Q and A

Question

How soon can I eat after taking Odimune?

I hear you say its advisable to take odimune (efavrienz+ FTC+ tenofovir) at bed time and its only taken on empty stomach, how long exactly should i stay away from food before taking it? The reason i am asking this is I can not starve the whole day before taking the tablet.

Answer

Saying that Odimune needs to be taken on an ’empty stomach’ doesn’t mean you need to starve yourself. It is fine to eat something before or when you take this, but you have to be careful to make sure this is not a high fat meal.

A high fat meal will increase levels of efavirenz and so you may get more side effects (mood changes, anxiety, disorientation or interrupted sleep etc). Food low in fat or with just a little fat, will be fine.

More about this is explained in this question: What happens if don’t take Atripla on an empty stomach?

Odimune is a generic version of Atripla which includes the same meds but is just made by a different company.

236 comments

  1. Bongi

    Am on Odimune just started a week ago, I would like to know if its okay to cut it in half so that I can swallow it better.

  2. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Lucky,

    You only need to take the one pill, please don’t take two.
    What you could do is finish what’s left of the Atenef and then begin the Odimune. Both of which are generic versions of Atripla. For more info, please see here:

    http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions

  3. lucky

    I started taking Atenef for 14 days and left with 14 tablets. Now I’ve been given Odimune. Should I continue taking both pills?

  4. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Gavin,

    Recommendations on how to take odimune can be found here:

    http://i-base.info/guides/1561

    Because you’ve been on odimune for a long time, if you don’t have side effects then you can take it at a time that suites you.

  5. Gavin

    I am on Arv’s for 5 years now. I usually take my ARV at 8pm and was advised by my doctor to take it the same time every night. If I only eat supper at after 8pm is it ok or must I eat supper before taking my ARV. I am using Odimune. Thanks

  6. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Lindi,

    The body mass increase isn’t anything to worry about because it isn’t much. The viral load result could be a blip. How long have you been on odimune for? What were you taking before?

  7. lindi

    Hi! Im 37yrs and i have been taking ARVs for 6yrs now, had no problems before up an till they changed me to odimune my body mass was50.1 now it’s 49 my hight is 5 feet tall cd4 800 my viral load increased from 00 to 190 why is that happening.help plz im worried

  8. Thulani

    Hi, is it fine to go to the toilet to poo 30 minutes after taking PEP or would that flush out the table you have just taken?

  9. Lisa Thorley

    Hi Thulani,

    Its perfectly fine to go to the bathroom once you’ve taken PEP. Going to the bathroom will not stop the meds from working.

  10. Simon Collins

    Hi Tyson, dont eat for 2 hours before. Then take Tribuss, but don’t eat for an hour or so afterwards. This is so you dont have a full stomach when the drugs are first absorbed in your stomach. Actually, food is okay, just not high fat food. Fat increases absorbption, so durg levesl are a bt higher and you are more likely to get side effects.

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