Dumb dosage question

[CathyAnn31]

I know it's probably a ridiculous question but I need to ask...

Is 150 mg once a day the same as 75 mg twice a day, as far as the concentration of meds in my system?

I had been on Lamictal XR (extended release) 150 mgs before being changed to the generic, non-extended release pill. No one ever told me if I should split the pills or not, plus I'm better at remembering to take my meds one time a day.

Thanks.

 

[epileric]

IMO if they're extended release once a day would be OK but I think splitting the dose gives you more protection if you take one dose a bit later or earlier.

I Know when my neurologist saw how I was still having seizures he suggested splitting my doses of time released Tegretol from 2 per day to 3 so it might make a difference for some reason I'm not aware of.

To be safest I'd say ask your neurologist though.

 

[CathyAnn31]

Thanks Eric.

The nurse was indifferent.

 

[epileric]

IF the nurse is indifferent then it's probably OK though I"m more comfortable breaking up my doses since I sometimes do have trouble taking them at the same time

 

[Silat]

For normal meds, I am under the impression that it helps to split them so that it's more stable throughout the day.
Just my :twocents:

 

[Dolores]

That's not a dumb question at all!

I have a friend who takes Lamictal. She takes the pills exactly 12 hours apart because she had a tendency to have a seizure when she waited much longer. 6am & 6pm works best for her schedule and I'm constantly amazed that she seems to intuitively know that it is 6pm and time to take her meds. I take Dilantin which has a much longer 1/2 life than Lamictal so I don't worry about being exactly 12 hours apart.

 

[no.guru]

Twice daily is much more difficult than once, for me. It was a bit of a pain, but of course you get used to it.

edit: Nakamova said on another thread that splitting doses was the norm for non-XR Lamictal.

 

[Endless]

My neurologist splits my dose into twice a day. The non-extended release pills generally don't work well once a day because they don't keep a level amount of the drug in your system when taken just once a day. The package insert recommends divided dosages (twice or more per day). It gets confusing in the package insert. Ignore the info in the pkg insert on chewable and dispersable tablets.

http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailyme...e3572d-56fe-4727-2bb4-013ccca22678#nlm34068-7

No wonder doctors actually go to medical school for this stuff. This would be a good time to note that I am an amateur, and have no medical training of any kind. That means you need to ask your DOCTOR what to do.

If your doctor doesn't take interest, that's a whole different problem. You need a new doctor. What I suspect might be happening is that the nurse isn't passing the message along to him. Some doctors pressure the nurses pretty hard to protect the doctor from every day calls. You may want to make an appointment and go in. When you do tell the doctor what you've experienced with his staff. He probably doesn't know. But then your name will be mud with the nurse and things may get even worse. I guess I'd stand by my first words, I'd find a new doctor.

 

[valeriedl]

I split all my meds up and take them 12 hours apart. 7am and 7pm. I also have one that is to be taken 3 times a day and I take one dosage of that at 1pm. I have an alarm on my phone set to make sure I take my meds on time because if I don't I'll have seizures.

I learned to take my meds on a strict schedule in (of all places) a hospital when I was in it. I still hadn't gotten my meds an hour after I normally took them and kept telling the nurse that I needed to get my meds. "Taking them a little late is ok" she kept telling me. I was always told not to take your own meds when you were in the hospital, only take the ones that the hospital gives you. But it was 4 hours and I still hadn't gotten my meds so I took my own meds. I was released that day and had seizures like crazy for the rest of the day.

How does it say to take the medicine on the pill bottle? Mine say "take 1 pill 2 times a day", "take 2 pills twice a day" or "take 1 pill in the am, 1 pill in the pm and one before bedtime". If it's worded something like that then split then up. If it says to take 1 pill once a day then I take it with my am pills.

If you still have any questions then ask to talk to the DR and not the NURSE. I think I'm pretty lucky because if I do have a question about something the neuro's receptionsit will take the message and he will call me back with the answer. He is able to ask me questions about things this way so he can get a better understanding of what's going on and can give me a better answer.

 

[CathyAnn31]

Long story but I'll do my best to explain, lol.

In 2009 I began 150 mg Lamictal XR. Since it doesn't come in 150, I had a bottle of 100s
And a bottle of 50s. I'd take the two pills in the morning and be set til the next day.

In December we were having insurance issues and I asked if I could go on the generic. She called my new meds into the pharmacy and they told her it actually does come in the 150 dose. She never said a thing about splitting pills.

I don't know how much of this the nurse actually told the dr, if anything.

I think I read about nakamova splitting hers.

Im not great at remembering the 2nd dose the times I have split the pills.

Thanks everyone

 

[valeriedl]

I'd say as long as you are taking the same ammount of mg at the same time of day as you were before you should be ok.

 

[PFunk]

To add more uncertainty to your decision. I take lamictal 3 times a day along with dilantin. Keppra is more of a morning, evening affair. My brain will usually let me know within a few hours, if I missed a dose. Oh, and I have split many a pill in my day.

Since it doesn't come in 150, I had a bottle of 100s And a bottle of 50s.

Question, when they were giving you 50' and 100's, did they charge them as two different prescriptions? They did that for me, and then I talked to the doc about splitting pills to save money.

 

[valeriedl]

Question, when they were giving you 50' and 100's, did they charge them as two different prescriptions? They did that for me, and then I talked to the doc about splitting pills to save money.

I know I'm charged for each different dosage of the meds.

 

[CathyAnn31]

Yes, I was charged for each bottle unfortunately.

 

[PFunk]

Isn't that ridiculous!! That happened when I was reducing my Keppra so technically, I was paying more money for less medication.

Here's another stupid health care story. I had been bit by a bunch of deer ticks (pleasure of the northeast) and I wanted a lyme disease test. From what I gathered it would cost around a 100 dollars, no one would give me a number. The test often comes back with false negatives, so they usually have you take multiple. I then found out how much the antibiotics cost to treat the disease. They came to about 20 dollars... WTF!!!!!!! :huh:

I just had the doctor perscribe me the meds instead.

 

[Nakamova]

Yes, I was charged for each bottle unfortunately.

I had that same annoying thing happen, I think when I was back on Dilantin. Anyway, to prevent that from happening with the Lamotrigine I'm on now, my dose is 175mg --which means they have to give it to me all in 25mgs -- no 100s, no 50s. As noted before, I split the dose into morning (4 little pills) and evening (3 little pills). Having the 25mgs gives me a lot of flexibility if I need to stagger the doses (if I'm traveling and the time zone changes significantly). it also makes it easier for me to adjust my dose on my own without having to check in with the doctor. That's how I tapered down from 250mg to my current dosage.