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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Benzos Splitting Xanax XR

Riri26

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 21, 2020
Messages
21
My doctor told me I can split my Xanax XR but the pharmacist said I can’t and it’s dangerous. I’m so confused and in general I’m a panicky person, obviously, so I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do. I tried to take the whole thing but it’s just waaaay too much for me especially during the day. Thanks!
 
Of course you can split it. You can break any xanax down to dust if you want.

Don't listen to pharmacists...they count pills for a living.

Its actually best to take the LEAST amount of xanax you need. Your doctor should be scripting you lower increments, though.

I personally haven't found much difference between XR and normal. Certainly break them down to the smallest amount you think your body requires.
 
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pharmacist is probably saying that because er pills come with a warning that tampering with them can negate their er mechanism. unfortunately this is usually not the case to any significance.
 
They are extended release. The outer coating is what controls the extended release. Once tampered with (or cut) the extended release mechanism is no longer active. This results in an increased rate of drug delivery in a shorter space of time. Given the quick action and short half life of Alprozalam (Xanax) it would mean dosing more often. The extended release function is designed to deliver the drug over a longer period. Normal Xanax (Alprozalam) will act faster but the therapeutic effect will be of shorter duration.

If taking an entire pill feels too much for you then the doctor should be putting you on a lower dose as opposed to encouraging you to cut the extended release tablet. Never heard of a physician making such a recommendation.

What dosage in mg are we talking about here for the sake on interest?
They’re 1mg tablets. I’ve been taking benzodiazepines for years but in smaller doses. Usually .5-1mg Ativan a day.
 
A pill splitter available at any pharmacy does a fine job of splitting alprazolam xr. I'm Rx'd 4mg/day and often only take 3.5mg/day if I don't feel the need for my full dose and to build up a bit of a surplus for really bad days. FWIW, I get 1mg Aurobindo pills now that are yellow with an "x" on one side and "73" on the other.

At my dose, I don't have to worry about my level getting too low under most circumstances. I'd be careful with lowering your dose if you dont have a dose sufficient to keep it in your system for the full time you need it. Mine are supposed to be taken 1mg p.o. 4x/day and they're supposed to last 12 hours, so even if I take a lower dose, I'll have alprazolam in my system all 24 hours of the day even with a slightly reduced dose.
 
A pill splitter available at any pharmacy does a fine job of splitting alprazolam xr. I'm Rx'd 4mg/day and often only take 3.5mg/day if I don't feel the need for my full dose and to build up a bit of a surplus for really bad days. FWIW, I get 1mg Aurobindo pills now that are yellow with an "x" on one side and "73" on the other.

At my dose, I don't have to worry about my level getting too low under most circumstances. I'd be careful with lowering your dose if you dont have a dose sufficient to keep it in your system for the full time you need it. Mine are supposed to be taken 1mg p.o. 4x/day and they're supposed to last 12 hours, so even if I take a lower dose, I'll have alprazolam in my system all 24 hours of the day even with a slightly reduced dose.
I’m not worried about my levels dropping. I’m always been on low doses of benzodiazepines. Splitting them
Is tough. They’re these yellow 1mg ones that are odd shaped with a G on them. Cutting them is a real pain but I do what I have to. Thank you.
 
Good to hear about such low dosages and having stuck with that for years.

I am not your GP. But I too take between 1mg and 2mg of Alprozalam per day and usually only late afternoon or night. About seven months now (this time around anyway). For what it’s worth: the initial, let’s call it, overwhelming feeling (for want of a better word) does not last that long (few days or nights at most as does the morning hangover). But never had extended release.

I don’t think you’re in any trouble though or have anything to worry about. If you’re uncomfortable then I’d say to get normal Alprozalam either at a lower dosage (minimum is 0.25mg and those you can combine or 1mg which you can cut in half no problem i.e. easier to control) or lower dose Xanax XR.
Yeah. My doc just won’t be give me a lower dose because she said she can’t give me another prescription until next month or she’ll get red flagged.
 
Sounds like you have a decent GP there. Not the overzealous type. Those types have gotten more than a few in trouble with these things (myself included some many years ago but managed to taper off from what had become a pretty extreme dosage and all good for at least ten years now) (only started on them again this year in an effort to keep my shit together when COVID started) (but now have a lot of respect for the little wonders having learned a good lesson back then). Benzodiazepines wonderful meds. if not over prescribed or abused.
I don’t even really like the benzodiazepines. I never understood people who really enjoyed them. Im taking more now because I’ve been really sick the last two months due to lithium complications. I’m hoping to taper back down when I feel better.
 
They are extended release. The outer coating is what controls the extended release. Once tampered with (or cut) the extended release mechanism is no longer active. This results in an increased rate of drug delivery in a shorter space of time. Given the quick action and short half life of Alprozalam (Xanax) it would mean dosing more often. The extended release function is designed to deliver the drug over a longer period. Normal Xanax (Alprozalam) will act faster but the therapeutic effect will be of shorter duration.

If taking an entire pill feels too much for you then the doctor should be putting you on a lower dose as opposed to encouraging you to cut the extended release tablet. Never heard of a physician making such a recommendation.

What dosage in mg are we talking about here for the sake on interest?

Sorry 😐However this is misinformation. If this were true, cutting an old school OxyContin or Mscontin would make it IR

The entire pill is designed in such a way to delay drug delivery 📦. The pharmacist is just plain wrong. Despite their schooling, pharmacists know very little about pharmacology except the rare ones who study it independently - Trust me, pharmaceutical school does not teach any meaningful pharmacology. I dropped out yet know more than any pharmacist I have ever encountered

One thought Benzodiazepine wd was not lethal (so did a PA...)

Anyway you can break it in half, although 0.5mg ER is almost nothing

Whatever works for you though! 😎
 
^ It appears the main reason they coat it is to get it into the GI tract safely

Though you are right it *sometimes* contributes

Anyway Thank You for taking that in stride and not throwing a fit like some people

I cannot remember if Xanax Xr have a line; I doubt it.

If we were talking about 3mg tablets it might be one thing, however you can easily cut 40-60% of the tablet and get the desired dose. Just my humble opinion
 
Shelly I've edited two of your posts that contain URLs to web sites that sell drugs. We don''t do that on Bluelight.

Please stop posting Drug sales site URLs and remove the URL from your BIO. Thanks !
 
It's about harm reduction, not links to drugs sales.

Thanks for understanding, I hope you get something positive from your visit here.

C K
 
You are starting to annoy me. And I'm now reporting your post. Do you really think we're all so dumb around here?

Haha!

On a more serious note, Thank You again

Some people cannot handle being wrong. Idk
How many studies I have posted saying Oxycodone BA% is roughly 50% via any non-paranteral route, and people refuse to accept it(seriously, there are 7-8 of them at least)

Oh and I
Could not help myself, here is Xanax XR 3:

And you are right, no room for misinformation, please correct me if I do so. All about that respectful and professional touch 😎

0100009006807.jpg
 
Here some trouble with Alprazolam XR. Alprazolam 0.5(IR) is fine if U want to high.
In Bangladesh,Alprazolam pills are small enough (6×2 mm)....taking 100-200 pills (50-100 mg) get me good high.
Don't forget about Benzo. Tolerance.😀
 
As others have said, this should not be a problem. In general, pills are homogenous and can be broken down, in theory, to any fraction. There are no hotspots.

So yes, your pharmacist is wrong. You can split the pill and you shouldn't have any problems.
 
You should listen to your Pharmacist.Cause as a Pharmacist, I know that, Doctors don't have any idea about these formulations of medication, how do they work...... After-all,take professional advice, but not online.
My doctor told me I can split my Xanax XR but the pharmacist said I can’t and it’s dangerous. I’m so confused and in general I’m a panicky person, obviously, so I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to do. I tried to take the whole thing but it’s just waaaay too much for me especially during the day. Thanks!
 
Like others have said pharmacists are just pill dispensing robots.

I used to have a script for brand name xanax xr 2mg, and well those were somewhat difficult to split evenly because of their shape, they would shatter into pieces. They were both circular and square, very odd pill shape.

I'd just chew em up whole.
 
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Of course you can split it. You can break any xanax down to dust if you want.

Don't listen to pharmacists...they count pills for a living.

Its actually best to take the LEAST amount of xanax you need. Your doctor should be scripting you lower increments, though.

I personally haven't found much difference between XR and normal. Certainly break them down to the smallest amount you think your body requires.
You absolutely cannot split ANY time-release pill. Those pills were engineered to last a long time, so they have much more xanax then the immediate-release ones. If you split xanax xr you will be taking much more xanax then you think. I just came back from rehab because I was cutting a 0.5 pill in 4. I thought I was being conservative but I was actually taking a lot of xanax. Everytime I tried to stop I had horrendous withdrawal symptoms. Please don't do that.
 
Like others have said pharmacists are just pill dispensing robots.

I used to have a script for brand name xanax xr 2mg, and well those were somewhat difficult to split evenly because of their shape, they would shatter into pieces. They were both circular and square, very odd pill shape.

I'd just chew em up whole.
No, you cannot split any time-released pill. If the pill doesn't have a line through (in other words, it's scored) you should not even think about splitting it.
 
You should listen to your Pharmacist.Cause as a Pharmacist, I know that, Doctors don't have any idea about these formulations of medication, how do they work...... After-all,take professional advice, but not online.
Your doctor is wrong.
 
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