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.
Should ARV be taken morning and night daily?
Hi Ennie, do you mean if you miss a day you take more tablets the next day?
If i miss i take 5 to 6 tablets everyday
Hi Nicole, it is important that you call an ambulance/contact local health services. It is good that he is vomiting so that some medication will be removed from the body, but this still needs medical input. How is your husband doing now?
My partner took all 30 of his arvs at the same time what will happen to him cause now he is just vomiting and he doesn’t want me to call the ambulance or go to the clinic
Hi Rose, anyone taking this amount of any medicine should immediately seek medical help. No-one would do this though by accident, so getting support about why this happened is really important. If this is/was as a way to end life, someone could wake up with damaged organs that just make life much more painful and difficult.
In the UK, the phoneline for the Samaritans is 116 123. The US National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.
Eight helplines for South Africa are linked here.
http://www.suicide.org/hotlines/international/south-africa-suicide-hotlines.html
Phonelines in over 60 other countries are linked from this page.
http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
What about the risk of overdose if someone takes a whole month supply?
Hi Kolubah, no. You are not at any risk. You may experience more side effects than usual while you have a higher level of drug in your body. This will only be for the next day, if you experience this at all, while your body returns to normal levels. You should continue taking your ARVs as normal.
I just mistakingly took addition dose of the ART . Any risk? It’s my first time in almost two years since I started
Hi Ncobile, has your friend gone to a doctor after taking so many ARVs? and do you know why she did this? Depending on the ARVs she takes, it is possible that there are different risks to baby. As she is later in her pregnancy there are some risk to premature birth. How is she doing?