Can you swallow a tablet/pill but have it pass undigested, thus having no effect?
Yes. This is quite possible.Medication pills are a mixture of active ingredients and some excipient (like starches, cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, gelatin etc.) to prolong shelf life and to prevent denaturation/ disintegration of the active molecule on exposure to air.The pills where the active ingredient is weakly basic (with ammonia group) typically get absorbed in presence of stomach acid (pH<3.0). There are only few of these (like amoxicillin, immediate release metoprolol, allopurinol) and controlled release or other chemical preparations available for all major compounds to circumvent the need for dependence on pH/ stomach acid.In the controlled release formulations, the active ingredient is stored in a somewhat water insoluble matrix material (glassy hydrogels or hydrophilic guar-gum) or the drug is encased inside a partially soluble membrane to allow slow continuous release, all the way up to the large colon.If a person has had a gastric bypass procedure (where the transit time in the gastrointestinal time is very short) or has any other cause of small bowel diarrhea (foul smelling, fatty diarrhea within minutes of having a meal), then there are good chances that the pills may not have had enough time to disintegrate and are being passed whole in the bowel movements. This can be seen more commonly with the long release formulations which need more time to disintegrate.In absence of diarrhea, this can happen if the pills have become expired (the excipient or the inactive ingredient can become altered and may not allow the active drug to be released).If there is a concern for non-absorption of pills, you could try switching to the syrup or capsule form of the medication. If no syrup form available, then discuss with your physician to see if there is any IV (intravenous) alternative.
How long does it take for an Excedrin pill to start working? What about two?
Usually 30-60+ minutes. Your stomach needs to start digesting the medication so it'll get in your blood stream before it starts to work.
Can laying down after taking medicine (pill form) affect the digestion process?
Yes, it can. Your stomach is positioned LEFT of the midline of the abdomen. If you lay on your LEFT side, contents will therefore tend to pool in the stomach like a hammock and have to fight gravity to empty (which is what you want to do to get the drug into the intestines.) If you lay on your RIGHT side, contents will drain from the stomach, like flipping the hammock upside down, and will be assisted by gravity to empty. Laying flat on your back or your stomach is neutral to these effects. So...if you want to take a drug, lay down, and have it enter your system as quickly as possible.... 1) Always take it on an empty stomach. There are drugs that are gastric irritants that should be taken with food to act as a buffer, but aside from those, empty stomach is preferred. 2) Always take it with water. Not milk, OJ, soda, etc. Their alkaline (milk) or acidic (Orange juice, soda) pH's may interfere. 3) Lay on your RIGHT side if you are laying down. Source: I am a pharmacist.
Why should we not lie down after taking medicines?
From a physiological aspect the reason it is not safe to take medication when being supine is due to the fact of a loss of gravity to help propel the medications down your esophagus. then when you add the liquid to facilitate passage of the medication you increase the risk for chocking or aspiration. In addition when in a supine position there is a tendency for the medication to become hung up so to speak along the length of the esophagus. This can even happen with liquid forms of medication if thick enough. The only difference here is that it is easier to aspirate a liquid rather than a tablet assuming your swallow reflex is not compromised. In addition there is a specific medication that should be always administered in a sitting position due to the GI side effects it can cause. These are the bisphosphonates such as Fosamax which can cause cause serious injury to the distal esophagus if taken anyway but sitting upright. for 30 minutes after taking the medication.
Can I continue taking my Alli pills while I do a colon cleanse? Its just a bunch of vitamins?
No, you are wasting them, they only work to prevent the absorption of a certain amountof fat (as per directions). They do not act on any other foods/drinks. Colon cleanse is a waste of money - holistic diarrhoea, you lose water sweght, soon regained. A study of the living human anatomy reveals that the colon is at no time dirty or clogged. While there are medical conditions that interfere with organ function and prevent the body from clearing toxins, healthy people already have a built-in detoxification system — the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin, says Moloo. And by attempting to flush out the “bad stuff” from our intestines, Sandon warns, you're also "flushing out the good bacteria that keep the intestines healthy.”
I threw my doxycycline up thirty minutes after taking it. Should I be concerned that it isn't going to work now?
I think your question is whether or not oral doxycycline would take effect within thirty minutes. The answer, like many in medicine, is it depends. However, it seems as though your average stomach emptying time takes anywhere from 1-2 hours (source: Human gastrointestinal tract, and that you only give activated charcoal if someone presents within 2 hours of ingestion), so you probably threw up some of the medication.I'm unsure of whether doxycycline is time-dependent or concentration-dependent or both. I'm also unsure of whether you actually threw up the pill. You should probably just take your next pill the next day. If you find vomiting is a common side effect of taking doxycycline, go and see your doctor for other options (like azithromycin).Re: other responses -- Zithromax is azithromycin. EDIT: it seems like the question was changed. Originally the question was whether he/she should be concerned, and I believe Amy Merideth's response was stating that azithromycin was another option.
How many minutes does it take for a pill to reach the stomach?
It depends on the design of the drug. While most drugs are designed to release into the bloodstream immediately. There are some modified release drugs - Extended release, delayed release, etc.Chapter 17. Modified-Release Drug Products
Can we take medicine with hot water?
A cup of hot water with a pill to drink directly, is the usual practice of many people to drink medicine, in fact, it is likely to make some of the effect of some medicine discount.Living bacteria preparation drugs commonly used lactasinum biofermin (contains live im streptococcus), the whole bowel (containing bacillus licheniformis), gold dichotomous (including bifidobacterium and lactobacillus acidophilus and enterococcus) drugs such as live oral bacteria preparation.These live bacteria are afraid of light, not to be wet, not heat-resistant, not suitable for hot water. In addition, the live vaccine drugs, such as polio sugar pills containing poliomyelitis live attenuated, take these medicine can lead to a vaccine inactivated with hot water, and reduce or lose the immune body, prevention of infectious diseases, so should use cold water to sendDigestive drugs: such as pepsin mixture and trypsin, all contain digestive enzymes.Enzyme is a kind of active protein, unstable when it is heated, it solidifies degeneration, the failure in the above 70 ℃ environment. So this kind of drugs, the general use of around 40 ℃ warm water.Herbal medicine: it has the function of clear heat, diarrhea, cold blood, detoxification, etc. It is used for internal heat, fire, damp and heat, and plague, etc., etc., such as qingwan, ox huang detoxification tablets, etc.According to traditional Chinese medicine, hot water delivery can increase the effectiveness of heat treatment drugs.In addition to the above-mentioned three types of drugs, there is also a class of dosage forms that are not suitable for hot water delivery, such as capsules, such as norfloxacin capsules, vitamin E capsules, etc.Capsules made of gelatin, soluble in acid, encapsulate medicine are mostly has stimulation to the gastric mucosa, or easily destroyed by digestive juice decomposition, some is sustained-release capsules, swallow to complete efficacy into full play.The hot water delivery will make the capsule's shell easy to advance and reduce the potency or irritation.