How late during or after a meal can you take Creon?

[Edwina]

Hello List,

I have been thinking about the way my husband spaces out his Creon tablets. One 40,000 just before eating and the remaining two or three tablets (depending on what he's eating) during the meal. He has still been having problems with bloating and/or sickness/diarrhoea once or twice a week. I was wondering whether it is because it is quite hard to judge exactly what dose should go with particular food, especially as his portions are now getting larger.

If he begins to feel bloated after eating, do forum members think it would be OK to take another Creon at that point, possibly with a mouthful of food to help it through? Or is it already too late once the bloating starts?

Thank you.

Edwina

[suef]

Hello Edwina,

My consultant told me there is no point in taking Creon after a meal, you have to take the tablets before & during the meal. Some Creon has to be already in the stomach before the food starts going down, the rest can be taken during the meal, but not after.

I hope this helps!

Best wishes,

SueF

[Edwina]

Thanks SueF, I suppose that is more or less what I thought, but wanted to check, as I keep forgetting to ask the various professionals when we see them. So it's perhaps always better to err on the side of caution and take some extra units if in doubt.

Thank you.

Edwina

[LindaH]

Hi Edwina,

I have also had problems with bloating and diarrhoea through not taking enough Creon. The nurses on this website always say you cannot take too much Creon, as it simply passes through your body, so basically you can not over dose on Creon.

I found it is better to take a high dose just before I am going to have my meal. Sometimes I will take another smaller dose with a pudding depending upon what it is. I do find I (personally) need to be careful what I eat because if I eat a large meal I know ...no matter how many Creon I have taken....that I will suffer with tummy ache, so I try to keep things light.

The higher fat content in your meal means higher doses of Creon.

Really it's all trial and error, it's just that the error can be uncomfortable if you've not taken enough Creon, so I always 'try' to take a tad more than I need.

Linda x

[Edwina]

Thank you for your reply LindaH! We'll take your experience on board, as it does sound quite similar to my husband's. As you say, the mistakes can be unpleasant. Let's hope they just become fewer and further between. You and suef both seem to have worked out a way of taking the occasional mistakes in your stride, and that's encouraging.

Thanks,

Edwina.

[PCUK Nurse Dianne]

Hi Edwina,

Great that you have sought out some advice from the forum family, and always good to share thoughts. The management of creon does make such a difference to each individual once you have 'cracked it'. We always say that no two people are the same and each person will have different requirements than each other.

We can give you a lot of information on Creon, so I will just send you an email with some more detailed information in it that may prove to be helpful.

kind regards,

Dianne

Support Team