Question
Can I change the time that I take my meds?
19 March 2018. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi, I have been taking arvs for now 5 years, I take efavirenz /lamivudine /tenofovir. I have been taking my medication at 10:00pm, is it possible for me to change to morning hours coz I don’t get enough sleep. I used to work at night when I had started taking my medication but I have noticed that I fail to sleep nowadays even when I quit my night job. The best I can sleep is just 2 hours.
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
If you aren’t able to sleep, it may be worth talking to a doctor about this. They should be able to give you something to help, or suggest yoga or meditation.
Though medication that contains efavirenz is recommended to be taken at night, you should take your medication at a time that suites you and your lifestyle. If this means changing from night to day, then yes this is something that you can do. If however you notice any changes, you may want to talk to your doctor.
There is a possibility that is may be the medication that’s causing your sleep problems, so you could mention this to your HIV doctor. They may suggest changing to something else.
Good luck with addressing the sleep issue.
Hi Cindy,
ARVs should be taken at a time that works for you, so yes you can change the time that you take your meds. This noted if you’re taking the following: https://i-base.info/guides/1561 You may wish to stick to your normal time.
hi im im on arvs taking my meds at 8pm,is it possible to take my med at 6pm
Sir my job night so I can arv tle drugs morning
Hi Mukesh,
ARVs should be taken at a time that works well for you, what is it that you’re taking?
Hi Jessica,
Yes you can change the time to suit your schedule. However, what ARVs are you taking?
It’s reported that a side effect of Atripla is sleep disturbance. But taking the pill at night reduces these side effects as you will be sleeping when drug levels are highest.
There are many names for Atripla but you can see them on the link above. Please talk to your doctor if this is the pill you’re taking. You can ask for other ARVs that can be easier for you to take.
I have been drinking my ARV at night for 3month with the same time but now i change to 8 in the morning after my breakfast because at night i was struggling to sleep well.
Hi Queen,
Its perfectly fine to change the time that you take your meds. Just change once and then carry on at the new time.
Hi it’s almost 2 taking my pills n I switched the time to the morning time after my breakfast is it fine to change ur time?
Hi Tin,
Do you mean it’s almost a month since you’re now taking your ARVs on time? That’s great.
Even when starting HIV treatment (ART) there is a window of a couple of hours around the target time. It’s good to see that your CD4 count has recovered to 165. So it looks like your ARVs are working.
But what’s your viral load result? Do you have access to this? The aim of ARVs is to get viral load to less then 50 copies as quickly as possible. This can give your CD4 count the chance to recover.
Please see this page from ART in Pictures. It shows what happens to HIV and CD4 cells when ART is started.
Hi, its now almost a month since im no taking my arvs. on time! like sometimes earlier most of the time late of 2 hours because of night life routine. But so far i dont feel anything strange on me. my cd4 last january was 54 and after 6months it becomes 165. then til now i didnt go for check up for my cd4 counts. is it bad if i dont take my arvs on time everyday?