Don’t Take PrEP With Metamucil

Don’t Take PrEP With Psyllium (Metamucil™)

One important thing that I would like to note is the combination of Metamucil™ or psyllium husks and PrEP medication. When you take cilium husks, it’s designed as a way of helping keep bowel movements regular. It’s normally a teaspoon that’s mixed into a glass of water. It creates a gel-like substance inside the gut that helps absorb water and make your poo nice and soft.

The issue is, when you take medications with Metamucil, that the medicine can get caught in the centre of that jelly-like substance, making it harder for the drug to be absorbed. It’s very, very important when you’re taking PrEP and Metamucil, don’t take them at the same time. I recommend, say, take your PrEP in the morning, and you’re using Metamucil, take the Metamucil in the evening, or at the very least, four hours after you’ve taken your PrEP. That will ensure that you have plenty of time for the PrEP drugs to be absorbed into the body before the jelly-like substance of the Metamucil comes through the gut.

“Fiber goes through the digestive system without getting digested or absorbed. If there’s lots of fiber and medication in the intestine at the same time, it’s possible that the medication may get swept along with the fiber, so it will be excreted instead of fully absorbed…. So, just to be on the safe side, it might be prudent to take your medications two to three hours before or after your fiber supplement.

Benedict DiRusso, Harvard University Health Services in The Harvard Health Letter