Question
I have missed 5 days of Biktarvy…
29 June 2022. Related: Access to treatment, Adherence, All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Hi, I am a 34 year old female diagnosed with HIV but I have been undetectable now for at least a year. I have been treated by Biktarvy, I have missed almost 5 days of medication due to insurance not being instated until the first of next month. I’m extremely afraid… my cd4 count was at 339 as of last year and I’m sure it has been raised by now… but I’m afraid that if i have missed so many days i won’t be able to receive the benefits of the medication.
Answer
Hi, how are you doing?
It is great that you have achieved undetectable levels of viral load.
Biktarvy has a long half life. This means that it will still work in the body after 24 hours. This allows some leeway for occasionally missing a dose of medication. While 5 days is not ideal, Biktarvy would have been active to some degree in your body for a day or two after.
For this reason, 5 days is unlikely to be long enough for your viral load to rebound. This usually needs a full week without medication for your viral load to become detectable. It is also not going to be long enough to have an effect on your CD4 count.
While it is very unlikely, are you able to access a viral load test in the next few weeks? Doing so after restarting Biktarvy can let you know if your treatment is still working.
Josh.
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