splitting Intuniv in half | ADHD Information
I know that most time-release medications cannot be split in half due to it messing with the release mechanism.
But having said that, has anyone tried cutting Intuniv in half, or been told by their doctor that they can? I have some older pills I want to split and combine to save a few bucks if I can safely...
Audrey
Again, I would NOT split it unless your doctor approves... my experience is not going to be everyone's experience. And I certainly would not give more than once a day unless the doc sez so.
But just as an FYI, my son gets it once a day around 4pm. It lasts about 22 hours or so... we can always see a dip in the afternoon but that's when he gets his second Focalin so he's usually covered anyway...
Audrey
[QUOTE=aesposito] [QUOTE=Mom2ADHDboy]I haven't tried splitting Intuniv, but we split Tenex pills in half successfully.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately the difference is that Tenex is not time-released, so there is no risk of hurting the time-release mechanism if you split or crush it...
Audrey
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We were told that technically you aren't supposed to split Tenex (actually, the generic guanfacine). However, my doctor had experience doing it successfully, so we did it and it worked for my ds.
Good point that it was a short-acting version of it (12 hours), not the 24-hour version (Intuniv).
[QUOTE=Mom2ADHDboy]I haven't tried splitting Intuniv, but we split Tenex pills in half successfully.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately the difference is that Tenex is not time-released, so there is no risk of hurting the time-release mechanism if you split or crush it...
Audrey
[QUOTE=aesposito]That's what I heard from a few other people... but meanwhile I had two psychs tell me they tell their patients to split them.
So anyway, I tried it. And it worked. No OD, no side-effects. We've been doing it now for a few weeks with no trouble.
Now having said that, I must mention that I am NOT advocating that others try it... just that it worked for us.
Audrey
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Are you giving Intuniv morning and evening? I'm trying to figure the Intuniv timing out for my son. We started in the morning, but his teacher said that he was drowsy around 1pm. So now we give it in late afternoon, but I have noticed that giving it at 4-5pm, he has trouble going to sleep until 6 hrs later (that seems to be the peak for him). If I give it at 2-3pm that is better, but more difficult with school and summer camp this week. Maybe splitting the 3mg pill morning and evening would work better? I don't know.
No can do. We just started on the meds and my son's psych. told us DO NOT crush or split. They are time released by the outer coating melting away. If they are split, the inner pill is exposed and the strength will be too high in too short a time. Walmart sells the 1 mg. 30 count for . Even if you got 2 bottles, it would only be . Good luck.
That's what I heard from a few other people... but meanwhile I had two psychs tell me they tell their patients to split them.
So anyway, I tried it. And it worked. No OD, no side-effects. We've been doing it now for a few weeks with no trouble.
Now having said that, I must mention that I am NOT advocating that others try it... just that it worked for us.
Audrey
I haven't tried splitting Intuniv, but we split Tenex pills in half successfully.