How long should I use my first combination?

An active combination, if you are taking the meds on time, should reduce viral load to undetectable levels within three months. Sometimes this might take longer, perhaps up to six months if you start with a very high viral load.

Treatment usually reduces viral load by 90% (by 1 log) in the first week, though it is rarely monitored this early. It should reduce by 99% (by 2 logs) during the first four weeks.

If your viral load hasn’t reduced by at least 90% within 4 weeks your doctor will need to find out why.

This will include having another resistance test.

These times are all based on somebody taking all their treatment on time.

If you have been missing some of your doses, your doctor needs to know to take this into account.

If your viral load hasn’t dropped by 90% in the first month or had not become undetectable by six months, you would usually expect to change treatment