People's Pharmacy: A Q&A about health matters

Q: My doctor told me to take half a tablet of Lipitor a day. In a magazine ad, it said not to cut tablets but didn't say why.

A: Some pills have special coatings or time-release formulations that would make splitting them dangerous. Cutting such a tablet would make its absorption unpredictable.

This is not the case with Lipitor. Researchers at Veterans Affairs and Kaiser Permanente in California determined splitting atorvastatin (Lipitor), lovastatin (Mevacor) and simvastatin (Zocor) was an effective way to lower costs without compromising cholesterol control.

Q: Driving puts me to sleep. I can drive only an hour or two before I must pull over. Is there something I can take?

A: You must discuss your situation with a physician. Provigil is prescribed for excessive daytime sleepiness associated with sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea or shift work.

Q: I was surprised to see in a recent column a suggestion for swallowing peanut butter as a cure for hiccups. Years ago, I read you should never eat peanut butter unless it is on a cracker, bread, celery, etc., because eaten alone, it can easily lodge in the throat and can be impossible to remove.

A: If someone has trouble swallowing, it would be prudent to avoid peanut butter. But for most folks, we can't see how it would matter much if the peanut butter were on a piece of celery or just licked off a spoon.

The idea behind this hiccup cure is to stimulate the vagus nerve in the throat, which could be done just as easily with a spoonful of granulated sugar.

One remedy that doesn't involve any swallowing was described by doctors in the Journal of Emergency Medicine (November 2004). They suggested taking a deep breath and holding it for 10 seconds. Then, without exhaling, take two additional breaths and hold each for five seconds.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them c/o King Features Syndicate, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019, or via their Web site: www.peoplespharmacy.org