Question
Is it OK to take your meds an hour early?
22 January 2019. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
I took my meds an hour earlier than usual. Am I going to be OK?
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
Yes, it is OK to take your meds an hour prior to your normal time.
This won’t have any impact on your health.
Nearly all HIV combinations has a window period which will be fine. This is at least one hour either side of your normal time (a window of two hours) and probably even two hours either side of your normal time (a window of four hours).
Regularly missing by more than this – or missing a dose altogether – has a risk of drug resistance.
Hi Peter, your comments are not true. Most people living with HIV do not have diabetes even though rate might be a little higher than the general population. Diabetes is also very common in adults in many countries, so it will also occur in people living with HIV, especially as we get older.
For example, maybe 10-15% of adults in the general population might have diabetes – whether this is the US, South Africa or Europe. Several studies suggest that rates are similar and perhaps 2-3% higher in people living with HIV. HIV drugs might play a role in this difference, but it might be more related to ageing and other traditional factors.
For example, the risk of diabetes increases as we get older and HIV people are a group are often older in some countries than the general population.
I have, seen most of us comment well, thanks to every one of us. Now, I have noted that most people living with HIV taking different HIV drugs end up with type 2 diabetes. How is it that the drugs which are supposed to help us recover from this pandemic end up in giving rise to another complicated sickness~i.e diabetes.
UPDATED RESPONSE – splitting TLD in half might be okay but not TLE.
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Hi Loraine – in addition to the suggestions below, the answer depends on which meds you are taking. Although there is no direct evidence for TLD, in theory, splitting to pill in half and taking them with a little food is likely to be okay. TLE though needs to be taken whole. If your meds include efavirenz, perhaps ask your doctor about changing to TLD.
This resource at Liverpool University says the individual drugs can be split and the researchers there think this would be okay.
https://liverpool-hiv-hep.s3.amazonaws.com/prescribing_resources/pdfs/000/000/011/original/ARV_Swallowing_2018_Oct.pdf?1540371581
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Hello Loraine and thanks for getting in touch.
I am very sorry to hear you are struggling so much with your tablets.
There are a number of things you can try, however the most important is to speak to your doctor.
Some of the HIV medication come in liquid formulations and some can be chewed.
Perhaps these are available at your clinic.
Or perhaps another combination with smaller tablets might be more convenient, if it available in your clinic.
If you are able to take your medication with food try swallowing them with some yogurt or applesauce.
It might help you drinking some water before the tablet and some to swallow the tablet, as this way your throat will be wet and more slippery.
It might also hep you using a straw to drink water with the pill in your mouth. Somme people find it very useful as the water comes with greater speed.
I have also found these two videos with swallowing techniques you might find useful:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/problems-swallowing-pills/
I battle to take these huge tablets for hiv. Sometimes it gets totally stuck in my throat. My doctor advised that I should not brake it up. What do I do? I dread that time of day.
Hi Charmaine, you do need to change the time of your treatment. You can take your next dose at 7.
One occasion of being one hour late will not require you to adjust the times of your medication. As long as you remain within an hour of your regular time, no changes to your timings are needed.
I take amozylin at 3, 11 and 7. I forgot to take the next dose at 11 and took it at 12. Do I take it at 7 or change it to 8