Question
What are the risks of taking an over-dose of ARVs?
4 January 2011. Related: Adherence, All topics, Drug interactions, Side effects, Support.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Taking one or two extra doses of ARVs it not likely to be a problem. But is could increase side-effects from the drugs for a couple of days.
To give you a more accurate answer please let me know how much of an overdose you are talking about. For example, is it just forgetting someone had already taken the drugs and taking them again once? Or are you talking about someone say taking a whole months supply at once?
Taking a double dose by accident on rare occasions shouldn’t cause serious harm, however, a deliberate overdose of a lot of ARVs could increase the toxicities to such an extent that it damages the body’s vital organs.
I drank my ART, within a second I vomited. So I’d like to know if I should take another pill because I vomited inside dirty water so I couldn’t see if the pill came out or not.
Dear Nandipha, I am so sorry that you are having such a difficult and upsetting time. Even without more details, no-one will gain anything from you harming yourself.
However difficult and bad you feel, this person also wouldn’t want you to do anything bad.
Loving someone sometimes makes it very difficult not to get hurt – either yourself or your partner. Finding a way to talk sometimes with time makes things better and you can grow and learn for the experience.
Is there anyone who you can talk to?
I want to kill myself because I hurt someone that love me so much and I feel bad about self ,the pain that I caused to him it’s too much to tolerate and it’s even hard to forgive my self what should I do?
Hi Heather, I am sorry if you are involved in this difficult experience. Any medical or health risk will depend on which drugs were taken and how many pills. This needs specialist medical attention. Although taking too many meds might make him feel ill for a short time, hopefully there will not be any long-term problems. It is also important to try to find out why he did this. This is so the best support can reduce the chance that it ever does this again.
What happens if a 16 year old boy deliberately takes ARV medication and overdoses. He does NOT have HIV they are his aunt’s tablets.
Hi Didi, I am really sorry that you had such a difficult time. Have you talked to your doctor about your plans? The ARV overdose will not have affected your womb. Speking to your doctor now though might help make this an easier time.
On 2017 I was pregnant with my second born child i was going through depression and I tried to kill myself by taking overdose ARV’s nothing happened afterwards I just vomited now I have been trying to have a third born but no luck did the ARV’s affect my womb?
Hi James, Acriptega is a generic version of a combination HIV pill called TLD:
https://i-base.info/guides/12423
Taking two of these pills is not recommended, but won’t have done you any harm.
These pill will not cause you to be HIV positive.
Even though the condom broke, the risk of HIV is low from one time. If you partner had an undetectable viral load on treatment, the risk would be zero.
Through my last test, I am still negative. A condom broke not so long ago & I didn’t know the other person’s status. However, I once mistakenly took a double dose of Acriptega. Should I be concerned about contracting the disease.
Hi Sourav.
What ARVs are you taking?