- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Take it sometime during your meal...I would take a few bites first so that there is something in your stomach.
It means you should have food in your stomach before you take it, even if it's just a few bites!
It basically means that it will likely upset your stomach if it is taken on an empty stomach. Typically, you'd eat first and then take the pill but at a minimum, take a few bites of food so there is something in your stomach.
So when you take a pill, they say "take it with food" because it can sometimes irritate the lining of the stomach as it starts to break down. After you stick food in your tummy, it's gonna sit there for at least a few minutes and slosh around a little bit before moving to the small intestine. So no matter what order you shove the food and pills down there in, they're stomach is going to mix it up for you before sending it off.
Thus...
Taking your pill then waiting 2 minutes then taking a bite of food
will be the same as
Eating 4 Tbs of food, taking your pill, then eating the rest of your meal
will be the same as
Eating 3/4 of your meal and then taking your pill
will be the same as
eating your entire meal and then taking your pill immediately after.
It's not a food:pill ratio that you need to worry about. It's a "will I burn a hole in my stomach" problem. As long as it's in there with food and not all by itself, it's fine. 2 hours after a meal, your stomach is considered "empty". So when they say "take on an empty stomach", you need to take it 2 hours after/before food.
I used to take it either right before or right after my meal. I didn't even bother with the few bites because I would usually take it and eat a poptart as I left the house to go to work. I couldn't take the pill with me so I would just eat right after I took it and I never had any problems with it making me feel sick.
Make sure you take your pill with food. It would probably be best to take it after the meal is through, just so you have something in your stomach. It's usually because whatever you are taking may cause an upset tummy.
@Mewcakes: I completely disagree with this. When I was on narcotic pain meds you ABSOLUTELY have to eat the food first and then the pill. I learned this the hard way as I assumed the exact same thing you just posted even though my doctor said otherwise.
I took the pill then immeadiately ate a pudding cup (this was all I could get down due to the pain after my surgery and was the exact same thing I'd been eating prior to taking the meds on other doses). I'd had zero issues with the meds during prior doses but the dose where I took the pill first left me puking my guts out for the afternoon and I wasn't able to take the pain meds for another 24 hours so that my stomach could calm (that was a terrible, terrible 24 hours). All future doses I ate first again and again had no problems.
To the OP - don't take any chances even though it seems that food following seconds behind the meds would be just fine. Eat some food first.
I take mine after I am FULL (my largest meal is breakfast), I have 500 calories with lots of protein and fiber- then take my pill.
@Mrs.KMM: I do admit that it depends on WHAT you're taking when it comes to comfort. Case and point: excedrin burns the living HELL out of my stomach. I need to take it preceeded with no less than 1 cup of food no thinner than apple sauce. Dosages are also often key when it comes to nausea and stomach problems. But as a general rule, my counsel still pertains. It's a good place to start if you're not sure what you're supposed to do (i.e. OP) but you're certainly free to adjust it to whatever works for you as long as the pill and the food are in your stomach at the same time. The result is the same in terms of effectivity of the medication, which is what I thought the OP was talking about. :-P
Edit: However, any and all questions you may have about your medication and how to take it should be directed to your local/family pharamcist. Any advice doled out by Mewcakes is NOT the opinion of a PharmD and should not be taken as such. Happy pill-popping!
@cheese: I have been on a B-Complex (similar to a prenatal) and I take them every morning on an empty stomach with no problems (at least so far!)
Take with food means exactly what it says. In the hospital we provide a snack and the med at the same time, whichever they chose to take first is their business as long as both are ingested in a small time frame.
I would imagine the irritant is the iron. I find I have to take vitamins with extra iron on a very full tummy.
They recommend taking prenatals with food because it can irritate your stomach and cause morning sickness. It really depends on you and your symptoms. I've taken prenatals on an empty stomach and not had any issues, but I usually try to take them with food more recently since I've started to get heartburn/reflux.
Hi,
I am a physician, so hopefully I can help here. As others have said, some pills are fairly irritating to your stomach and so food will help prevent nausea, or other side effects - like reflux etc. Typically I tell people to take PNVs at a meal. It doesnt matter if before or after, and really could be about a 1/2 hr after a meal if necessary. If you can't eat, milk is a good stomach coater as well. Some meds HAVE to be taken on an empty stomach to absorb so that means about 2 hrs after a meal or an hour before. There is no exact science, and in fact, some antibiotics that are "take on an empty stomach" make me so ill, that I take them with food or I will not keep them down (and they work just fine). So us doctors dont follow the rules either. And we know better.
Ok...I didn't read any of this so bear with me if I am repeating. But the prenatal vitamins always made me nauseous no matter what/when I ate. Eventually, I ended up putting one on the sink before going to bed and taking it every night in the middle of the night when I woke up to go to the bathroom. Worked like a charm. I was always so tired I fell right to sleep and slept through any nausea the vitamin brought on.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| ellisrobertson | 22 |
| MsPanda | 15 |
| aduarte3201 | 14 |
| pengoala | 10 |
| ShellVee | 10 |
| londonchick | 9 |
| londonpeach84 | 8 |
 KimKimmieKim |
8 |
| ladyartichoke | 6 |
| ndreighton | 6 |
Sorry, there are no users yet.
Do I eat and then take a prenatal? Do I eat half, take a vitamin, then eat more?
Yes, I am one of THOSE people.