Question
I’ve not taken ARVs for a week, can i go back to my usual meds?
13 November 2015. Related: Access to treatment, Adherence, All topics, CD4 and viral load, Changing treatment.
I’ve been on ARVs for 4 years and recently I’ve been off them for the last week. Can I get back to my usual drugs?
Answer
Hi,
You should ask your clinic if they have resistance testing available. This will tell you if your old combination will still work against your HIV.
If your clinic cannot do resistance testing you should take a viral load test before starting meds. Then again soon after starting them. If it has gone down or gone ‘undetectable’ this will show that your meds are still effective.
If not it is important to change to a combination that is.
You can find more information on changing treatment in our guide.
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