>Further on pill division. My father had to take Demerol after an
ankle
>fusion. They only make 50's in tablets and 25's in injectibles.
Silly, isn't
>it. He is 80 and only needed 25. It's a pain trying to cut a pill
that is
>about 1/16th inch in diameter. Guess they want you to get off on
the
>painkiller without regards to your safety! Again, it would cost as
much for
>the half tab dose said my pharmacist. Bulk seems to be
better...only in
>America folks.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist about this before doing this;
I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice. However,
the following seems reasonable to me as a chemist. This
ASSUMES that (1) the pill will dissolve in water, and (2)
the medicine will not deteriorate as a result. (The latter
seems unlikely, because a pill's usual destination contains
mostly water, plus some digestive juices.)
Dissolve the 50 tablet in a known amount of water, mix
thoroughly, and drink half. The other half can be saved
for the next dose (thereby saving money), IF it does not
deteriorate with time*- otherwise, it must be discarded.
Crushing the tablet into powder should speed dissolution.
I hope this is useful; again, ***consult your doctor or
pharmacist first***.
-Bill
* The medicine's being in solution could allow chemical
reactions, even with oxygen from the atmosphere, that
cannot occur when it is in solid form.
