Posted by King Vultan on September 5, 2004, at 21:36:05
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin SR vs. XL vs MR » King Vultan, posted by KaraS on September 5, 2004, at 16:14:22
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> Actually, I have one more question. If you cut up an enteric coated extended release pill of Wellbutrin, you eliminate the extended release aspect - but the medication itself is still good, right? (I know that some enteric coatings protect the medication itself and without it the medication is destroyed in the stomach).
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> -K
My pdoc says that Wellbutrin SR can be cut in half with no effect on its sustained release nature but that doing so to the XL version will destroy its extended release mechanism, which is of a different type than what is used in the SR pill. Now, there are also generic versions of Wellbutrin SR becoming available (bupropion SR), and I don't know how each company addresses the sustained release issue, but I do recall someone saying that in at least one case, the generic formulation appeared to be identical to that of the name brand. As for the drug itself in Wellbutrin XL, that is still bupropion HCL AFAIK, which should not in itself be damaged from being chopped up; it will just be absorbed much faster into the body.Todd
poster:King Vultan
thread:386434
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040904/msgs/386868.html