Question
What does "with food" mean for darunavir/ritonavir?
15 March 2009. Related: All topics.
Hi! Im on ritonivir/darunavir/Truvada, which I take twice a day (Truvada only once per day),12hrs apart and always with food.
I take this at 7am and 7pm without fail and always with food.
I find the 7am dose very restrictive if I want a long lie, etc. I want to move my times to 9am and 9pm.
Can you please tell me what ‘with food’ is classed as? I will start having breakfast at 9am but don’t know what I should eat at the 9pm dose as I will already have eaten dinner and don’t really like to eat that late.
My Dr is slightly baffled too as he doesn’t really know what they class as ‘with food’.
Can you help with this please? I have looked on the internet but there is no clear guidance!
Thanks.
Answer
A friend of mine calls the combinations with dietery requirement ‘antisocial’. Now I know what he means :)
Here is what the package insert in the US says:
Hi Svilen, I’m on boosted Reyataz, tenofovir and Combivir. I rarely take my combo on an empty stomach, but rather wait half an hour or more after a dessert before taking them. If I take them straight after eating, the food doesn’t stay down too long!! This is probably a psychological thing rather than anything intrinsic with the meds.
Michael
This is generally the advice when you are on Atripla-once undetectable and so for a while, you may start skipping the food. It may not be exactly the same with the PIs. Which combination do you take?
I absolutely hate taking my meds with food, and always throw up when I have attempted to in the past. I have been advised that it is not essential to have this dietary component once undetectable has been reached. I always feel slightly guilty / anxious about this, but I would rather risk the consequences (less absorption, less predictable pharmacodynamics) than miss doses because of bad reactions.
What are other peoples experiences with this issue?