Why can't you cut in half/crush extended release pills?

 I am 6 days post-op and I have to take two extended release pills a day. They are too large to swallow. At 3 days post-op my husband crushed them for me. It was awful! The next day I decided to cut in half, and that is what I have been doing.
I have just read a post that said that you can DIE from crushing ER meds?! and that you should not cut them in half either! I will call my Dr.tomorrow, but in the meantime, does anyone have more info on this subject?
Lesley

They're designed as ER so your body can absorb them at a certain rate.  Crushing provides the possibility for the ER mechanism to break down, thereby you absorbing way more at once than the medicine is intended.  I guess whether or not it's deadly is a matter of the specific med, but they are designed ER for a reason so it's not to be messed with.  You may want to call your doc today to get his direction unless you don't have to take any more until tomorrow.  Call him before taking any more, though.

There are several pharmacy techs on this board who can maybe explain/help further (thanks to the what-do-you-do-for-a-living thread from yesterday I now know this!!).

What the above poster said is true. For every extended release pill there is a pill you can take, you may just have to take more than one a day. Call your doc and explain, they can call in a script of non ER pills you can schedule, take/crush until you're at a stage where you can go back to ER meds. (I do this for geriatrics all the time).

Yup, if you crush extended release, it's no longer extended release, and you'd get the dose all at once, rather than slowly throughout the day. 

like everyone else said, if you must, get the non-ER version of the pills, you will just have to take them more frequently.

it its something like zofran or pepcid ER i wouldnt freak that youve split the pills, but yes, when it comes to pain medications, you cannot cut up ER pills, it can be very harmful.

Because they would no longer be extended release and would dump the whole dose into your system at once.  Call the doc who prescribed them and have them change you to non-extended release for a while.

 Thanks for all your posts! I will not take my extended release today, and will wait to speak with the Dr. tomorrow.
Lesley

Good question. I was wondering the same thing since one of my meds is ER.