are these hiv meds safe to split?

Aug 8, 2011

i know this topic has been addressed somewhat with some hiv meds, but i was wondering about the safety (mainly drug efficacy speaking) of splitting the following hiv meds:

prezista zidovudine isentress truvada

the reason i ask is not because they're difficult to swallow. rather, i question how much of these drugs are being absorbed into my system as opposed to simply being passed out in my stools. i noticed that certain vitamins and mineral supplements i take would often pass out in my stool still wholly intact. once i started splitting these pills in two,i stopped noticing them in my stools. my concern is that the same thing may be happening to some of my hiv meds (though i can't say for sure i've seen them pass out in my stools).

i know certain meds such as intelence and norvir should NOT be split (it's on the bottles), but i was unclear on my other 4 hiv meds.

thanks for your time, jay

Response from Dr. Young

Hello Jay and thanks for your post.

Since these medications are neither capsules, nor time-release coated, there shouldn't be any problem in breaking these particular pills into smaller parts before swallowing (though I'd check with your pharmacist to be certain).

Be well, BY