Question
What if I miss a dose or take a double dose by mistake?
29 December 2017. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi, if i forget to take my pill on time, or maybe take it twice a day, without remembering i took it, then maybe overdose by mistake. Can it cause any harm to my health?
Answer
Missing an occasional pill is okay
Taking a double dose of HIV medication is usually okay  – but it is not a good idea. The main risk is that you might get side effects for a few hours due to the short time when you have higher drug levels.
Additional doses of other types of medication might require speaking to a doctor or pharmacist about the short term side effects.
It is better to get a pill box. Then you can see each day whether or not you have taken your meds. These are cheap and work really well.
Josh.
Answer revised 16/02/22
Hi Perry,
We are not doctors at i-Base. But this Q&A service does answer questions on HIV treatment for people who are HIV positive, and their friends and families.
So it’s a good idea to call your doctor and ask about your blood pressure meds. However, if you are on HIV treatment, please let us know what meds they are. And if you have access to your CD4 and viral load results, please tell us what they are.
While taking a double dose of high blood pressure medication hurt
Hi John L,
If you’ve been taking PrEP for 4 months before you had condomless sex there would have been high levels of PrEP in your body.
Each drug in PrEP (FTC and TDF) is absorbed differently. FTC is absorbed rapidly but levels drop more quickly. TDF takes up to 24 hours to reach rectal and genital tissue, but stays at higher levels for longer.
Please see the UK guide to PrEP here.
There are other factors that can increase your risk of HIV. This includes the kind of sex you had, and whether your partner was HIV positive and taking ART.
It’s a good idea to mention this break in taking PrEP when you visit the clinic for monitoring. Are you having difficulty accessing PrEP?
Today ave unprotected sex but before the occassion like 2hrs;i took prep.though ave missed taking them for 5days since!! ave been taking them fore more than 4months. is there possibilities of being infected with HIV/AIDS?
Hi Precious,
No this won’t harm your baby. They’ll be OK.
I am 30 weeks pregnant and I accidentally took two odimune today. Will It harm my unborn baby?
Hi Sk,
If you’ve taken a double dose by accident then it’s not great because you can get more side effects. But it is also likely to be OK.
Have accidentally taken ART drug again
Hi Sandra, Allegra is a med that can give allergy relief. But we are not doctors. Can you call the doctor and ask about this? Does it say anything on the pill bottle about taking it twice? You can talk to the doctor and check if the allergy relief treatment can interact with your HIV meds.
I have taken allegra a throat pain tablet twice at a time bymistake now i am really scared what shall i do???