Zofran

[ann]

Just a medication question for my HG friends who I suspect know more medical info than my own dr office! (This is the same dr office where a nurse told me I didn't need an anemia test because "HG doesn't cause anemia." But I digress...)

My dr office mistakenly renewed my Zofran script for 8mg instead of 4mg. My dh picked it up/paid for it, and it wasn't until I actually looked at it that I realized the error--no returns/refunds on prescriptions, of course. The pharmacist and the nurse at the dr office both said, "I guess you can half the tablet." Its the oral, dissolvable kind. I have limited success cutting it in equal halves, but I'm trying. I'm not exactly reassurred by their "guess" that this is acceptable, so I'm wondering if anyone else has had to do this?

Thanks. Next question: When should I fire my doctor?

[BrandiJK]

I have the oral that you swallow, but I slice them in half. I don't see why you could not do that w/ the disolvable. I highly suggest you get a pill slicer. I got one at wallgreens for 5 bucks,and it's pretty easy to use.

Think of it this way, now you won't have to refill your script for twice as long! LOL

And firing your doc..um...now seems like it could be a good time! As long as you can still get zofran w/ your next doc.

[kmomto6]

[quote="ann"]Just a medication question for my HG friends who I suspect know more medical info than my own dr office! (This is the same dr office where a nurse told me I didn't need an anemia test because "HG doesn't cause anemia." But I digress...)

My dr office mistakenly renewed my Zofran script for 8mg instead of 4mg. My dh picked it up/paid for it, and it wasn't until I actually looked at it that I

Are you SURE you can't take it back to the pharmacy. Just yesterday there was a mistake with my Zofran prescription and the pharmacist changed out what they gave me (8mg ODT) for what I needed (8mg caplet) without blinking an eye.

[jenna]

I'm cutting my 8mg ODT in half to save money! Yes, it can be done -- I use an acutall pill cutter (cheap at the pharmacy) and it works great. Just make sure it's a new one so the blade is sharpe. I'm a pharmacy technician by training & have talked to my Pharmacist about doing this. His advice is that it would be best to use the cut tabs the same day you cut them so they don't loose effectiveness. Make sure you seal the leftover half well - I put mine back in the foil packet it comes in and then wrap the whold thing in saran wrap and put it back in the box. They are light and moisture sensitive, so treat them accordinly and it should work just fine.

If you don't like this idea, call you pharmacy. Technically drugs are not leagally returnable, but often times pharmacies will "bend" this rule on a drug that is individually packaged like Zofran (assuming you haven't used any of the tabs yet).

Good luck,

Jenna

[RebeccaM]

I cut my Zofran ODT in half with no problem. Like Jenna said, they do need to be stored properly though. Also, I just used a small knife and it worked great.

[sonie716]

I actually had to take the full 8mg dissolve kind. It was the only thing that worked. I kept throwing up the pill, and 4mg was just not enough.

[petsparkle]

The pharmacy at the military hospital I go to doesn't carry 4mg tablets so they prescribed me the 8mg and told me to cut them in half. I have been doing this for about 2-3 weeks and had no trouble. I too have a few problems getting them exactly in half, but I take the slightly bigger one first thing in the morning because that is when my nausea is worst and the the second half at lunch. I hadn't heard about resealing them, but that does make sense. I keep my unopened packets in a zip lock (they didn't give me a box) and I just put the half tab back into the foil wrapper and into the bag. So far no problems for me, but I will try the Saran wrap too. I do think the pill cutter is a good idea and I will be getting one tomorrow to try out.

My Midwife (who prescribed the Zofran for me) is a breast cancer survivor who took Zofran during her Chemo and she said it was fine to do this, and she would know! I am lucky to have her now- no-one else would prescribe the Zofran because it is so expensive. Luckily Tricare covers the entire cost (they get it cheaper I think) so I don't have those worries too.

Good luck- I hope it works for you! Make sure you eat a lot of high fiber foods if you can get them down!

Take care,

Lissa

[ann]

Thank you everyone! I've been slicing my 8mg ODTs in half and coasting right along. I don't know what I'd do without your guidance and support. Thanks again for sharing your experience and info!

P.S. FYI: The best decision I made with regard to Zofran (after deciding to start taking it in the first place) was to taper it off by reducing the dosage to 4mg. Initially, I had subjected myself to some disasterous weaning experiments by skipping 8mg doses, or trying to go cold turkey. Simply reducing to 4mg 3X/day (and then eventually skipping some doses when I could tolerate it) was the answer for me. I hope that approach can work for others too.