The importance of taking Ribavirin with fatty foods !

[copyman]

I thought this was important enough to post since some members here may be giving out the wrong information. Also people may confuse taking only Incivek  with fatty food and not the Ribavirin. It is just as important to take the Riba with fatty food. Since people take their riba and Incivek at the same time the fatty food will help both meds to be better absorbed.

Let me state this again. Ribavirin is better absorbed with a high fat meal. Like I said there are studies and proven data to back it up. Google " taking ribavirin with fat". Here is one example from PubMed, a well respected website:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1804105/

The component of the final population pharmacokinetic model that describes the absorption phase is complex. Although a standard meal did not affect ribavirin bioavailability (F1), administration of ribavirin with a high-fat meal increased bioavailability by 46% relative to the fasting state. A high-fat meal prolonged the duration of the zero-order input part of the absorption model, with D1 increasing from 0.498 h (fasting and standard meal) to 0.740 h. The type of meal also influenced the first-order input part of the absorption model (Table 1).

[lynda607]

Initially you did say "but for Riba to be effective it should be taken with just as much fat if not more then incivek."  I think that was the source for the back and forth debate..  20g of fat is not a little fat and no where in the FDA patient information does it specify that.

People who are on Incivek will benefit from the fat requirement if they dose ribavirin with the Incivek.  If they don't it isn't necessary to add an additional 20 g of fat or more with each ribavirn dose.  They can dose riba AM with Incivek and eat a non low fat meal PM and dose the ribavirin.  As long as they're eating with food that contains some fat and again, it doesn't have to be 20 g or more, they should be fine.

[copyman]

Agree with you about what the FDA requires on inserts. But don't believe everything you read on packet inserts. The same way every drug insert has "if you have liver damage consult your physician before using". Much of it is generic information.

No reason to go back and forth about this subject. There is "PROVEN" hard core data to back up absorption of ribavirin with fatty foods. Not sure what the big deal is.

As important as taking weight based riba is why not increase the chance of absorption by adding some fat when taking the dose.  Not saying you have to eat a cup of lard with it just a little fat.

[willing]

to  *really* increase bioavailabilty never mind  peanut butter - dissolve the tablets (they are water soluble) and inject them!

There is a  simple way to confirm whether you need to take your rbv pills with a given amount of fat: check the "Patient Information" section of  the package insert. The FDA tightly  regulates the language in the package insert that accompanies medication.

[can-do-man]

"actually, i've been told to take the Riba with 20 grams of fat per dose, which would be 60 grams per day..."

Since your doing Incivek and its taken three times a day where the riba is only taken twice a day it would be the incivek they are talking about as it does require 20 grams per dose.

Good luck starting tx, you will do fine.

[Magnum]

Still no one can explain to me why on my past four attempts since 1999, never was there mention by my Gastro, Hepatologist or manufacturer of fat embelishing the effect of Ribavirin absorption. After all, it's been around longer than that. Anyone?

[dreamcat]

actually, i've been told to take the Riba with 20 grams of fat per dose, which would be 60 grams per day... it is a lot, and i'm concerned about gaining unnecessary weight, but there are lots of "good" fats, i.e., avocados, smoothies with full fat organic yogurts and fruit, almond butter and/or peanut butter, organic granola (I make my own), organic eggs, etc.  I don't plan to eat fast food at all -- don't eat it now, don't intend to eat it just for the fat content...

it says on the label of my meds to take with food, and specifically, not low fat foods... my problem is going to be eating so early in the morning... i'm not a morning person and eating 30 minutes before taking the meds is going to be an adjustment for me... :(

wish me luck -- i start on Tuesday, with my first injection on Friday.... yea, i'll be a member of the Friday Night Dart Club...lol

we're all in this together, and I, for one, am so grateful I found this forum -- I've gained so much from everyone's experience, strength and hope... I'm truly inspired and hopeful... :)

Thanks, Karen