Pill splitters? What works for the larger harder pills?

S

Sid Post

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Oct 14, 1998
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Thanks to my prescription coverage, instead of taking two 100mg pills a day I now get a single 200mg pill. They are oblong with a line in the center for an easy cutting but, they are so hard they keep breaking the normal pill splitters I get at Wal-mart and drug stores.

Using a normal knife just causes the split pill to fly off the cutting board and get lost. Putting the cutting board in a tub sort of works but, just isn't practical. I need to find a better pill splitter. What works for you and where should I be shopping? Something for arthritic hands would be nice too for carpal tunnel wrist issues.

TIA,
Sid
 
I use a 3" Shun pairing knife, a cutting board, and then just cup my hand completely over the the pill and board. I've used a mini-seb too. I think this is a great oppurtunity to buy yourself a new slicer for 'medical reasons'
 
you can purchase a pill splitter at most drugstores. Mine works great. Put the pill in a little box. Push the top of the box down on the bottom of the box and wacko, pill split.
 
xbxb said:
you can purchase a pill splitter at most drugstores. Mine works great. Put the pill in a little box. Push the top of the box down on the bottom of the box and wacko, pill split.
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I have broken several of those. I also find the pressure it takes to split the pill is hard on my hands. Leaning on them or whacking them doesn't work either.
 
A paper towel draped over the pill and whatever knife you are comfortable with. If that doesn't work consider getting yourself some wire cutters (aka diagonal cutters. Where there's a will there is a way.
 
Ask your doctor if you can just take the big pill once a day after a meal.
 
If the score is only on one side, you can sometimes break a tablet by resting it on a little ridge and pressing down on each side. Like putting a toothpick on the table, then rest the tablet on it, then press down on each side.
Hope you find what you need.
 
RevDevil said:
A paper towel draped over the pill and whatever knife you are comfortable with. If that doesn't work consider getting yourself some wire cutters (aka diagonal cutters. Where there's a will there is a way.
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I didn't even consider that option. I guess I need to see if I can find some that won't crush the pill.
 
shunsui said:
Ask your doctor if you can just take the big pill once a day after a meal.
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That won't work with some meds. :(

Formularyies and drug plan rules may work for 99% of the people but, the amount of time spent on bureaucracy for a deviation with medical justification is incredible. Penny pinching (and I do mean pennies) is a problem. I would gladly pay the ~$3 every 90 days difference but, that isn't an option.
 
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Put the pill in a sandwich bag and cut the pill. The bag will catch the halves of the pill. Cut a several days worth at a time so you don't have to waste a baggie every day.
 
I bought some 1500 mg glucosamine tablets because they were on sale and I figured that it wouldn't hurt me too much to take only 1500 mg a day instead of the 1000mg twice a day I had been taking. Well, turns out they aren't scored and my pill splitter doesn't like them.

So, I use my Old Hickory butcher knife. It has a fairly thin edge on it and about an 8 inch blade. I place the pill at the back of the blade closest to the scales, make sure the blade is as straight up and down as I can, and press down firmly and gently just until the pill snaps in half. If the blade is straight up and down it tends to split evenly. A little off and it will shear to that side. Since I'm just pressing dosn hard enough to split the pill, both halves usually stay put.
 
I use my kitchen knife much the same way, just light pressure on the pill and give the knife spine a small light tap with the palm of my hand. Usually the pill breaks evenly, but if it does not then I decide whether I need to take the larger or smaller half of the pill. This is a good technique to cut down the amount of meds I use particularly pain relievers like percocet.
 
Buy your pharmacist a cup of coffee and a cookie and ask them to split them out for you. If that is not an option then ask around until you find a pharmacy that will. There are those pills that have more backbone in them. If they are breaking the pill cutters you buy then you are not just a whistling dixie.
 
Any cost disadvantage if you just went back to 100mg pills? Seems like a lot of trouble if you can just take 2 100mg pills instead.

If this is not an option, I'd just bite one in half every other day than going through all the trouble of trying to halve tablets.

If you have to cut them, try using a single edge razor and cut the pills in a flat tupperware bowl. The razor edge will split powdered pills better than thicker knives.
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Can you make a small mitre box by drilling a small space for the pill to sit in a 2x4 and then cutting a channel down the center for your knife to cut within?
 
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