It seems if I don't take it with food I am nauseous

It depends on the brand for me.

PA

It is interesting how sever pain kills ones appetite. It does mine anyway.

They seem to help me better when taken after food. Even though I normally take them on an empty stomach (?) They also decrease my appetite. I was around 115 when I started taking them and I am now between 100/102. I see that it is pretty common for the decrease in appetite, so I am glad it isn't just me.

no it's not just you. Pain kills and not just one's appetite!

[quote=Khilee]

Same here. As soon as the Oxy was prescribed to me, I started smoking again!

Grrrr. Back to square one.

Hydro and Codeine make me puke on an empty stomach. Even if I eat after. My Dr. told me not to wait until the pain got really bad to take your medicine. He said it would not work as well...Anyway, I have to eat at least a decent snack before taking pain meds. So for those CP's that pain meds cause nausea, maybe eat something before the pain gets bad. It makes sense--it's chronic, it's not going to go away, or get any better....JMHO.

Folksong

I have always taken meds on an empty stomach, thinking that the stomach acids required to digest food would destroy the active ingredients in the med before it ever gets into my bloodstream. no?

as you said folksong, with or without food, codeine=stomach ache.

one thing I don't understand. subutex isn't even swallowed, but enters bloodstream as it melts under tongue. my dose still gives me a queasy stomach much of the time. also, morphine shots can make hospital patients puke. what is the physiology of that?

I've read that white grapefruit juice helps with absorptions and potencies of many medicines, so much so that some pharmacists actually give warnings not to consume grapefruit juice around the time of dosing with certain medicines. Not sure if it increases potency of opiates or not. Just thought that was interesting.

i keep grapefruit juice on hand at all times.
i find that if i drink a little with my dose, i can avoid taking another one for quit a few hours.
where as if i dont drink the juice the time between doses is shorter. make sense>?

i am trying to ween down from 6 to 4 a day and the juice is helping me.

Same here!!! I start to obsessively think about food! I try taking walks if at all posssible...seems to deter the mind from thinking of food so much. Or even hard candy seems to work better than nothing.

That's so wierd to see this question! I was just reading one of my scripts Ultram, and it said to take it with or without food but to me consistent about it.

I know that i was reading on a medical website that Grapefruit juice increases the affects of alot dugs but the only two that I knew on the list was Methadone & Alprazolam (Xanax)
Also when I get my Xanax bottle it has a sticker on it that says "do not eat grapefriut or drink grapefruit juice with this medication"

Hi all, sorry this is so long but I was intrigued by the fact that grapefruit juice could help w/ med absorbtion. What follows is my "google" search result of simply entering "grapefruit juice and med absorbtion"....


Study Identifies Substances In Grapefruit Juice That Interact Dangerously With Some Drugs
ScienceDaily (May 9, 2006) — New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has identified and established the substance in grapefruit juice that causes potentially dangerous interactions with certain medications

For almost a decade, people have been told by their doctors and pharmacists to avoid grapefruit juice if they are being treated with certain medications, including some drugs that control blood pressure or lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that grapefruit juice can cause more of these drugs to enter the blood stream, resulting in undesirable and even dangerous side effects.

The drugs affected by grapefruit juice usually have some difficulty entering the body after they are consumed because an intestinal enzyme, CYP3A, partially destroys them as they are absorbed. Grapefruit juice, but not other commonly consumed fruit juices, inhibits this enzyme, allowing more of these drugs to enter the body.

It was originally assumed that the ingredients responsible for drug interactions were the flavonoids that give grapefruit juice its bitter taste.

The new study shows that a group of chemicals called furanocoumarins are the likely culprit.

"This is the best evidence to date that furanocoumarins are the active ingredients in grapefruit juice that cause the interaction with medications," said Dr. Paul Watkins, the Dr. Verne S. Caviness distinguished professor of medicine and director of UNC's General Clinical Research Center (GCRC). Watkins led the study team.

A report of the new findings appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

To determine whether furanocoumarins are responsible for grapefruit juice-drug interactions, Watkins worked with scientists at the Florida Department of Citrus to selectively remove only the furanocoumarins from the juice. He and his collaborators then studied the effect of the whole juice versus furanocoumarin-free juice on the ability to affect absorption of felodipine, an anti-hypertension drug known to interact with grapefruit juice "And we found that removing the furanocoumarins from grapefruit juice entirely got rid of this interaction," Watkins said.

In this randomized study, 18 healthy volunteers took 10 milligrams of felodipine with each of three juices: orange juice, regular grapefruit juice, and grapefruit juice devoid of furanocoumarins. Blood was collected over 24 hours to measure felodipine blood levels. One week elapsed between each felodipine-juice "treatment."

The study found that in contrast to whole grapefruit juice, the furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice behaved like orange juice and did not cause an interaction with felodipine.

Watkins notes that there are several implications of this work.

"First, it should now be possible to market the furanocoumarin-free grapefruit juice to patients who would otherwise need to avoid grapefruit. In addition, it should be possible to screen new foods for the potential for drug interactions by determining whether they contain furanocoumarins.

"Finally, it may be possible to add furanocoumarins to formulations of certain drugs that tend to be poorly or erratically absorbed to improve their oral delivery."

Co-authors with Watkins are Drs. Mary F. Paine, research assistant professor in the UNC School of Pharmacy; Dr. Wilbur W. Widmer, scientist with the Citrus and Subtropical Products laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; Dr. Heather L. Hart, GCRC scientist; Susan N. Pusek, GCRC's director of faculty training; Dr. Kimberly L. Beavers, former postdoctoral scientist in the GCRC; Anne B. Criss, GCRC technician in Watkins' laboratory; and Drs. Sherri S. Brown and Brian F. Thomas of the Research Triangle Institute.

Support for the study came from the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Adapted from materials provided by University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

so this says that that some meds are partially destroyed when they try to enter the body, but grapfruit juice prevents the drug from being destroyed. that would indicate that grapefruit juice really can potentiate the effectiveness of meds.

they tried the test on blood pressure medicine. what I'm sure most of want to know is, does grapefruit juice work on benzo's and opiates? has anyone found that it does? or doesn't?

I read a list of drugs on a medical website and the only two meds I seen that I actually knew was the Alprazolam (Xanax)& Methadone

......The drugs affected by grapefruit juice usually have some difficulty entering the body after they are consumed because an intestinal enzyme, CYP3A, partially destroys them as they are absorbed. Grapefruit juice, but not other commonly consumed fruit juices, inhibits this enzyme, allowing more of these drugs to enter the body......

This is the part that makes me think that the Grapefruit juice may be a good thing? Hmmmmmmm...lol, Steely

Grapefruit juice potentiates several medications (it makes them more potent in your system). Sometimes, this can be very, VERY dangerous. For example, several SSRI's specifically state that the consumer should never take the medication with Grapefruit juice or supplements. People have died with mixing the two.

In other cases, it will simply boost the medication because it has enhancing effects on digestion and liver function. There's tons of info about this if you google.

As for empty stomach vs. food in stomach---several meds (most) work better on an empty stomach, but will rapidly digest and/or cause stomach irratation without food. Sleeping pills are supposed to be taken on an empty stomach because the digestion rate is significantly higher, thus making the drug work faster. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, will burn a hole in your tummy if you take it without something for long periods of time.

Common knowledge, I hope! Hydrocodone also works well on an empty stomach, but works LONGER if there is some food in your stomach.

My bro is studying pharmacy---almost done with everything and will be a PharmD soon! I can ask him questions if anyone wants to know specifics---but of course do not take ANY of it as medical advice! Ask your doctor and/or pharmacist for specific information. You can always call anonymously to any pharmacy with questions about meds. Trust me---my brother has gotten some WEIRD questions, but he's ALWAYS, ALWAYS intrigued and happy to help people. It's better to know what's up, you know!?

Totally, Magnolia!

Read your post the wrong way...edited! Thought you said your doctor told you to wait until your pain was bad to take your meds! I was going to say, find another doc!! HA!

I have to definately take with food or I will be laying beside the toilet

I notice that the meds take effect faster and are more effective if I do not eat before taking them. It seems like they may not last as long in contrast, but that may just be me

I agree with that^^^^^
If I eat something an hour or so before taking them, it seems they last longer.

how long after you drink it should you take meds

I also have to eat something, either right before or right after I take my medicine. Taking it on an empty stomach usually makes me feel bad (regardless of the medicine). Many medicines say to "take one hour before or two hours after eating" but I can't do that. I probably make the medicine slightly less effective, but it's that or feel sick.

I can't take codeine at all, in any form, so this only pertains to medicines like hydrocodone, oxycodone, etc.

One thing does work for me though. I buy a Coolatta at Dunkin Donuts (crushed ice with coffee and mocha and whipped cream) and it'll do the job as far as eating goes. They fill me up so that I don't get sick on my medicine.

Also, my doctor has always said the same thing - don't wait until I'm in massive pain or the medicine won't work as well. So even if I don't feel a ton of pain, I try to take it like clockwork so that I don't end up in the ER or taking medicine that doesn't feel like it worked at all.

This is especially true with Ultram. You have to take it regularly, even if you aren't in a ton of pain, because if you wait until the pain is bad you can forget about them working at all. But if you take them every 4 to 6 hours they seem to help keep the pain at bay. I also found that if I didn't eat, the Ultram didn't seem to work. But after I ate I could actually feel it kicking in.

Wow, interesting. I always did it the other way around. I will try your technique next time.

Does taking our meds with vitamins,calcium,fish oil,ect.. interfere? I would think it does, but what do I know..

Yes, I have read the same thing on ALOT of my meds., regarding the consumption of grapefruit juice. (Saying not to drink it) (?)