Question:
Bottle says to take with food

I started taking my Actigall, and the bottle has a sticker that says take with food. As a Post Op RNY patient, I am not supposed to drink with my food. I called the surgical follow up number, the girl says "Well take it with food". I had to explain that I am post op and not supposed to drink with my meals. She says just take enough to get it down. Isn't that still drinking with my meals?!?!? I don't feel like that really answered my concerns at all. So, anyone out there taking Actigall, know if I HAVE to take it with food, and why?    — YaYasMom (posted on July 22, 2003)

July 22, 2003
taking something WITH food, means that you need to eat directly before, during or after taking the pill. It should hurt nothing for you to take a sip of water with your pill and THEN eat. I don't take actigall, but take other meds and that's how we were instructed to do it. The reason for the food is to kind of protect the stomach from the medicine, otherwise you'll likely get a gut-ache. And some meds are better absorbed with food. Good luck!
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 22, 2003
Drinking enough to take medication will not hurt you. If a medication says to take with food, do it. There is a reason for that.
   — Patty_Butler

July 22, 2003
Hi Jennifer. I take my Actigall with my protein shake. For me a protein shake is just like a meal. Hope that helps you. Good luck
   — Regina J.

July 22, 2003
I took my actigall and my other pills with my meal, or immediately following, with just enough water to get it down. A few sips of water will not do any damage.
   — Fixnmyself

July 22, 2003
Jennifer, I was prescribed the Actigall too but not w/o side effects. As I was on other medications after my surgery that I had to take with food, my surgeon suggested that I swallow one capsule at a time (there were 3 total) with one small gulp of water to get it down and one gulp to push it along, wait 30 minutes then have one cup pureed Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup to keep it down and stop the associated nausea. After 3 days I continued to have side effects (severe cramping, pain radiating down my side and nausea) to the Actigall and it was discontinued. Fortunately, I have not had any problems since. As my gall bladder was healthy and w/o stones, my surgeon did not remove it. To date, after loosing 154 pounds, I still do not have any gall bladder problems. Good luck! Susan Kane
   — Susan K.

July 23, 2003
I was told that the sip of water it takes to get a pill down is not a big deal too, however one other suggestion I was given by the nurse was take it with Milk if I didn't want to take it with food. Just a suggestion and good luck Lori rny 10/02 269 pounds today:7/03 135 pounds
   — Lori M.

July 24, 2003
I am currently taking this med too. I will have to take it until mid-January. At first I was mixing it into applesauce or yogurt. It made them very bitter and gritty. I changed to breaking them open onto a spoon and pouring it into my mouth and taking a small sip of water to wash it down. I then ate my meal. It still tasted awful but at least I wasn't ruining my whole meal with it. I have now started swallowing the pill whole with a small sip of water and then eating. I am 4 weeks post-op open RNY. I was scared to try this because they were so huge but they go down just fine. Most of the time if the bottle says to take with food it's because the meds are very hard on your stomach. It could make it bleed or be very upset if not taken with food. Med directions are nothing to fool with. Try these things and wait til you are about 4 weeks out then try taking it whole. Life is much better once you can. Good luck!
   — Kathy J.

July 28, 2003
Try taking it literally with your food, that's what I do. Chew a bite of food like normal, then right before you swallow toss the pill in, then swallow the food and pill all at once. It takes a little getting used to because we're so in the habit of taking pills with water. Works like a charm for me as drinking and eating make things feel "weird" inside. Just wish I had figured this trick out sooner because I struggled with the same thing you are for months. Hope this helps.
   — C T.