“How much food is required hen taking ibuprofen 800?”

The recommendation to take ibuprofen with food was intended to protect people from gastrointestinal adverse events, such as dyspepsia, or more serious events such as gastrointestinal bleeding. Although research has shown aspirin to be associated with higher rates of adverse events and gastric irritation there is no evidence that taking occasional, intermittent doses of OTC NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, produce higher event rates. In addition, there is no convincing evidence that taking NSAIDs with food prevents side effects.

However taking ibuprofen with food increases the time it takes for ibuprofen to be absorbed, although it won't affect how much is absorbed. There is actually no evidence that taking ibuprofen with food prevents gastric irritation.

The risk of gastric irritation has more to do with other risk factors that may be present, such as:

Older age (>65 years)
Use of other medications that also increase gastric irritation, such as aspirin, SSRI antidepressants (eg, citalopram, fluoxetine), anticoagulants (such as warfarin or dabigatran), or prednisone
Alcohol use
Higher dosages of ibuprofen (more than 1200mg/day), including prescription dosages (this increases the risk 2 to 3 fold)
Duration of ibuprofen use
Helicobacter pylori infection
History of smoking
Previous history of gastric ulcers, bleeding ulcers, or GERD
Recent surgery
Serious other medical conditions, such as chronic inflammatory bowel disease, liver or kidney disease, cancer, or diabetes.

Assuming you're otherwise healthy (no history of ulcers or kidney disease), a full meal usually means a balanced meal. Carbs, protein, fats.

Here are some examples (note I can't advise you specifically because I don't know your full medical history, so take this as general information that needs to be filtered through your doctor, pharmacist, dietician, or other professional): A glass of whole milk, a bowl of milk and cereal, bacon and eggs, a peanut butter jelly sandwich with milk, water, or another similar drink, a hamburger.

Note that it's also critical to chase down ibuprofen (especially the higher doses like what you're using) with a FULL glass of water, juice, or some other liquid that's mostly water to break apart the tablet and make sure it moves through your stomach quickly. The main point of food first and lots of water after is to break up the tablet, buffer it in food, and get it through your stomach before it causes an ulcer.

Lastly, ibuprofen 800 is prescription only. It's the same as taking 4 over the counter tablets and at that dose can be more dangerous in terms of side effects. Take it only when prescribed and only as prescribed, and make sure you ask your health providers (especially your pharmacist!) for specific answers to your questions!

Generally you want to take it on a full stomach, meaning you want to take it right after eating up until 2 hours after eating as your body will start to digest all that food. Do not take on an empty stomach. As for the amount of food, I would say enough for you to say you feel mostly full

We just don’t want you to take ibuprofen on an empty stomach so anything you can eat and feel there is something in your stomach is fine. There is no set quantities of food that must be consumed in order to take the ibuprofen.

There isn’t a set amount of food that’s necessary to take. Some people don’t require any food to be on their stomach, however if other medications upset your stomach then it’s possible that ibuprofen would too, and even something as little as a few crackers could help ease that discomfort.

There is no set amount. You can eat with a full meal or a small snack like crackers. Just remember that food is something you chew so try not to have your ibuprofen with a protein shake or a liquid only. Ibuprofen is taken with food to decrease upset stomach.

You can take ibuprofen with a main meal of the day such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you take it in between one of those meals, you should at least have it with a small snack such as peanut butter crackers or milk.

Hello thank you for reaching out,

Any small meal is fine as long as you drink 8-12 oz of water with it. Do not take on an empty stomach.

Thanks,

Dr. Eshita Patel