Difference in Gel Caps Vs. Sustained Release

There are so many forms of medical pills that it can all be very confusing. Rapid release right next to timed release. Tablets, caplets and pills. Unless you are a pharmacist, you may not know the difference between a lot of these terms, but there are important differences to know. Two of the most popular medication forms are gel caps and sustained release.

What Are Gel Caps?

• Gel caps is short for gelatin caplets, which are small, capsule-like containers used for oral medicine. The gelatin is used on the outside of the caplet to help people who have trouble swallowing medicine. There are two types of gel caps -- soft and hard. Soft gel caps have a liquid center, while hard caps are solid. The only similarity is that both have the gelatin coating on the outside, which dissolves quickly once ingested.

What Is Sustained Release?

• Sustained release is a term for medicine that is made to distribute the active ingredients in the pill evenly over time. This is useful for pain medications, which may be meant to be effective over a long period of time so that fewer dosages are needed. Many prescription pain medications, like Oxycontin, come in sustained-release form to prevent abuse of the powerful active ingredients. Unfortunately, there are still ways to extract the active ingredient to give an immediate, intense high rather than the slower release of a sustained-release dose.

Sustained-Release Gel Caps

• Since gel caps are meant to dissolve quickly in the stomach vs. the slower sustained release, you would think that they don't have much in common. However, new pharmaceutical technology has shown promise that gel caps may be the solution to pain prescription abuse. As gel cap technology develops, it is possible to have Oxycontin or similar prescriptions in a high dosage that can be released over time, using gel caps. It would also be hard for addicts to extract only the active ingredients, making the newest sustained-release gel caps harder to abuse.

Which Is Better?

• Neither the gel cap nor sustained-release cap is necessarily better than the other. The only way to answer this question is to consider your own personal situation, and whether you are seeking immediate relief or sustained relief over time. Other factors include the size of the medication and your ability to swallow it. If you are seeking immediate relief and have trouble swallowing medicine, then gel caps may be your best bet. However, if your goal is relief over time, then sustained-release is likely the better choice.