pradaxa question

1 So i understand pradaxa is non crushable but my question is for patients who have difficulty swallowing whole pills is it ok to open the capsule and have them swallow it with apple sauce if they are not biting down on the litlle "balls". I think it is a wonderful medication especially for those who are unable to take coumadin/ don't want to deal with the blood work involved with coumadin therapy but am curious to know if the med is safe to be administered this way. thanks!
The outer gel cap dissolves almost immediately when it hits the stomach. I can't possibly see any problem as long as you do not crush the beads. If I am wrong, please correct me.

I've read that it should only be swallowed whole but I would check with a pharmacist, they should be able to give you the best info.

Call the pharmacy. I take the stuff, and wouldn't do anything with it without calling the pharmacy.

How should I take Pradaxa?Take Pradaxa exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Do not take Pradaxa more often than your doctor tells you to.Take Pradaxa with or without food. Swallow Pradaxa capsules whole. Do not break, chew, or empty the pellets from the capsule.http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/pradaxa

that was my logic sweetseRn. Thankfully my patient will take a pill or two whole with her applesauce but i know other Rn's are opening it up and giving it to her open. She doesn't wear her dentures so I'm not that worried about her chewing the balls and releasing a rapid dose of the medication, but I am curious to as if this is safe. I know "ask the pharmacy" is the text book answer but wondering just from curiosity if anyone has any experience from a cardiologist objecting to or having any input

Quote from shaunamarslanthat was my logic sweetseRn. Thankfully my patient will take a pill or two whole with her applesauce but i know other Rn's are opening it up and giving it to her open. She doesn't wear her dentures so I'm not that worried about her chewing the balls and releasing a rapid dose of the medication, but I am curious to as if this is safe. I know "ask the pharmacy" is the text book answer but wondering just from curiosity if anyone has any experience from a cardiologist objecting to or having any input

It has it's own website: www.pradaxa.comI'd post the link but the site is dragging this morning.

I just returned from the pharmacy to pick my rx for Pradaxa, and asked him about opening the capsules. Per him, and the written instructions that came with the rx, NO. The gelatin does dissolve, but it's not "instant". Depending on what is in the stomach, it may take a while, and gives some protection to the med, and the GI tract. The information is provided by Schnuck's Pharmacy.

According to boehringer-ingelheim, without the gel capsule, the oral bioavailability of this med increases by 75%

thank you for that insight maelstrom... thats what I was looking for

Whoa, thank goodness once again for AN, so glad I spend so much time on here. Once again some very valuable info. So glad this question was asked and answered correctly!

Does anyone know about gabapentin? I was administering it once to a patient who couldn't swallow, he had a G tube so i would have been able to get it in via G tube. When i looked it up on our Medication resource guideline provided by hospital, it said NOT to open the tabs as it can cause too much of the medication to be administered at one time. Other people i noticed had been opening them and putting them in the G tube before i did. So it HAS been done to this patient, and his family claims that they do it at home.anyway, i called pharmacy to verify this despite it saying it cannot be done. Pharmacist said it should be fine. Anyone have experience with this one?