Why can't Renvela be split?

[kickingandscreaming]

Today (before doing some reading), I split a Renvela in half because I had a very small amount of phosph in the food I was eating.  I just asked Dr. Google about splitting Renvela and learned that splitting, chewing, pulverizing, etc. was an absolute no no.  Does anyone know why?

I then did a search and found that there is a generic of Renvela (sevelamer carbonate) from the UK that costs somewhat less, and CAN be split.  There is also the powdered version of Renvela that obviously has been pulverized.  So I'm confused.

Also, is there some minimum of phosphorous that needs to be bound.  At the price, I have been saving it to "cover" large phosph payload foods, e.g. meat mostly.  For example, I just ordered a whey protein isolate powder that for every 20 grams of protein only contains 54mg of phosph.  If that's the only or major source of phosph, does it require binding?  Or is this where a split Renvela could come in handy?

[Charlie B53]

This may be better asked of a Pharmacist or the actual Drug Manufacturer.

Some pills are 'wrapped' or layered with a very small screen material.  This material limits the speed at which the drug is released and should NOT be broken or damaged in any way as this will alter the efficiency of the drug.

Dr's know what the drug is used FOR and the dose amount.  Pharmacists know many of the possible drug interactions.  All your meds should come from one pharmacy (ideally).  If the Pharmacist does not know the construction of a particular med he/she does know who to contact to get this information.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Take Care,

Charlie B53
Mod

[kickingandscreaming]

Thanks, Charlie.  That makes sense, in general.  But with Renvela, in particular, it makes a bit less sense. It's not about releasing the Renvela over time, but rather releasing it soon so that it can bind the food that's being dumped into the stomach.  It's curious that a) the UK has a generic for this drug, and b) it is cheaper than Renvela, and c) it can be split.

[Deanne]

I did  web search about it and it says that when split, they can expand when they get wet, making them harder to swallow. This makes me wonder if it's all about a choking risk. A time-delay for effectiveness doesn't make sense.

[iolaire]

I did  web search about it and it says that when split, they can expand when they get wet, making them harder to swallow. This makes me wonder if it's all about a choking risk. A time-delay for effectiveness doesn't make sense.

Good suggestion, I've had Renvela in my pocket in the rain and they disintegrate into quite a mess.  I wonder if the UK pills are different or if they just have a different risk tolerance?

[kickingandscreaming]

I wonder if the UK pills are different or if they just have a different risk tolerance?

They are generic, for one thing.  Perhaps the whole thing is a marketing ploy to get us to buy more of them. I know, I'm very cynical.  I had absolutely NO trouble swallowing the 2 half pills that I created.  But then again, this is a very litigious society and corporations are always trying to CYA.

[PrimeTimer]

Years ago an old friend of mine who was a pharmacy tech taught me this rule: If a pill is "scored" (has a line in the center of it) that signals that it can be split because both sides of the pill contain equal amounts of the drug. If a pill is not scored, it should not be split. If I remember correctly, she said one of the reasons is because there may be more of the drug's active ingredients at one end than the other and you never know which end that is. Guess it means that you could end up getting all or some of the drug or...none of it.   

[Zach]

Perhaps you might try the powder form of Renvela and just use half or a quarter of the contents (depending on the food's phosphorus load.
It has a bit of a lemon flavor, so you might want to mix it with tea.

Happy New Year!!
--Zach

[kickingandscreaming]

Perhaps you might try the powder form of Renvela and just use half or a quarter of the contents (depending on the food's phosphorus load.
It has a bit of a lemon flavor, so you might want to mix it with tea.

Good idea, but unfortunately I have 3 month's supply of the tablets so I would have to wait for that.  I do believe the powder is quite a lot more expensive for some reason.