps.