Grapefruit + Pristiq

[chrissy1955]

Why are you not supposed to eat grapefruit while taking the medication Pristiq?

[nursegirl6572]

This is a really good question!  Grapefruit and grapefruit juice actually are contraindicated with many medications...from cardiac drugs, meds for hypertension, antidepressants.  It's always good to ask your doc or Pharmacist what common interactions a medication has, both for other meds and food.

Without getting overly technical, grapefruit affects the ability of a certain part of the intestine to metabolize certain medications.  Therefore, it results in increased levels of the medication in the system.  This is the most common effect grapefruit products have on meds, but there are a few medications (not AD's) where the opposite is true, and a person ends up with a REDUCED level of medication in their system.

The severity of the consequences of the effects of grapefruit products on meds are not fully understood, however, it is advised with certain medications to simply avoid it.  The impaired ability of the body to metabolize certain meds results in an increased plasma concentration of the drug, which can lead to potential concerns.

Always ask your doc about things that you should avoid with ANY medication!!!

Hope this helped a bit!

[freddie8605]

Grapefruit can decrease the amount of food or medication absorbed by the body. I believe that is why you are not meant to have grapefruit with a heap of different medications including most anti-depressants, though i am not a doctor but that is what i was told, so correct me if i am wrong. It depends on how the medication is digested and how it works within the body, i think that's why some medications and not others. If you want more information ask your doctor next time you see them. But i think it just means you wont get the full amount of medication you take when you have a grapefruit including the juice.

Freddie

[looloo141]

I have not researched the grapefruit vs Pristiq issue but I know that Grapefruit potentiates a lot of meds, like painkillers and it can have harmful reactions.

[RainLover71]

The best advice i can give you is to google grapefruits and medication,there is so much information on the subject and it,s very important you read it because the interraction between the 2 could be very dangerous.All the best.