Many patients go to the pharmacy to buy medicine, only know what name of the drug to buy, but do not know the same drug, there are actually many kinds of specifications, drug specifications, is the dosage contained in each pill or capsule, the same drug, different specifications, the difference in the dose is basically more than double, the following are a few examples
For example, metoprolol succinate sustained-release tablets for the treatment of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure have four specifications, and the difference between the maximum specification and the minimum specification is 4 times!
Another example is metformin tablets, a hypoglycemic drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, with specifications ranging from 0.25g/tablet to 0.85g/tablet, and the minimum and maximum specifications are also more than 3 times different.
The reason why we should emphasize buying the right specifications is because the same drug is different for the treatment of different diseases, and then take metoprolol succinate sustained-release tablets as an example, this drug is used to lower blood pressure, usually starting from a dose of 47.5mg, and is used to treat chronic stable heart failure, according to the severity of heart failure, the minimum dose starts from 11.875mg, that is, half a tablet of 23.75mg/tablet, because there is no such a small dose, you need to break it and take it. Therefore, if you buy a 23.75mg/tablet specification, it is most suitable, if you buy a 47.5mg/tablet specification, you need to break 1/4, if you buy a 95mg/tablet specification, how to break it?
In addition to paying attention to the specifications of the drug, special attention is also needed to the dosage form
The same drug, the dosage form is also different, and take metformin as an example, metformin on the market is mainly divided into ordinary tablets, Enteric-coated tablets and sustained-release tablets three dosage forms, dosage forms are different, the way to take is not the same, enteric-coated tablets should be eaten before meals, can avoid the presence of food in the stomach to prolong the stay time of the drug, casing rupture, so as to collapse in advance release drugs, increase gastrointestinal adverse reactions, ordinary tablets should be taken with meals or immediately after meals, can reduce the incidence of gastrointestinal adverse reactions to a certain extent, sustained-release tablets advocate taking with meals, so as to ensure that the drug stays in the gastrointestinal tract for a longer time, and the drug is released more fully. Therefore, when buying metformin, you should choose the most suitable dosage form for yourself according to your own medication habits and gastrointestinal tolerance.