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 William, you should continue taking your medication at your normal time. While you have a higher levels of medication in your body you may experience heavier side effects for the next day or so. If this becomes apparent you can speak with your pharmacist or doctor if there is anything you can do to alleviate these effects.
Took my pills am an pm mistake thought I took no am then I took pm then I realized forgot am drugs so took them then realized I took am an pm twice be OK extra prednisone extra drugs for lupus extra blood pressure pills etc what should I take tomorrow
Hi Chris, why are you taking this medication? I do not recognise it as ART for HIV. i-base is specific for HIV medication and cannot speak for other types of medication. Have you spoken to a doctor/pharmacist about this? If you are in the UK you can call 111 for information about an accidental double dose of medication.
I think I took my Arimidex twice this morning. Can that be a issue…..
Hi James, what medications are you taking? If you accidentally took a double dose of ARVs you should continue taking them as normal. Not skip the next days dose. Just note that you may experience more pronounced side effects while there is a higher than normal level of drug in your body. This will wear off in the next day or so.
If I accidentally take two doses of my medications in one day should I skip the next days dose
Hi Joseph, being 10 minutes late with a dose is not going to be a problem. There is a small amount of leeway for the time you take medication. 10 minutes either side of the prescribed time will not be of any risk to you.
I forgot if I took my Tacrolimus so I took another does 10 minutes later. What should I do
Hi Belinda, this isn’t going to cause much of a problem. It is great that you spotted this soon. Taking an extra dose of ARVs, while not ideal, is not going to risk your undetectable status. You may experience some more side effects than usual with the higher concentration of drug in your body but this will wear off. Have you noticed any side effects?
I take Genvoya once a day. I made the mistake and put them in my pill box for both am and pm meds. I have a vitamin I take that’s the same shape and size as my hiv meds but a different color. I don’t know how I mixed it up like that. That’s the purpose for the pill box. I know I’ve taken it twice a day for a couple of days. Is there going to be any side effects? Or make it out of control. I’ve been undetectable for yrs.