Hi. My surgeon just prescribed Carafate and I'm wondering if I should wait one hour before drinking anything, or if that is just for eating? Thanks!!

Dr. Google says to take it on an empty stomach. It sounds like it repairs ulcers on contact so maybe consume nothing an hour before or after to avoid washing it out of your stomach too soon. You can also call your local pharmacy, they know more than the doctors a lot of times about the proper way to take meds.

Thanks, Ed_NW. I Agree. Didn't want to wash it out of my stomach! I waited an hour to drink.

I took sucralfate (generic) and they were huge. I was told I could dissolve it in a little warm water and drink it. I took it on an empty stomach and was told to wait one half hour before eating.

I took sucralfate (generic) and they were huge. I was told I could dissolve it in a little warm Water and drink it. I took it on an empty stomach and was told to wait one half hour before eating.

Thanks, Gabybab. Mine is a liquid, so no worries there. Did you have ulcers?

I take Carafate. I always try to take on an empty stomach and not eat/drink for about 30 min afterward.

Also, I have discovered that it is more effective if you dissolved it and take it as a slurry rather than a whole, intact tablet.

That's what I have to do, Silver Scripts is too dang cheap to authorize liquid for me, everybody complains about their health insurance , deal me into that poker game, I'll tell you how my Medicare part D people treat me and my peer group!

1 hour ago, Briswife15 said:

Thanks, Gabybab. Mine is a liquid, so no worries there. Did you have ulcers?

I had an endoscopy. They found gastritis.

I would ask your surgeon how he wants to handle it, as it is difficult to effectively take early on when we are often eating and drinking very frequently. Drinking will wash it away as well as eating, so you have a conflict between taking the Carafate and staying hydrated (hydration is probably more important still at this point)

I was prescribed it a couple of years ago and asked the doc (not my surgeon - this would be several years post op) if it really made any sense to take it an hour (or whatever) after a meal and then nothing for x hours as I eat 5-6 meals a day and drink all the time in between. We agreed it made the most sense to just take it over night.

Collectively, you need to figure out the best compromise to get the desired results from conflicting requirements.