When to take aspirin: I'm reading Life... - British Heart Fou...

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When to take aspirin

Heartbear profile image
19 Replies

I'm reading Life Time, a book about sleep and sleeping rhythms. Interesting stuff about the right time to take various medications including aspirin for cardiac suff. Basically Prof Foster suggests the best time to take aspirin is at bedtime. Now, I have stuck to the cycle for the meds I came out of Barts hospital with, since 2020. Just kept going from when they gave me the meds in a little paper cup each morning and evening. Aspirin was in the morning paper cup which I have continued since (now my pill box rather than a paper cup).

Interested to know when us fellow HA people are taking the aspirin.

FYI my cocktail is: Ticagrelor (am and pm) (I drop this in July 2023), Aspirin (am), Bisoprolol (am), Lansoprazole (am) Ramiprill (pm) and Atovastatin (pm). This cycle is what I was on in Barts almost three year ago.

All the best,

Graham

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19 Replies

Hello :-)

I have read it is better to take Aspirin at night even though no one has ever told me when to take it but as it can affect my stomach I have been told to take it at lunch time or even tea time when I have eaten more so hopefully my stomach will feel better which is does

Maybe whatever our circumstances or how we tolerate it taking it at any time of the day is the way to go but I acknowledge what you are saying :-)

Hope you are having a lovely weekend :-) x

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply to

Hi BeKind-28,

Thanks for your insight. I think I'll continue as I have since Barts hospital dispatched me home in a taxi in July 2020. They said to take my meds on time every time, so on that basis I adopted the routine they did for me during my 5 day stay (3 days, but then they thought I might have covid....oii that's all I need a HA plus Rona. The latter was a false alarm but they kept me in for another two days).

I'm glad you have found the right time to take aspirin to keep your tum happy.

Best wishes, and take care :-)

Graham

Robbie1964 profile image
Robbie1964

I've been taking aspirin since 2010 and was advised to take it with food. Out of habit as much as anything else I take it before my breakfast.

I take quite a few tablets each day and try as much as possible to take them at either 6am or 6pm (or as close to that as possible) as it helps me ensure that I remember to take them.

6am: Bisoprolol 2.5mg, Lisinopril 20mg, Ezetimibe 10mg, Ticagrelor 90mg, Rosuvastatin 5mg (twice per week rather than each day for tolerance reasons)

Breakfast: Aspirin 75mg, Metformin 2x500mg

6pm: Lercanidipine 10mg, Ticagrelor 90mg

Evening meal: Metformin 2x500mg

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toRobbie1964

Hi Robbie1964,

I like your daily 'menu'! Like me my "pill time" as my husband and I make a thing about it - well we may as well have some fun out of all this - is 9am and 9pm. In reality it's usually 8:30am and 8pm. I travel frequently between London and Los Angeles which involves an 8 hour time change each time, so I worked out a best case scenario to adjust my pill time to the time shifts.

Thanks for your reply, makes me think to ignore what I've read from Prof Foster and just carry on.

Cheers and take care,

Graham

TeresaMay profile image
TeresaMay

Timing can be fluid. Reading the instruction leaflets you are recommend to take a dose "soon" if you forget, so that could be anytime.

During a recent stay in hospital I was given a new tablet to take; at breakfast round and evening meal time, with other medications. When out of hospital I searched on Internet for more information. The advice from the manufacturer was to take either 4 hours before or 4 hours after other medication! Around 9 months after starting still OK. Follow personal advice given and good luck.

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toTeresaMay

Hi TeresaMay,

I think your advice is right - follow what I've been told and carry on. I wasn't particularly told when to take my meds by Barts. I was discharged with a list of what to take - I just continued to take them when they gave them to me whilst holed up in the hospital bed.

Glad you are OK 9 months on.

All the best and take care,

Graham :-)

Pollypuss profile image
Pollypuss

I take mine at night while eating porridge which seems to work

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toPollypuss

Hi Pollypuss,

The opposite of what I do, which also works for me. I think I'll ignore what I've read and carry on, as you do.

Thanks for your insight, porridge at night sounds nice :-)

Take care,

Graham

Qualipop profile image
Qualipop

Aspirin on a morning as told after heart attack.

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toQualipop

Hi Qualipop,

As I do too. I wasn't told to take it in the mornings, it was just how Barts compiled my meds in the day or so after my HA, which I've continued since in terms of timing. Seems folks who have kindly provided an insight take aspirin at different times and it seems to work for us all. Perhaps I shouldn't read too much into what the book I read says.

Best wishes,

Graham

WorriedOfOxford profile image
WorriedOfOxford

Lanzopraloze first thing, aspririn and bisoprolol an hour later after breakfast. atorvastatin and ramipril last thing before going to bed.

PRO73 profile image
PRO73 in reply toWorriedOfOxford

Hi, why the ramipril before bed?

I’ve just started taking these meds and I’ve been told to take it in the morning.

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toWorriedOfOxford

Hi WorriedOfOxford,

You are on the same cycle as me, although I have Ticagrelor in both the am and pm pill fests. Seems to work for me, I used to take Lansoprazole an hour before breakfast then my other meds. Three years on I now chuck the lot down before breakfast.

Graham :-)

Issy14 profile image
Issy14

Good Morning from New Zealand. I take aspirin and have done for years, mine is a morning pill, I also take Bisopropol and Atorvastatin. My meds for Heart Failure have changed very little over the years and they seem to keep me ticking along.😀

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear in reply toIssy14

Hi Issy14,

Greetings to you in NZ. Similar to you, my meds haven't changed significantly since the dropped Clopidogrel and Rivaoxaban in the months after my HA. I just stick with the regime I have following hospital and when they later swapped out C and R for Aspirin and Ticagrelor.

Glad you're carrying on.

Graham

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear

Folks, thank you all for replying to my question, and sharing when you take aspirin. Seems we all take it at varying times, so I'm none the wiser, and I think what I read from Prof Foster is just another take on when to take aspirin. My take on it is to continue what I've been doing, which is the cycle that Barts put me on in 2020, with Aspirin in the morning.

In other news - I wonder if Paul O'Grady had a HA on Tuesday. Such a sad loss.

Take care,

Graham

Qualipop profile image
Qualipop in reply toHeartbear

I would imagine so. He had had a couple and had quite a few stents. Such a lovely man.

Heartbear profile image
Heartbear

I like your approach - down the lot once a day!

MountainGoat52 profile image
MountainGoat52

The label on my 75mg Aspirin specifically states that it is to be taken in the morning with or immediately after food. I am certain that this is a recent addition to the labelling. I checked my other meds and found that my Losartan should be taken in the morning too, again a recent addition. No advice on my Rosuvastatin or Bisoprolol. My Vitamin B and D are OCMs, so no advice there of course.

Until recently I took all my medications with my breakfast and then got on with my day. However, my Raynauds was so bad this last winter, I wrote to my GP practice requesting a trial of Nifedipine, which was granted. This requires 3 capsules a day, so I take it with my meals. I have forgotten a few times and taken it some time after a meal, but this has given me indigestion, so I have found it better to wait to the next meal time. So far so good.... no white numb fingers and toes since I started taking it and the blood pressure has received a small benefial reduction as well. 😀

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