# Take With Food / Take on an Empty Stomach: What makes the difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542 "2005-05-05T15:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/1 "2005-05-05T15:53:06Z")
I’m on two different medications, one that is supposed to be taken on an empty stomach and one that should be taken with food. 1. How soon after a meal is my stomach empty enough to take the no-food pill? If I still feel full after a meal I ate, say, an hour ago, does that count as taking it with food? How do I know when my stomach’s empty enough? How soon after I take the no-food pill can I eat? 2. Why do some medications need to be taken with food and some without? What happens if I take the Allegra-D (the empty stomach one) with food? (I’m not going to try it, but is it just less effective or will it make me nauseous?) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/2 "2005-05-05T16:12:58Z")
I’m not sure about the without food drugs (though no doubt, QtM will find this thread shortly and explain it all much better then I), but some of the with food drugs (ie NSAIDs particulalry Naproxen can really tear up your stomach and cause some nasty heart burn, I think the food helps ‘dilute’ it or at least slow down the rate at which it disolves. Also I think somethings like vitamins are just better absorbed with food. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/3 "2005-05-05T16:24:23Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > I’m not sure about the without food drugs (though no doubt, QtM will find this thread shortly and explain it all much better then I), but some of the with food drugs (ie NSAIDs particulalry Naproxen can really tear up your stomach and cause some nasty heart burn, I think the food helps ‘dilute’ it or at least slow down the rate at which it disolves. Also I think somethings like vitamins are just better absorbed with food. Just to add, drinking more water don’t help either. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/4 "2005-05-05T16:34:58Z")
The vet said my dog’s liver pills won’t work if he dosen’t take them on an empty stomach, so we’ve had to entirely change the way we feed him; used to just leave a dish out all day, and now we don’t let him eat at night, give him a pill, and then don’t let him eat in the morning either. The vet said he can’t eat for an hour after the pills either, for what it’s worth. I do realize you’re not an aging terrier. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/5 "2005-05-05T16:35:07Z")
In some cases ingredients in the food can interefere with the drug in some way. For example, I take synthroid, which is supposed to be taken an hour before meals or two hours afterward. Some things, particularly calcium, would make it less effective. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/6 "2005-05-05T16:55:22Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > If I still feel full after a meal I ate, say, an hour ago, does that count as taking it with food? When I had my wisdom teeth removed, I was given a prescription for some high-dose ibuprofen. It was marked “Take with food”. I had eaten about a half hour ago, and didn’t feel hungry, so I figured I was OK to take it. I wasn’t. It made me throw up. Every time I took that medicine after that, I took it with a meal, and had no problems. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/7 "2005-05-05T17:44:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I do realize you’re not an aging terrier. Now, now, don’t assume too much. After all, the old saying goes, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re an aging terrier.” Or something like that. The medication I have to take with food is Accutane. (Lovely side effects, by the way.) I don’t know if it would be less effective if I took it without food. I do know it’s a pain in the ass to take both these medicines with a constantly varying schedule. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-with-food-take-on-an-empty-stomach-what-makes-the-difference/302542/8 "2005-05-06T04:54:56Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > Now, now, don’t assume too much. After all, the old saying goes, “On the internet, nobody knows you’re an aging terrier.” Or something like that. > > The medication I have to take with food is Accutane. (Lovely side effects, by the way.) I don’t know if it would be less effective if I took it without food. I do know it’s a pain in the ass to take both these medicines with a constantly varying schedule. That’s strange, I didn’t remember taking accutane with food. (oh and BTW the timing on Accutane was terrible, started it during a Wisconsin winter and ended it in a Wisconsin summer, with a few days jet skiing in Florida. I really had no idea that humans could shed. It’s fun being in class and literly tearing half the skin off of your lip and having what felt like a pint of blood pouring out behind it.)