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 Nthabiseng,
Yes its OK to change the time when you take your meds. You need to do what works best for you.
Hi I normally take my atroiza at 22:00 I want to change it to 20:00 ist fine
Hi Luyanda,
Yes you can drink after taking your ARVs, and this includes alcohol.
Can I drink something else After I have taken my ARV’s
Hi Pumza,
Its up to you when you take them, so yes you can change.
Hi
Pumza: ive been taking my meds at 7am and at 9pm. My cd4 count has always been above 1000 and the viral load undetected. Can i just continue like this or change to 7am n 7pm or 9am n 9pm?
Hi Fikile,
If the meds are causing you problems when you take them at 9pm, its very likely that you’ll cause you problems when you take them at 7pm. Therefore, you may need to change.
See Q3 here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
I am taking my arv’s at 9 at night and there is Efaverenz on them which gives me a lot of side effects. And I have to drink water throughout the night which disturb my sleep. Now I decided to take them at 7 pm which is 2 hrs before I sleep! Is that owk to do so?
Hi Lira,
Its perfectly fine to take your meds at a different time. This won’t be a problem.
Because your viral load is undetectable, this means that the meds are working. Therefore the CD4 drop could be a blip/fluctuation. For more info about these please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/424
Hi ive been taking atroiza for 6 years now, and since then my cd4 count was above 800 , two months back it dropped to 400 and viral load is undetected what could be the cause for cd4 count to drop? Ist fine if I can change the time I take my pills I usually take them at 20:30 wanna change to 21:00