Question
Is it ok if I take my meds 15 or 30 mins late?
10 October 2016. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Do you have to take your arvs at exactly the same time each day? Will for example 30 mins (or even an hour) each way have any impact whatsoever on the suppression of the virus or cause resistance? I am worried as even though I take them every day some days it is 15 or 30 mins later or earlier than the previous day.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
It is sometimes difficult to take your meds at the exact same time everyday.
Even when starting, there is a window of about an hour either side of your target time when it is still fine to take them.
For example, if you want to take your meds every night at 10 pm, then any time between 9pm and 11pm will be fine.
Everyone has a few times when we forget our meds though.
The less this happens the better. But if it does happen once in a while then there is nothing to worry about. If you forget in the future, take them as soon as you remember. However, if this is already close to the next dose DO NOT take a double dose.
Once you get an undetectable viral load, especially if it has been undetectable for several years, you have more flexibility. This partly depends on which drugs you are using.
Some once daily drugs (including tenofovir DF, emtricitabine and efavirinz) have long half-lives. This means drug levels stay in your body for long enough to cover being several hours late or even missing a dose completely.
Several studies are looking at whether reduced dosing might be safe – for example by only taking ART for four days a week. We need bigger studies before we know if this is safe though.
Note: this question was updated in October 2016 from and original answer in April 2011.
Hi Nokuthula, thanks, you are doing really well :)
Please don’t worry if you are a little early or a little late with the time you take your meds.
It is fine to be an hour or two earlier or later without this affecting the treatment.
Modern HIV meds are designed to be a little flexible with the exact time :)
Hi, is it a problem skipping the actual time of your ARVs – maybe by 30 minutes to a hour?
Am struggling to keep time.
Hi Mbali – please don’t worry about this – it sounds like you are actually doing really well. It is fine to be an hour or two before or after the ideal time, without this being a problem.
I started my treatment early January and I’m struggling with my chosen time it’s either I’m 30 minutes early or 30 minutes later for my pill will it affect me
Hi Jamie, it is great to hear how well you have been doing on treatment. Occasionally being late with medication is not going to risk your treatment no longer working. Biktarvy has a long half life. This means it remains working in the body for longer than 24 hours. This can account for occasionally being late and HIV will still be suppressed if you are late with treatment.
Hi. I’ve been taking Efavirenz/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir disoproxil for over 28 months (about 2 years). I remained undetectable, and I switched to Biktarvy and was on it for 18 months (over a year now). Two months ago, I had a viral load test, which showed I was still undetectable. However, this past month, due to work, I have been taking my meds sometimes one or two hour late on a weekly basis. There was once I took my meds 3 hours late which was the first, ever. I’m now worried if these patterns are gonna effect my viral load?
Hi Lisakhanya, do you know what has been causing you to be late with your treatment? Are you just forgetting or is it a time of the day when you are busy and do not have time to take it? Are you able to set an alarm? If you have an alarm on a phone you could set specifically for taking ART it will help ensure you are more regular with your treatment.
Occasionally being late with your treatment is not a problem. ART has a long half life meaning that it remains working in the body after 24 hours. This is not something to be relied upon and it is still best to take treatment at the same time every day. Being less strict with timing can risk how well the treatment works, even if the risk is small.
I’ve been taking Arvs ( TLD ) for two month now and I always forget to take them at the same time , it’s either I’m 30minutes or an hour late and I’m a bit worried because this happens almost everyday. I take them everyday though just always late then my scheduled time . What problems will this cause and how can I stop this it’s stressing me out
Hi Andiswa, why are you struggling with your time? Being a little late either side isn’t going to be a problem. In most cases being half an hour early or late with your medication is completely fine. An hour late is generally okay but it would be best to avoid doing this regularly. Have you had any recent viral load tests to see how your ARVs are working?
Hi,I’ve been taking ARVs past 3 months but struggling with keeping the time,it’s either I’m 30min early or an hour late will this affect me?