Can I spit in half a 10 mg amlodipine tablet to get only half of the dose?

Generally, amlodipine tablets can be safely split. However, please be aware of the proper mechanism of pill splitting to make sure that you are taking the right amount of medication in your half-pill.

The FDA studied pill splitting and issued this guidance in 2013:

1. If a tablet is FDA-approved to be split, this information will be printed in the “HOW SUPPLIED” section of the professional label insert and in the patient package insert. Also, the tablet will be scored with a mark indicating where to split it.

2. If a tablet does not include such information in the label, FDA has not evaluated it to ensure that the two halves of a split tablet are the same in weight or drug content or work the same way in the body as the whole tablet. You should discuss with your health care professional whether to split this type of tablet.

3. If your health care professional asks you to split your tablets, do not split the entire supply of tablets at one time and then store them for later use. That is, make sure that both halves are taken before splitting the next tablet. This is important because split tablets may be affected by factors such as heat, humidity and/or moisture content. For example, a split tablet stored in a damp environment such as in a bathroom medicine cabinet could be affected.

4. Your health care professional may be able to recommend the best method by which to split a tablet. In many cases, a tablet splitter may be appropriate. However, some tablets may not be suitable for this method because of their unique shape and size—even if they appear to be scored. It is important to discuss this issue with your health care professional to determine what is best for you.

5. Most sustained, controlled, or timed release medications are not meant for splitting. In those rare instances where splitting is recommended for this type of medication, such information will be printed in the “HOW SUPPLIED” section of the professional label insert and in the patient package insert and will be scored.

6. When you switch from one brand of medicine to another, you and your health care professional should confirm whether the newly prescribed tablet is splittable, even if the original tablet could be split. The same medications can be manufactured differently, thus may not have been developed to be split.