Valtrex dosage question

[Cluelesswendy]

My doc. told me to use the 1 gram valtrex samples and break them in half and take a half each day to suppress the virus. Has anyone heard of breaking it in half?? I know this sounds weird, but some meds should NOT be broken.. Does anyone know if it matters if valtrex is broken in half??

Just curious....

[SmilingThroughTheRain]

interesting. I work in a pharmacy so i had to go whip out my cps, which is a book that contains all the information on every type of drug, from its color, side effects, to clinical trials. Valtrec comes in 500 mg and 1000 mg tablets. In the books it dosent say anything about the tablet being enteric coated, which means you cant break it or chew it because the coat needs to stay intact so the drug gets into the small intestine. It does say it is "film coated" but i dont believe that thats the same as enteric so you should be ok. The cps is the book used at community pharmacies by pharmacists to look up specific drug information. hope that helps

[Cluelesswendy]

Thanks for posting, Smilingthroughtherain.

See, I wondered if it would make a difference if it was broken.. I know there are some drugs that are not supposed to be broken in half.

My doc told me that the 1 gram pill had a line in the middle that you could use to break it in half.

I hope it still works....

[Abbey07]

Usually, any med that is "scored" down the middle (the line) is acceptable to break in half and that's the reason for the line. The other poster is correct too about enteric coated capsules or extended release meds. Those pills should not be broken in half do to their design. I have been breaking my 1gms in half until I was able to get a new presciption for 500mg when I decided to try suppressive therapy. Good luck,

Abbey

[Cluelesswendy]

Abbey,

Ok, that's great to know. It makes me feel better to know that someone else has been breaking their pills in half too.

Thanks!