pharmacokinetic comparison

How much does timing
matter for your med?

A side-by-side look at plasma concentration curves, therapeutic windows, and what actually happens when you take your medication late.

Medications compared
7
psychiatric + hormonal
Half-life range
6 — 75 h
quetiapine IR to aripiprazole
Most forgiving
Aripiprazole
9/10 — timing barely matters
Least forgiving
Lithium
1/10 — narrow therapeutic index

Plasma concentration over time

0 h
48 h

Forgiveness scores

Lithium's half-life is deceptive

Its 24-hour half-life would normally make it forgiving — like lamotrigine. But its narrow therapeutic index (only 25% margin to toxicity) turns that long half-life into a trap.

Half-life tells you how fast levels change. Therapeutic index tells you how much that change matters. You need both to know if timing is critical.

Medication details

What if I'm late?

Medication 2 h late 6 h late Skipped entirely