I’m on a couple of medications that are supposed to be taken with food. I usually have a low-carb protein shake in the morning to take the pills and then a bullet proof coffee to add some fat.
But what should I do when I want to fast? I did a 48 hour fast but with the protein shake and coffee. I’d like to try a stricter fast, but I’m not sure what to do about the meds.
Any suggestions?
@jdsomsky
I just did an experiment to see how it would go to take my medications and supplements with only my morning coffee plus ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream in it, at 9am. Then did a 24 hr fast, with only teas, water based non caloric type drinks, some bone broth near the end with a pat of butter in it.
All seemed to go fine! I was trying not to have protein, just fat in anything, since fat has the least affect on insulin levels. Now I want to try extending it to 36 hours, yet still have my medications and supplements each day by doing this:
First day at 9am: coffee and cream and pills.
All the usual drinks (non caloric), and maybe bone broth, til the next day at 9pm, when I have a light meal and that day’s pills.
And if you count the 8 hours before the morning coffee and cream, that would make the fasts even longer.
For those of us who NEED to take pills with “food”, we can get creative with how we juggle timing, and still get the benefits from shorter fasts. 
Oh, and when the hunger came, it sure didn’t last very long. Swigging tea or just waiting it out worked just fine, til right at the very end, when I sat and watched the clock, ha ha!
John, this is a great question…but, I think best discussed with your doctor. Fasting in itself is already a bit tricky for starters without any medication involved. Your doctor may have to make adjustments to dosage.
Agreed and I would only add that you ask your doctor if fat-only foods such as heavy cream or butter are acceptable, or a mixed whole food like an avocado since avocados seem to be acceptable for fat-fasting.
Some medicines are taken with food so they don’t upset your stomach and others because they won’t be absorbed properly without the active digestion of food, etc. and only your doctor will know your options.
I have the same question, esp. since I take a prescripton NSAID anti-inflammatory twice daily for arthritis pain. What I’ve been doing is eating a teaspoon of butter with it, or having my broth with it. So far no issues but would like to find out more.
On the podcast “Fasting Talk”, Megan Ramos (who works with Dr. Fung) suggested eating a small green salad to take meds when fasting.
I’ve been experimenting with this issue too. The problem I find is, if the experiment fails, the nausea and stomach discomfort (low level pain/pressure) can’t be alleviated and it takes an hour or more for the symptoms to go away. I take 800 mg of ibuprofen twice a day. 1/2 c of steamed broc or cauli with some butter & salt is enough to take the medicine without issues BUT it breaks the fasting. Avocados or olives might work but I can’t make myself eat them. I’ve tried bone broth too but that isn’t “enough” protection. I’ve tried a tablespoon of coconut oil blended into coffee but that didn’t protect my stomach either. I’ve thought about trying bulletproof coffee or tea with more than one tablespoon of fats in it but I thought that would prevent weight loss since I’d have to burn off two big doses of BPC twice a day before I would even start on my body fat. My doctor isn’t much help since he still thinks a calorie is a calorie (I will be showing him otherwise!).
Ultimately, I hope significant weight loss and a lack of refined carbs will take enough load and inflammation off my knees and make the ibuprofen unnecessary.
In the meantime, I am open to trying other hacks around this issue. Thanks!
For me the main issue was Metformin which helps regulate your blood sugar. When I’m fasting my blood sugar is low enough that I don’t need The Metformin, so I skip it on fasting days.
I just got on metformin and have the same problem. I have been fasting since Sunday and I figured eating some fat with the meds would be fine. I had 4-5 olives, a tbsp of coconut oil and 1/2 an ounce of pecans. I think it was 1gm of protein total, but almost 200 calories. I am fasting for autophagy so want to keep protein really low.
I have done this the last two days and haven’t had any tummy problems.
Since you said the pain is due to inflammation, I thought I’d share how I got off painkillers.
My knees are “bone on bone”. Very painful. Plus joint and muscle pain due to other conditions. For years I was on OTC stuff like you; then had to up it to prescription strength painkillers.
I finally started switching to natural anti-inflammatories; had a crossover period taking both prescription and natural stuff, until the natural got into my system enough that I started slowly weaning off the opioids. From Vicodin, down to Hydrocodone, down to Tramadol, and now maybe one or two Tramadol a month, at most. Some months none.
I take several things that have an anti-inflammatory effect on me, since they seem to have a synergistic effect:
Turmeric capsules - recently experimenting with Golden Milk, a warm turmeric tea.
Omega 3 Krill oil capsules
MSM capsules
Vit D3
COQ10
Joint Care formula, with glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, MSM and a couple of other things (from Swanson Vitamins)
Boswellia & Curcumin mix, capsule
Probiotics
It took awhile to feel the difference. And when I would start to doubt it made any difference and got lazy and stopped some of them, the pain came rushing back in 3 or 4 days! This happened a few times (I’m hard to convince) and I finally am a believer. 
You might find you need a different combination of anti-inflammatory supplements, or something else your doctor might recommend, but it was worth it to me to try. The heavy duty stuff was tearing up my stomach, sending me to the emergency room more than once with bouts of gastritis (had holes eaten into my stomach lining).
The best prices with decent quality I’ve found is online from Swanson Vitamins, in case you are interested and need a source.
My best to you!
PS: I cracked up over what you said about your doctor not being any help, still thinking a calorie is a calorie. Yup… every single Doc I’ve asked for help from was in the same camp. So… I come here.
You might want to consider the benefits of powdered Ginger capsules for both pain and for stomach healing. The medicinal potential of Ginger has been compared to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID’s). Common examples of NSAID’s include Ibuprofin (Advil, Motrin), and Aspirin. Ginger, like the NSAID’s, inhibits the enzymes cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 which are related to pain.
Ginger has also been shown to help reduce blood sugar levels and help regulate insulin response in people with diabetes - so it may be an ally an on during fasting in some conditions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4277626/
I’ve taken it for severe inflammatory pain (a shoulder injury, bursitis) in lieu of prescription strength Ibuprofin, and it worked great!!! I never touched the Ibuprofin again once I started the Ginger. The plus side is that Ginger is much kinder on the liver.
But not only that - Ginger is a fantastic digestive aid while undergoing the enzyme changes of one’s first year of keto (am almost at end of month 8). My body is still adjusting its enzyme levels and good digestive power helps the absorption process of so many nutrients - so whenever I feel bloatey or am eating a dairy-heavy meal, I take a capsule. The phenolic compounds in ginger are known to help relieve gastrointestinal (GI) irritation, stimulate saliva and bile production, and suppress gastric contractions as food and fluids move through the GI tract. And it has beneficial effects on the enzymes trypsin and pancreatic lipase, and increasesmotility through the digestive tract.
It’s also wonderful for general circulation.
Amazingly, Ginger capsules are quite affordable (I use Nature’s Way brand, $8 for 180). Dosage is 1 capsule 2x a day.
More info here:
J Med Food. 2005 Summer;8(2):125-32. “Ginger-an herbal medicinal product with broad anti-inflammatory actions.” Grzanna R, Lindmark L, Frondoza CG.
Thanks so much! You should share your success with the providers who are trying to get people off opioids. My knees are “bone on bone” too but I hope, when I can water fast, autophagy and renewal will help. I like your approach of crossing over by taking both your standard meds and the supplements for a while then slowing weaning the meds.
Can all of the supplements be taken on an empty stomach? Do you take the label dosage? Do you take all of them daily?
Thanks so much! I will definitely try ginger capsules. I’ll borrow from Retta and take both the meds & ginger together for a while and then wean off the meds.
So far, I haven’t figured out how to fast past 36 hours and still get my supplements in daily. If I skip days, I end up losing the pain control effect.
What I’m trying now is:
Day 1 - Pills with food in AM. Fast through next day until PM, when I take Day 2 Pills with food again in the evening. Then can repeat, or wait a day and repeat, whatever works out for my schedule.
What I’m thinking is that maybe in time, when there is improvement pain wise, maybe I can skip a supplement dose once a week, yet retain the anti-inflammatory benefits.
As far as dosage… I guess it’s experimental for each of us. For instance, I started with label dosing on most things, and increased if I felt it was not strong enough. The Vit D was adjusted up after a blood test. The rest just according to pain levels. Took me several months of experimenting, but was worth the effort.
Everyone always cautions to talk with your doctor. Yes. If they have a clue. But mine didn’t. So… I did a boatload of research and went from there. I read up on each and every thing before I took it, taking into account my own medical history.
I’ve tried to take the supplements on an empty stomach. But for me, it doesn’t work. Too many stomach issues to risk it. Others might be okay with that. Or maybe doing like Megan Ramos once mentioned in a podcast, and take them with some gelled chia seeds as a buffer.
Hope this helps.
Well, like I said earlier, it’s unique to each persons needs. It’s hard to make a recommendation for another person.
I started off taking the recommended dose on the labels. It takes several weeks for the natural stuff to really take effect (so I’ve read, and personally experienced) so I waited to increase until I was sure. Being on a fixed income, I can’t waste money, so only increase things I was sure I needed. And dropped things that didn’t seem to work for me. That’s one reason I usually only make one change at a time, so as to be able to tell if that one thing works or not.
My Vit D levels had tanked (lowest was 18), so that one is now 2000 IU daily (being in a wheelchair, I don’t get much sun). And I found the MSM was a good anti-inflammatory for me, so take 2000 mg daily. The rest is daily, by label doses.
The best one for me has been curcumin. I actually get it in 3 ways. One pill has 500 mg of curcumin, and I take one of those daily. Another is Boswellia & Curcumin, and has 300 mg of each, and I take one daily.
And the last way is when I remember to make my “Golden Milk” drink in the evening. You make a sort of tea from turmeric paste. Surprised me how good it tastes. Has turmeric, black pepper (helps to activate the turmeric), a little cream, cinnamon, vanilla, coconut oil and stevia. Anyway, there are a lot of articles on the internet telling about the benefits. Just google Golden Milk, or Turmeric paste. Actually is cheaper than the capsules, just more of a hassle to make than popping a pill. 
I’ve heard of it! I’m going to try some of this (in fact much of it!) - I’d love getting off another med (or more!).
Hello
I am surviving cancer (GIST) but related to wife: she changed to low dose Diclofenac 75 mg previously her dose 4 x 800 daily now Diclofenac dose or 1x75mg. used for her knee neck pain .
But online note the pill only prescription…
I have used a anti- nausea pill for me but have been affective for gleveec but I have no issue. I fast 24hr most or 20/4 bpc eat 1pm. I am supprised you have not gotten any relief from (IF ) fast I have tons of relief knees sholder retired navy . And when the sugar beast comes I feel it bad next 2.3 days joint pain. Another related check the hidden sugars maybe it would aleviate the pain a little or make it better manageable …
