What about side effects?

All medicines have some risk of side effects. It would be wrong to pretend that everything is easy and sorted.

This is something that everyone worries about.

• Most side effects are usually mild.
• They can often be reduced with other medication that is easy to use or by switching to other drugs.
• There is only a small risk of serious side effects, and these should be picked up by careful routine monitoring.
• Within a few weeks, most people find that taking HIV treatment is easier than they thought. It usually becomes an ordinary and manageable part of daily life.
• If you are unlucky and need to modify your combination, there is a wide choice of alternative drugs that are likely to work better for you.

Ask your doctor, nurse or HIV pharmacist about the most common side effects of the drugs that you might use.

• Ask how likely they are to occur.
• Ask how many people stop treatment because of them (usually very few).
• Even rough estimates will give you a good idea of what is involved.