Expert: Dr Alan Galbraith - 10/5/2004

Question
I have been taking my medication (Proscar) with orange juice for several years. Recently my wife suggested that I take it with water since the acid in the orange juice could effect the medication's potency.  Is this correct and if so how long should I wait before drinking orange juice after taking the medication.

Answer
Dear Mike

There are quite a few drugs that should not be taken with grapefruit juice but orange juice has not been reported to interfere with the absorption/action of most drugs. There recently a report of an interaction of orange juice with a drug used for TB but never one for finasteride (Proscar). In fact orange juice is often used as a control with grapefruit juice to determine if a drug is affected by grapefruit juice or not.

I, therefore would not worry to much about your consumption of orange juice but if you still are concerned all the acidity of orange juice will be gone from the gut in kless than fifteen minutes on an empty stomach and an hour after a meal.

Rehgards

Dr Alan Galbraith