April 28, 2010Cate Sibley, Pharm.D.

What To Do If You Vomit After Taking Your Medication

What to do if you vomit after taking a medication?  This is definitely a tricky question which may lack a solid answer at times!

But first, if you’re in need of an answer for what to do if you vomit after taking a cholesterol medication, click here to read my post on this specific situation.

Anyhow, what do you do?  Check out my video below to find out!




Recap:

1.  If you vomit within 15 minutes of taking your medication, take the medication again…no matter what!

2.  If it has been 60 minutes or more since your dose, do not take another dose…it has probably gone past your stomach already.

3.  If it has been between 15 to 60 minutes, this is where it gets a little tricky.  Use your best judgement based on the medication you’re dealing with.  If the risk of not taking your medication again outweighs the risk of having too much of it, then definitely go ahead and redose yourself.

In most cases (or with most drugs), you want to be conservative and not retake the “lost” tablet, capsule, etc.  Take into consideration the toxicity of the drug, and watch my video again if need be!

And here are some posts about specific meds:

Cholesterol Medication and  Blood Pressure Medication

Hey, while you’re here, grab this FREE discount card to help you save money on your prescription medications!

Okay, shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions or concerns about this topic. Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com is where you can find me! Please remember that if it is an urgent question and you need an answer right away, call your local pharmacist or primary care provider for assistance.

Lastly, you can find this ultra helpful video course on how to save money on your prescription drugs by clicking here.

P.S. The video course is free and instantly accessible!

28 comments

  1. That advice was amazing since i was not aware what to do when my boy vomited after taking his medication.

  4. Thank you so much. Very useful info and saved me a call to the Dr. It can take hours for a call back these day.

  6. Thank you so much for your site. My dad is battling stage four prostate and is taking increased doses of pain medicine to combat the pain. He is very sick in the mornings and after throwing up his pill this morning, I consulted your site and am writing down your recap info. With sincere thanks and much appreciation.

  8. I vomited after 15 minutes of taking Meds
    I am concerned about when I can tale warfirin ,digoxin and topronol and toprol.

  9. I’ve currently got the flu and was looking for actual time lines that could be used; this is super helpful. Thanks!

  11. Thanks man. But i still get some question; can a vomitted drug be given back to the patient?

  13. This info was very helpful.
    I am a diabetic and take metformin among other medications. I know it uis supposed to be taken with food but I wanted to fast so I tried to fudgfe with coffee and creamer.
    About an hour later I began to feel nauseated and ended up throwing up. I am glad to know my pill stayed down.

  14. Thank you! This info is exactly what I needed. I had surgery a couple of days ago and am still having to take percocet at times when ibuprofen alone doesn’t cut it. I should’ve eaten before taking it this morning, but your information saved me from a call to the doctor, or a duplicate, unnecessary dose.

  15. This was extremely helpful! I had no idea what to do after I got sick, so I found and watched your video. Thank you so much for making and posting this video, it saved me from quite a bit of worrying.

  19. Thanks for the info! I’m on Bactrim right now and it makes me feel so nauseated. I’m trying to hold off vomiting for 60 minutes now.

  20. Thanks, finally an answer that gets to the point. I have gastroenteritis, vomiting like I never have before. I managed to go almost 3 hours after taking my Kadian 50 and was worried. Last thing I need is physical withdrawal, I’m already in a ton of pain with extra back spasms due to violent vomiting. Thanks so much for the info!

  21. This is the first post I have found that I feel is realistic and I can actually put trust in you because you have a pharmaceutical background. Thank you. I take ADHD medicine every morning and I take it by mouth but I have to take all my medication through my Jejunal tube. If I take a pill by mouth with water I vomit because I have severe gastroparesis and am on TPN and iv fluids daily because I cannot even digest water. There are only 2 pills I have to dry swallow. I have vomited a few times so quickly after that I’ve seen the meds and retaken them, but sometimes I wonder about two to four hours after when I probably will vomit from trying to eat or even from chewing gum….I see no pills, I still feel the same after I vomit, is it probably completely digested? Or how do 24 hour time release pills digest and still work around the clock? Thank you so much!

  22. Does this apply to acetaminophen? My daughter has a fever with vomiting and she threw up the Tylenol I gave her after just several minutes.

  23. Hi Audrey,

    Yes. Kids vomiting their meds happens quite a bit! If you are concerned that she didn’t vomit all of the medicine, you can give her a half dose.

    Hope this helps!

    Nova

    Nova Simpson,PharmD

  24. Thank you for the video and breakdown. I am so sick I could barely read straight what Siri recommended. It saved me from not taking and important medication, waiting on a response from the on-call Dr.

  25. Thank you very much. This video was very helpful. Was not sure what to do. Time frame was a concern and whether to redose or not. Pain medication was my delima
    Again thank you

  26. Thanks for this article- I took an antibiotic for bronchitis and puked 2 hours later – It’s good to know that I didn’t throw it up.

  27. Thanks my son has a cough and I gave him his claritan and didnt know if I should give it again.cough was from allergies and ashma so he really needed the meds.Thanks again for the info.

  28. Thank you for this helpful advice! I had taken my morning meds and then vomited just a few minutes ago.

    I had no idea whether I should take them all again or wait til tomorrow! Your answers were a huge help!

    Thanks again!

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