Question

Will PEP still work if I am not taking it strictly every 24 hours?

16 May 2022. Related: Adherence, All topics, PEP/PEPSE.

I started my 28-day PEP course 4 days ago after having oral sex with a girl and later noticed that my gum was potentially bleeding while giving the oral sex. The third day of taking PEP I was taking the pill late for 1 hour (taking it at 12:30 vs. my usual time of 11:30). The fourth day I was late for another one hour (taking it at 13:30). Today I took the pill again at 12:30 because I felt like taking it at my usual time of 11:30 would have been too soon since the last dose (13:30). Will PEP still work effectively for me? Thank you so much.

Answer

Answer: Josh Peasegood

Hi, how are you doing?

Yes PEP will still work effectively for you.

PEP needs to be taken regularly every 24 hours for it to work. But PEP does remain in the body longer than 24 hours. For this reason there is some leeway for being late or early with a dose by an hour.

Though it is best to avoid this to ensure you are maintaining a suitable level of PEP within the body. Is 11.30 still suitable for you or is it better moving your regular time to 12.30? To help remember it may be suitable to set an alarm each day to prompt you to take PEP.

Please see this link for more information about PEP:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

Josh.

140 comments

  1. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Erick, yes PEP will continue to work effectively. You have still continued to take PEP within 24 hours of each dose.

    You can continue to take PEP at 07:30am and it will still work.

  2. ERICK •

    Hi Josh,, i switch time of taking PEP from 13:50P.m to 7:30a.m ,,at day 3 of PEP, but in that day 3 i took one pill at 7:30am and one pill at 13:50 Pm, then day 4 i continue to take 7:30 am. Is it clear to do that? will PEP remain work effectively?

  3. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Siliya, taking two tablets of PEP in one day is not going to effect your health but it is not going to make PEP work better.

    Is there a reason you are asking this?

  4. Siliya •

    Can one take two tablets of Pep within a day after exposure to HIV positive

  5. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Obed, a 4th gen test is only conclusive 6 weeks after the last dose of PEP.

    PEP can delay any chance of seroconversion. This requires all testing windows to be delayed by the time you are on PEP.

    You can also consider it as when on PEP you can test from 10 weeks after the date of exposure instead of the normal 6 weeks after.

  6. Obed •

    What do you mean by six weeks after the exposure for me to know the result while I was on pep,,or do you mean I start counting 6 weeks after pep completion

  7. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi David, being late with one dose of PEP is not going to greatly change how effective your treatment is.

    Continue taking PEP at your regular time for the duration of the course. How far into your course of PEP were you when this happened?

    PEP: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

  8. david •

    if you are one hour 30mints late with out taking your pep does it mean its not going to be effective in a body what should i do now

  9. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Obed, had you taken any doses of PEP before this?

    For PEP to be finished early, you would have needed to be taking PEP for 7 days before. As you have not it would be recommended to take the full course of PEP which is 28 days.

    PEP is a course of treatment for 28 days: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

    If this was PrEP and you took a double dose, you are only required to take PrEP for the following 2 days.

    On-demand PrEP: https://i-base.info/guides/prep/on-demand

  10. Obed •

    For how long should l continue taking pep if I have taken it 12 hours before exposure