Medication Timing

[rosco 2]

Good morning. I take 3 meds - reluctantly - metformin SR 1000mg od; ramipril od; statin od. I took these at dinner but GP seemed to be puzzled as to my choice. After forgetting to take the meds a number of times, I changed to taking them with first food of the day. Only snag seems to be fasting glucose reading is inevitably higher. Anyone have a view on what might be best choice? Thanks.

 

[JohnEGreen]

I normally take metformin with or immediately after breakfast, am not on ramipril so don't know and statins I thought were supposed to be taken at night before bed, Well thats what it says on my box anyway. Sorry can't be of more help.

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @rosco 2, I am unsure whether your GP recommended a change in dose time for these medications or just commented about it.
First perhaps look at the drug information pamphlet of each medication, or equivalent on line, and see what is the recommended time of day for each medication. Then you have a choice of following that advice and then discussing things like your comparative fasting BSL with your GP.

 

[steveis36]

Ive only recently started takeing my Gliclazide 15-20min before beakfast
And it seems to work but ..
This might sound mad but i have to watch my excersise as my bloods would drop from say 13- 6 or 10-3 within 15mins of excersise

 

[rosco 2]

Thank you all for your replies. The ramipril suggests evening ingestion to prevent issues of low blood pressure. This is not an issue for me. The statin and metformin both require regular times, no time instructed. I want to take all 3 at same time to prevent forgetting. Was just concerned that it clearly meant higher fasting bg in the morning. I wondered what other strategies people use that’s all.

 

[JohnEGreen]

I take all my meds at one go at or just after breakfast except for the statins which the instructions say to take at night though I take them only three times a week.

 

[Energize]

@rosco 2
I'm on Ramipril too but have never heard of taking it in the evening so I decided to check this out. It found this and, to me, it sounds very sensible -

"You may be advised to take your first dose before bedtime, because it can make you dizzy. After the very first dose, you can take ramipril at any time every day. Try to take it at the same time every day."

As it lowers blood pressure, it could be that your initial dose may cause you to feel dizzy, or even faint if extreme drop, hence it would be safer if you were in bed After that, it seems normal to take such medication in the morning so as to be effective when you need it most.

Hope this helps clarify re Ramipril

Re Statins, I believe taking at bedtime is because your liver does something overnight to do with cholestol. I've forgotten the details but understand there is a logical physiological reason