Question
Can i change the time i take my ARVs?
29 January 2016. Related: Adherence, All topics.
I take my ARVs at 8am and 8pm. Can i change it to 10am and 10pm?
Answer
Hi,
This is not a problem as long as you consistently take them at the new time. Jumping back and forth mean you have a risk of developing resistance. This would mean your meds would stop working well.
People do change the time they take their meds for all sorts of reasons though. Again this is ok as long as you keep taking regularly at the new time.
The only concern about switching from evening to morning is if your combination include the drug efavirenz. Efavirenz needs to be taken 1-2 hours before you sleep, so you reduce side effects.
Hi Lee, I am sorry to hear you are in a difficult situation, have you had any support from doctors/family? It is great to hear that you have started treatment. How are you adjusting to this?
Symptoms are very non-specific, especially for seroconversion. It can look like a cold/flu or some people may not experience anything. Later stages of HIV will have different presentations. This is linked to how her immune system would be affected. Are you able to get your daughter tested? If you do and she is negative, there will be no risk to her. It is important to know her status as if she is positive (which is unlikely) she will need to start treatment also.
It is not possible to say what the risk to your daughter is. Not knowing when you became positive makes it difficult to determine her risk. As you tested negative all throughout your pregnancy it is highly suggestive she is negative. Transmission to your daughter would have only happened with breastfeeding. After that there are no further points of risk.
Hi, I’ve just recently been diagnosed with hiv 7days ago. I wasn’t sick but tested because i found out my partner has been unfaithful for some time now. I’m trying to make peace with my situation and accept coz there’s no other way. I’ve started taking my meds as prescribed. The only problem i have is my 2year old child. She is growing well, energetic not very sickly but I can’t stop to think what if i infected my baby. During pregnancy all my tests were negative but I’m worried what if i was in the window period during the last test they took coz my partner and i were very much active throughout my pregnancy. I’m so terrified i can’t even sleep, thinking what if i infected my childI’m scared to go get my baby tested coz i know I won’t be able to handle the possibility of having infected her.
What symptoms to look out for in my child please?
Hi Jenny, why is your drinking affecting the time you take your medication? Alcohol does not change how effective your treatment will be. If taking it earlier on days you drink is to make sure you remember your treatment, could you consider always taking your medication at 5pm? Ideally HIV treatment should be taken at the same time everyday. An hour either side of a normal time is usually okay but 6 hours is a big gap to be changing the time of your medication. You could always continue taking your treatment at 11pm and on the days you drink have an alarm to remind you to take it?
Hi I drink sometimes and on the days that I plan on drinking at night I take my meds at 5 pm but on normal days I usually take them at 11pm is going to affect my health
Hi Squeeks, yes you can do this. There is no risk to occasionally moving the time of your medication.
Hi, I usually take my meds at 10am and 10pm but since I’ll be travelling to another country that has a 6 hours difference in timing, can I delay my medication intake time and follow their timing of 10am/10pm instead of my own country’s 10am/10pm ?
Hi Prince. Thanks for talking about you situation and history. Like many young people who are living with HIV, it sounds like you have had a lot to deal with. Taking meds is not always easy, especially as a teenager.
These few things might help…
First, please tell yourself how well you have done so far, including talking now. You are doing really well and must be a very strong person.
Don’t worry too much about the time that you take your meds. It doesn’t matter whether this is at 8 pm or 10 pm. It is more important though to try to take meds every day. Occasionally missing a day will be okay, but it is not good to miss several days.
Using a pill box and getting into a routine can help. A few other ideas are at this link.
https://i-base.info/guides/starting/adherence-tips
HIV meds are very good – and can give you a long life – but you need to take them carefully. Herbal treatment cannot do this though, and they might stop the HIV meds from working well.
Are you able to talk to your mum about this, or your doctor? I also wondered if any of your friends are also living with HIV. It is easier if you have a few other people on your side who can help.
Also, if you want to email offline, please send us an email to: questions@i-base.org.uk
Idk if imma say this here lol. Um i am a 17 yo positive boy. I was born with the virus- my dead father passed to my mother. I asked my mother how old i was before they got to know that i was positive with hiv and she was like i was 2years or 18months old at that time- she also said that i wasnt a heathy before that. Weve been on ART since that time buh we stopped taking it for a herbal treatments for some months- the doctors didnt know abt that. And used to take my drugs anyhow- when i was like 13 i had to take it like 8am and 8pm but i will take it 8pm and the following day i forget to take it- smtimes i dont take it at all- and with those once everyday drugs- i will take it 8pm today. The next day 10pm. I can go 3 days without taking it- buh ive stop that behaviour for some months now tho just want to ask if that behaviour will have problems on my health- and i kinda have this near sighted thingy- is that bc of that?
Hi Kyle, thanks for all your questions and it sounds important that you talk to your doctor about all of these.
Changing to TLD is a good idea as most people find this newer drug much easier to take. It is not likely to be causing the symptoms that you ask about.
I worry more about the time you were using herbs because these will not help HIV but might cause problems. Also, the time off ART would have reduced your immune system and might be linked to eye problems if your CD4 count went very low.
Drug resistance is not likely to be a problem, but your next CD4 count and viral load tests will show if the TLD is now working well.
Hi my doctor changed me from efivarenz to TLD recently and there was a time I was fasting on fruits and liquid for 12 days n I steamed now it’s like my drugs are not working at first I thought it was side effects coz I had flatulence, back pain and insomnia but now my eye bag is swollen and it’s sore, I once had a sore throat as well and I was using herbs last year for 6 months off ARVs, so my question is, how long does it take to be drug resistant? Is swollen eye lids part of the skin reactions from the pills?