Question
My partner missed HIV meds for a week and just take cotrimoxazole…
24 December 2020. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hello my partner is HIV positive.
On a trip i noticed he is only taking cotrimoxazole now. This was for one week.
His viral load is undetectable but what about the week without medication?
Answer
Hi there
Thanks for your questions.
Have you spoken to your partner about this? Maybe there is a chance he was taking it at a different time. Maybe, by mistake, he just forgot to bring his HIV meds with him?
It would be better to find out why he stopped for the week, if this was the case.
If he has stopped the HIV meds, then his viral load will become detectable again, usually within 2-3 weeks.
Hi C. I don’t know of any situation which would explain this. Anyone who has used HIV meds in the past, need to continue to use them now. If someone decides to stop treatment, their viral load will rebound and they will slowly become more sick. Antibiotics like cotrimoxazole help if the CD4 count is low. But HIV meds needs to be used as well.
Thank you.
He said only needed to take cotrimoxazole.
What does he mean? I am worried and he is not saying much.