De-worming with albendazole

[wpcoe]

For over ten years, I've been in the routine of taking a course of albendazole (400mg daily, usually three days, sometimes six) about every six months to cover the possibility of having acquired intestinal parasites.

I recall at least twice at the pharmacy the person behind the counter telling me to take two tabs (@200mg) daily at bedtime, so I've been sure to take on an empty stomach and not to eat for several hours after. (My sleep habits might be worthy of another discussion...)

Out of boredom I was googling albendazole today, and found almost universal advice to take albendazole with meals.

I know sometimes medication is prescribed to not be taken on an empty stomach to avoid an upset stomach, but for albendazole several sites specifically mentioned eating fatty foods, which leads me to believe the interaction with the food is important.

Does this mean the effectiveness of all those tablets I chewed was less than necessary to clean out parasites? If so, how much less?

[oncearugge]

Full info in the link.

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a610019.html

[wpcoe]

I'm still left wondering how effective if my past dosages were, since they were taken with no food, much less with fatty food (which other sites mentioned.)

[oncearugge]

I'm still left wondering how effective if my past dosages were, since they were taken with no food, much less with fatty food (which other sites mentioned.)

I have no idea !

Do you actually have "worms" that have been identified in a medical laboratory ?

[wpcoe]

No, it's a precautionary program. I eat a fair amount of Thai food cooked to questionable standards but mainly it's the quality of water that flows from my condo faucets. I only drink bottled water, but I have concerns about the water I wash my dishes in and/or water that gets in my eyes/mouth in the shower. I've sighted the tanker trucks that fill our building's water tanks at roadside with their hoses sucking up mucky water from roadside ponds. The filter cartridges for my kitchen faucet -- I filter cooking water -- are absolutely gross after a few weeks.

So, I just like to think I'm cleaning out any "potential" parasites on a regular basis.

[Sheryl]

The absorption is higher when taken with food and much higher when taken with fatty foods. However there will still be some effectiveness even on an empty stomach.

I really would not worry about this in the absence of any clinical signs, just in future take with food.

[wpcoe]

Thanks, Sheryl. I was hoping it was something like that.

I need to really think when grocery shopping now to buy fatty foods. For so many years I've trained myself to avoid them.

[cdnvic]

You can eat fats in a healthy manner. It's just a matter of shopping smart and doing a little research.

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/choosing-healthy-fats.htm

Or you can cut yourself some slack and use it as an excuse for a piece of cake.