Question
What happens if I stop taking treatment?
31 August 2016. Related: Adherence, All topics, Changing treatment, Side effects, South Africa, Stopping treatment.
What are the side effects if someone stops taking her medication for HIV?
Answer
Thanks for your question.
May I ask why you are thinking of stopping? Many people find adhering hard at some in their lives but there are ways to make it easier. Likewise if you are suffering side effects – you can switch to meds that better suit you.
Several years ago a very large study called SMART reported that stopping treatment increased the risk of serious complications. These included a higher risk for heart, liver and kidney complications in people who stopped treatment and also a higher rate of some cancers.
If you decide to stop treatment, your viral load is likely to rebound within a few weeks. If you stay off treatment your CD4 count will start to drop over the next few months. When this happens the risk of developing other infections and getting sick increases.
How quickly this will happen though varies a lot. The lower your CD4 count was when you started meds, the quicker your CD4 is likely to fall without ART.
In the SMART study, most people who took a treatment break did pretty well for a short time. However, most people were not able to recover their CD4 count to earlier levels even 18 months after they restarted treatment.
Please talk to your doctor about who you feel. It is not generally good to stop treatment. It is definitely not good to do this without first talking to your doctor.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I would like to ask if maybe i took a break from ussing the drug i was diagnosed in 2009 and i took a braek from 2010 till 2017 October then i am back on treatment now i started with one pill but never manage to lower the vl so last month i started new pills now i am suffering from side effects i sometimes feel i would have a siaguar or be blind so please advise
Hi Abel,
For me to be able to help you, I’m going to need to know where it is that you live in the world. Also, what medication are you taking?
I don’t want to stop taking my meds. I love them, they make me feel like i have hope for a better future and a normal life. Now I’m on my last pill and it makes me so upset. I can’t get a refill because my insurance cut me off because i got a new job in retail but i dont make enough to pay for them alone. I can’t afford these on my own it’s too expensive, I’m starting to panic because i feel like a slow painful death is coming. I feel like im going to get sick and it will only get worse. I cry myself to sleep and i dream of me alone in my bed sick and helpless. Sometimes i think its better to just jump off a tall building and end it all so i dont have to suffer so i do t have to see my friends and family watch me suffer. I just need another bottle i can save money but right now i just need another bottle. I just want one more month please! How can i get help? Who will help me… what should i do?
Hi Pinky,
When situations like this happen they can make a person anxious. You will however need to wait until your results are back. If your final test is positive, please email us.
Hi. I have recently did HIV test which were sent to the lab, and the results came out as “inconclusive” . I did another test and the results came back positive. I asked my doctor on the same day to do a prickle test n it came out negative. We took another test to be sent to the lab. While m still awaiting the results, What is the next step as am unsure whether or not m positive? Am nervous.
Hi Nokulunga,
Its common to feel sick when you first start Atrozia. This is something that should usually go within a few weeks. If it continues you may need to change your meds. Its important not to stop taking them as this will affect your viral load. Please see here for more info:
http://i-base.info/guides/starting
Hi I just found out im HIV positive and I only took atroiza 3 times and they are making me sick so Im thinking of stopping taking the drugs will they affect me?
Hi Laura,
Is there any specific reason why you want to stop taking meds?
I’ve been on antivirals for 10 years. Am undetectable and want to stop taking meds.
Hi Henry,
It’s good that you’ve started medication. Here’s the i-Base guide to starting treatment (ART).