Question
Does diarrhea affect the absorption of my HIV meds?
16 January 2012. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi,
I have a question. I looked over the site but could not find a similar one.
I just took my meds at 10pm and at 10.30pm had a bout of diarrhea. I’m worried that my meds won’t have been absorbed properly.
I thought about taking another dose but decided against it. I just wondered what the advice is on this.
Last year I had a couple of days of serious diarrhea and I’m worried these occassions will mean my HIV will come back.
Should I be worried?
Thanks.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Generally, there is no need for you to worry about diarrhea affecting the absorption of your medication. This is because, once you take your tablets, there is plenty of time for them to be absorbed through your gut before you go to the toilet. There is no need therefore to take a second dose should this happen again.
Advice around this is that if you have have diarrhea for more than a few days, then it is recommended that you speak to your doctor. He/she will manage it by giving you medication for it or, if necessary, do an examination to determine the cause.
Please follow this link to our guide managing side effects.
Best wishes.
Hi CFboy, thanks for your post but you are mixing up several different things. The time is takes for an oral HIV drug to be absorbed from the stomach can vary from about 30 minutes to 3 hours, but varies for each drug.
After being absorbed though, you are right that once-daily meds stay active for 24 hours. This is because although they are quickly absorbed, it takes the body this time for them to be slowly processed and eliminated.
Side effects like diarrhoea can occur at any time, depending on someones’ individual response. However, the stomach takes time to clear through about 30 metres of intestines, so diarrhoea soon after taking meds, won’t be eliminating the meds, just previous food.
For more info please see the listing for every HIV drug here:
https://i-base.info/guides/category/arvs
Please look for information about the Tmax in the Product Information for each drug. This can be found on the EMA website which we include a link to on the bottom of each individual drug page..
I also edited your comment to be less angry.
No ARV medication is absorbed automatically into the body within 30 minutes, especially where this person is suggesting that within 30 minutes they automatically get uncontrollable diarrhea.
Also, HIV medication works slowly over 24 hours, not within 30 minutes because ARV drugs don’t work so quickly either.
Also med’s are not a golden ticket, as many hiv+ people get stomach problems, especially those who don’t have a suppressed immune system.
Thank you for the advice Loraine.
I think it’s important to also ask for a doctor or pharmacist to assess if you need treatment for the diarrhoea and ensure you only eat food that doesn’t have a negative effect (usually rice, potatoes, chicken, etc. without spices and no fried food).
It’s also important to continue taking your ARVs in this time.
They still work, even if the absorption is not perfect.
If the diarrhoea doesn’t resolve in a few days please go to A&E or see your doctor.
A few spoons of corn flour (maizena) mixed with a little water, helps to settle your
Hi Mampathi,
Please discuss this with your doctor. They should be able to give you something for the diarrhea. If it’s a major issue then you may need to change combination. Again, this will need to be discussed with your doctor.
Hi I’m taking my treatments properly bt problem is diarrhea after 1hr i taking pill at night again after the pill.n my bums getting smaller
Hi Betty,
How long has this been going on for? Have you discussed this with your doctor? You having diarrhea won’t affect how your body responds to meds. They’ll still be working like they should do.
Hi I’m drinking arv for 10 years but now after drinking medication I got diarrhea and should that medication works or not ?I start loose weight and heart rate is high start baat fast what is problems I don’t sleep at night after toilet.