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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Sustiva never being digested
May 6, 2008
I take truvada & sustiva.I have noticed the sustiva pill competely intake in my stool it never disolved in my sysytem ,I take it on empty stomach and drink alot of water ,now I chew it up and swallow any reason or what can I do to prevent the whole pill from never being digested besides chewing it ?
Response from Dr. McGowan
I can understand your concern about this situation. I would consider a couple of things. Are you having significant diarrhea? Rapid transit of food/liquids through the intestines might cause the pills to pass quickly. Along the same lines bowel surgery that entailed removal of sections of the intestines can cause poor absorption and diarrhea. Are you on any other medications? There are certain medicines for high blood pressure and diabetes that have pills that do not fully dissolve. The medication is meant to leak out of them slowly. If so, you might be confusing one of those tablets with the Sustiva. Is your viral load fully suppressed (undetectable), if so it would make it less likely that the medication is not being absorbed. There is nothing available from the company that makes Sustiva about the effectiveness of chewing the tablet, but we have crushed it and given it in the hospital and it should be OK to do that. I cannot tell you about the taste. I think you should discuss these issues with your medical provider. The critical issue is to be sure that your viral load is suppressed.
Best,
Joe
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