Question
Should I have eaten when taking PEP?
20 January 2023. Related: Adherence, All topics, PEP/PEPSE.
I didn’t take emtricitabin/tenofovir and Isentress with food for the first 11 days of PEP after exposure to HIV. Am I in big trouble or is it not that important? I would normally eat around an hour after taking the medication and wasn’t aware I needed to actually have a meal with it. Now I’m terrified it won’t have worked.
Answer
Hi, how are you?
You do not need to eat with this PEP regimen. You can take this course of PEP with or without food. Food will not change how effective this treatment is.
Please see this link for more information about PEP:
Josh.
Hi Arun, this service is not about HIV transmission. You were at zero risk for HIV and in the UK you would not be prescribed PEP. I don’t know why your doctor didn’t tell you this and I don’t understand why you were given PEP.
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
What are the chances of getting HIV while using a condam I had an exposure with a women. I don’t even exposed properly it’s just take only 4 to 5 seconds
Should I worry about HIV currently I’m on pep. It’s my 16’th day after exposure.
Hi Nick, missing the food advice for a couple of doses means that drug levels were lowere fat those times. Overall, this is unlikely to make much difference to the efficacy of PEP. There are no food restrictions on PEP.
I’m on PEP: tenofovir with emtricitabine & darunavir with ritanovir. I didn’t take food with them for 2-3 doses. Is there going to be a problem. Also, can I eat cake/cream pastries along with this medication?
Hi Joe, PEP is more likely to work the earlier you take it. There won’t be any real difference between 70, 71 and 72 hours though.
Please see this link for more info:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
A person started PEP after 70 hours but before 72 hours of exposure. To be precise, in the 71st hour. Will the efficacy be reduced due to this?