Can you take only half of an Adderall XR?

I noticed that it looks like there are little beads inside, but I don't want to take a full dose tomorrow because I only have about a half-days worth of work to do.

Can you just take half the beads out and swallow them or will that screw it up in some way?

XR does not work that way. Instead of lasting half the time, it would only be half as effective.

I realize this, but can you still do it that way or will that be an unhealthy way to administer the medication?

Add. XR tends to keep me up at night and I don't want to have to take a full dose if I don't need to.

Well you could open the XR, empty half it's content out, crush the beads up (so the delayed beads won't be delayed and instead released instantly), and digest that. Theoretically it should work, but it wouldn't be the same thing as taking an IR cause you don't know what beads you pulled out of the Amphetamine mixture. This is why they say dont chew the food if you sprinkle the XR onto yogurt, applesauce etc. because you'd be disrupting the delayed release function of the XR.

ColinADD explained what I meant better than I did. If you have a mortar and pestle, then crushing the beads shouldn't be too hard, but if you just swallowed half of the beads then it would still be extended release, just half the dose.

I take half of an XR... I was prescribed 30mg which is wayyyyyyy too much for me.

So I open the capsule and dump the beads out. Split the pile in half, and then I recap the half into another empty pill capsule. If you don't know where to get empty pill capsules, sprinkle it on some apple sauce/ice cream, or put it inside something else you can swallow whole.

ColinADD explained what I meant better than I did. If you have a mortar and pestle, then crushing the beads shouldn't be too hard, but if you just swallowed half of the beads then it would still be extended release, just half the dose.

I wouldn't recommend taking only half the pill if you didn't crush the beads up. You really have no way of telling which are the delayed beads and which are the immediate ones. And you dont really need the mortar and pestle to crush the beads, im sure if you took some time to chew them in your mouth or just break them up with any other utensil it'd work just aswell. But still if you're going to take half an XR it's best to crush the beads up instead and making sure it only lasts half the day instead of getting some weak onsent dose when you need it and then getting a stronger second dose when you dont really want it.

Be smart and crush the beads if you're going to do this :D

yes you can take half a capsule if you want (i'm not giving advice here for the record).

Crushing the beads will give you the effects of adderall IR. Each of the beads in Adderall XR contain BOTH doses of amphetamine. The outer core dissolves quickly and the inner core dissolves several hours later. The other bead-release stimulants work exactly the same (Ritalin LA, Focalin XR, and Metadate CD).

The older medications like Dexedrine Spansules use a different bead system. Some of the beads dissolve quickly and the remaining beads dissolves at different rates. This gives a longer duration of action but lower plasma levels vs IR dexedrine. Taking half of these capsules would give you very unpredictable results.

I took a little less than a half one and it did what I needed it to do for the day whether it was mostly IR or XR beads. I do kind of feel that it was more IR beads than XR because it seemed to taper off pretty quick (3-4 hours), which was just fine. I just threw the rest out. Made a mess though.

Thanks for the info here. It is much appreciated.

I know that your question has already been answered, but fwiw, the dosing instructions from the manufacturer say not to crush them - but they do have instructions on how to open the capsules and dump them on applesauce to take them. (Also say not to chew them)

I'm glad you figured it out! :)

The XR capsule is time released and the small beads are also time released. So you are getting to different time releases. This is made so that XR can be released slowly throughout the whole day. If you remove the capsule and the crush the beads you'll get a VERY hard hit all at once which isn't good if your system is used to IR.

The best way is to get your doctor to lower your dose.

I realize this, but can you still do it that way or will that be an unhealthy way to administer the medication?

Add. XR tends to keep me up at night and I don't want to have to take a full dose if I don't need to.What did your prescribing physician say when you told him you have difficulty sleeping while on the medication?

Adderall XR cannot simply be crushed and turned into immeditate release. The waxy coating must be removed from the little beads. An extraction is required. Some people crush them and then run them through a coffee strainer or something like that, to make sure the coating is all removed.

Dexedrine SR, on the other hand, those beads can simply be crushed with like a shot glass and a screwdriver handle if you don't have a mortar and pestle.

But just taking out half the beads and ingesting them is a bad idea. The capsule contains a mixture of time release beads and immediate release. You won't know what you're going to get. Maybe 50-50, which is what you want, but you just as easily could get all immediate release or all extended.


For example, if you are on 30 mg XL, and you take out half the beads without crushing them, it's possible that the entire dose will not release until 4 hours later. Or it all could release immediately- you'd get 15 mg at one shot, either right away or 4 hours later. If it's a mixture, who knows when it'd kick in.

It is highly advised against opening up the XR capsules and/or crushing the beads. This just has to do with the variability of the pills and if you bring up the fact that youre opening up the capsules and crushing them to your doctor, it sounds like the beginning of abuse (whether or not it is).

If you feel that your dose is too high, talk to your doctor. If it is a problem with a second dose of XR, they may want you to use an IR booster rather than another dose of XR.

Sounds like you want control over your dose so I'll explain it from that view... any med that is not specifically a "scored tablet" (the ones with the groove/line in them) is not recommended for dividing into doses, because they are not designed to equal/half doses. (Even in a compressed pill, there is just no garuentee the the elements are evenly spread out.)

This is even more true with meds made to release over time. Taking half the beads does not mean you'll get half a dose. There's more than just stimulant in there. You can take half and really get odd proportions, for example.. end up with most of the stimulant in one half and the time release parts in the other half... That puts you more in the realms of chance.. rather than getting the control you want.

p.s. As far as the comments on opening and putting in applesauce... thats still giving the -whole- dose, so its different.

Sorry about the above post, somhow I skipped over half the replies.. :rolleyes:

Plus! Adderall xr is so EXPENSIVE!! Maybe you could talk to doc about other meds or a combo, it you dont want that feature sometimes?

The above said, I tend to do what I need to do and dont assume to know your situation... so I'll add that its unlikely to kill you :p Just dont count on it to consistently give you the effects you want/need.

Yeah of course such a low dose is not going to kill you, but it may end up being a total waste of medicine.

The effects you must be looking for can be gotten from the IRs instead, and for a lot cheaper too.