Posted by JohnL on December 5, 2000, at 5:08:30
In reply to teeny tiny dose of Celexa?, posted by mist on December 5, 2000, at 1:19:00
> I have some Celexa but haven't taken it yet. I have had bad reactions to ADs in the past. So I want to break the 20 mg tablet into eighths and have one eighth a day. Does anyone know if this small amount can help? I seem to be very sensitive to any drug. Also, I have a pill cutter and when I tried to cut a tab in fourths it didn't cut very neatly, some crumbled and the pieces weren't the same size (I guess it slipped). What's the best way to cut a Celexa tablet(evenly)?
Sure, you can do this. I use a sharp knife to cut pills into custom sizes, but even my best efforts end up with inaccurate dose sizes. But that's OK. They don't have to be super accurate. If you end up with 8 pieces of one pill, you could start with the smallest piece first and then work up to the largest one.
You may find this is a good way to take the drug if you are sensitive. After a week or so, you may likely discover that you can take 1/8th in the morning and then another 1/8th at lunch. Then in another week you might likely discover you can take 3 1/8ths during the day, all spread apart. And then maybe you'll work up to 5 or 6 8ths taken throughout the day, or even increase each dose to 1/6 or 1/4 instead of 1/8. This is a very good strategy, especially if one is sensitive to drugs.
Though literature says 20mg is the minimum effective dose, some people do very well with smaller doses. It all depends, I think, on how directly a drug acts on the real underlying chemistry problem. Regardless, taking a little tiny dose once a day to get started, and then increasing it to several tiny doses scattered throughout the day, could be a very effective strategy for you. Don't worry if each tiny piece isn't exactly the same size. That's no big deal and won't likely make any difference one way or the other.
I've used this same exact strategy several times. The best example was with Naltrexone. It made me feel sick, nauseous, and just rather lousy allover. So I slowed down and did teeny tiny chunks which I could hardly feel. In about two weeks I was up to the minimum dose and had no side effects. By then I was taking several teeny tiny doses scattered throughout the day. When I tried larger chunks, everything was fine. Sadly the drug never did help my mood much, but at least the 'teeny tiny dose' was very effective in working up to the target dose with a drug that I was very sensitive to.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:49940
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/49949.html