Question
What happens if I miss a week of ARVs?
3 December 2021. Related: Adherence, All topics, CD4 and viral load.
I have been on treatment for the last 8 months. I stopped my medication for a week and just did a viral load test, it says I have a viral load of 700000. I don’t understand.
Answer
Hi, how are you doing?
Do you mind if I asked why you missed a week? Adherence to a daily medication can be difficult and you might find a better way of managing it if you speak with a doctor.
For ARVs to be effective they need to be taken daily at the same time. This is because a constant level of the medication is required to be in your body to keep HIV suppressed. Missing a week of ARVs would allow the level of medication in your body to drop below a required amount. If it drops this low it will stop working and HIV will be able to replicate and increase its viral load. Here you can find out why taking ARV daily is important.
Missing a week means there is a chance HIV has gained resistance to your current medication. Taking ARVs until you are undetectable does not mean you can stop with taking them. ARV therapy will be required long-term to prevent the virus replicating. You may need to speak to your doctor about better ways to adhere to medication or if there is a more suitable combination.
If you have another question please get in touch,
Josh.
Will I be ok I miss a week of my meds? I run out and had to find a doctor in a new state.
I just got my meds and re-started. Will I be ok or do I need to worry?
I’ve been on my medication for almost 2 yrs and rarely miss a dose
Hi Junior, thanks, seeing your doctor to talk about this is important. Is there a reason you missed so many times? This is how drug resistance can develop and then you need a new combination.
I missed mine many many times and start all over last 2 weeks till now I’ve not been able to take again and it’s just 3 days ago I started feeling like I’m having fever, Today now am planning to go meet my doctor for another check and test ……. Hopefully I’ll be fine uhh ???
Hi Sharon, without more details it is difficult to comment. Luckily, most HIV combinations will cover you even if you miss a few doses. Being undetectable for so many years also mean you have so little HIV that you will still be okay, whatever your combination and however many doses you took or missed over those 8 days. Just restarting is likely to all be okay. It is good to tell your doctor too in case they want to check with an extra viral load test.
If this was to happen more often, then the risk increases each time that you could develop drug resistance which could stop your meds working.
Hi, last month I traveled to another country to visit my family, I wasn’t taking my hiv medication everyday sometimes I was missing and forgetting, have been undetectable for 8 years now I’m already I might have mess up, and maybe my medicine will not be working anymore. Thank you.
Hello Jakisa and thank you for the question.
Probably nothing will happen if this is something that happens once.
If however this happens every week your medication might stop working.
It might help you remember if you use some of the following tricks:
1. an alarm can remind you it’s time to take your tablets
2. a pill box – you will know if you had your medication on the specific day and you can take it as soon as you check
3. taking medication at a specific time of day or connected with a specific activity (for example after you brush your teeth)
Here is some more information : https://i-base.info/guides/starting/forgot-my-pills
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at questions@i-base.org.uk if you want to continue this discussion privately.
What happens if I miss 3 days ARVs?
Hello Isabella and many thanks for the question.
Don’t worry if you can’t take your medication for a day or two. It happens some times. Your treatment won’t be affected by this incident.
We are based in London so we don’t know how the services operate where you are based. Try to contact the clinic (or your doctor) on Monday.
See below the link with more information about not taking ARVs for a day or two:
https://i-base.info/guides/starting/forgot-my-pills
Hi I’ve got a problem: I went for a check up on the 23rd so the clinic was closed due to a renovation. I decided to go see my doctor. My medical doctor took my blood, sent it to the lab and he told me I will receive an email before the end of the week but no email. Now my tablets are finished so I don’t know what to do I don’t want to default
Hi Palesa, thanks. Please don’t worry about this – just switch from one time to the next. This will not have any affect on your partner.