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Medications Containing Gluten?

KnightRobby

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KnightRobby Enthusiast
KnightRobby
Posted

So I have briefly heard about medications containing Gluten and was wondering how true this is? I am on medications for severe chronic head pain and needed to know if this could be making me feel worse.

Thanks.

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psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

It is possible that a medication would contain gluten.

Anything injected is going to be gluten-free since gluten is a binding agent that would interfere with the flow and likely jam the needle.

Capsules are made from gelatin, which is gluten-free. Because the capsule contains the medicine, no fillers or binding agents are needed.

Tablets need a binder. The most common one is corn starch, but in some cases wheat is used. You need to ask, unless the label lists all inactive ingredients, or declares it to be gluten-free.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I call the maker of any medication that I need to take. Any scripts I have gotten have the makers name somewhere on the bottle in little tiny letters. I put their name and the words contact info in a search engine. Usually that will bring up a phone number. I do not ask if the med is gluten free because technically some wheat starch is considered to be so processed that it is gluten free. I tell them I have a wheat allergy. Rye and barley are not a concern in meds from what I have seen.

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

Like raven I call the manufacturer of every medication I take. I call before filling prescriptions by simply asking the pharmacy what manufacturer they will use to fill with. I can either ask them for a contact number or google it on my phone. Or at this point I have most manufacturer's numbers stored in my phone. I do ask if it is gluten free, but also ask them to source the starch and binder for me. They will all at some point during the call give you some "we don't test final products or guarantee blah blah blah" statement. This is normal, do not get paranoid. As long as they can confirm that the product has no wheat sourced ingredients you should be good.

Do NOT fill a prescription without first calling. You can not return it once it is filled. Don't waste your time if it's Roxanne, they don't even answer their phones I found out yesterday. They have an automated "we don't answer questions about what's in our drugs" message so they can go take a flying leap imo. I had a hell of a time filling a scrip yesterday with two of the manufacturer's offices being in New Jersey. Another was Roxanne. One said they'd get back to me later. I was one step away from a compounding pharmacy for god only knows how much money before I got a manufacturer who could answer my questions on the phone. It took over an hour. Many manufacturer's are east coasters, if at all possible schedule all doctor's appointments in the mornings or early afternoons. If it is after about 2 and you are on mountain time or later, you likely won't be filling any scrips until the next day.

Last, do not trust lists online of gluten free drugs. One of these lists has a drug that I would have taken if I hadn't called the manufacturer. They told me over the phone that their starch is sourced from wheat but they consider it to be gluten free. Yeah, and good luck getting me to take that too. Benefiber considers their product to be gluten free and it is literally wheat starch. I think companies out to make money and I just have different opinions of what defines gluten free, under 20 ppm doesn't count.

KnightRobby Enthusiast
KnightRobby
Posted
  • Author

Okay. I had a feeling. This is such a pain in the butt because of my chronic pain and the meds I take because of it. I'll have to call.

I just picked up a new medication that actually has the warning on it: May contain Soy or Peanuts. This is the first time I've ever seen an allergy warning on a medication.

So is Soy a problem in my Vitamin D prescription? I've read that Soy can be a problem because it is grown in rotation with wheat, but I don't have an actual wheat allergy.

Input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

Soy can be a problem for some of us but not for all. If you don't get symptoms from consuming soy I wouldn't worry about that. If you are celiac or gluten intolerant. you need to avoid wheat in medications whether you have a true allergy or not. The reaction we get from wheat (gluten) is not an allergy it is an autoimmune reaction. The reason I say to drug makers that I have an allergy is because wheat starch is so processed it is considers gluten free but many of us will react to it anyway. I know it is a pain to have to check all meds but it will prevent you from having side effects related to gluten. There are enough side effects to the drugs themselves in some cases that we don't need gluten thrown into the mix.

lovegrov Collaborator
lovegrov
Posted

IMO, if the manufacturer is actually listing allergens and wheat isn't there, it's going to be safe.

richard

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