Question
How soon can I eat after taking Odimune?
21 August 2012. Related: Adherence, All topics.
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.
Hi again Swazi,
Please see our Pregnancy FAQs and let me know if you have questions after reading these.
Hi ,I want to find out if I wanna fall pregnant what should my cd4 count be and is t safe to fall pregnant while I’m positive?my cd4 count now is 729 with a viral load of 205
Hi Gugu,
As with any symptoms it’s important to talk to your doctor about this. Whether this is caused by odimune or is unrelated it’s important that any breathing problems are looked into.
Hi
I take Odimune too and its been a two weeks taking them and wherever I breath in its very hard and painfull but I had this problem before but now its worse,do u think odimune made it worse?
Hi Mkhululi,
Lots of medicines have recommendations about whether or not to take them with food. With Odimune- or any medicines that include efavirenz- you shouldn’t take them at the same time as a high fat meal, or two hours after this. This is because a high fat meal can increase the amount of efavirenz your body absorbs by up to 60%. This isn’t dangerous, but it can make side effects worse. I hope the information in the question above is useful, but please let me know if you have any questions about this.
I was always confused about this empty stomach as my GP never told me about it, all i know you can’t take any medication on empty stomach.
Hi Celiwe,
The reason why most people prefer to take Odimune at night is because they find this makes side effects (like dizziness or mood changes) easier to deal with. It’s fine to take Odimune in the morning if this works better in your lifestyle but do be aware of any side effects. It’s also important to remember not to take Odimune with a high fat meal, as this can make side effects more difficult.
Is it wrong to take odimune in the morning? I find it hard to adhere if I have to take it at night.
Hi Bongiwe,
Are you pregnant right now, and do you know what your CD4 count is? This information will help me to give you a more accurate answer to your questions. Both Odimune and Purbac are used in HIV positive women in pregnancy, although there may be some caution against using purbac if you do not have a low CD4 count. You can read more about the safety of pubac during pregnancy here.
If you think you have genital warts please report this to your doctor as this will need to be treated.
Hi, please tell me if is it safe to take Odimune and Purbac Double Strength while pregnant? And again what is the reaon of developing genital warts.