Question
Can I switch to take meds in the morning instead of the evening?
18 December 2011. Related: Adherence, All topics.
I have just started treatment this week on a combination of truvada, ritonavir and atazanavir.
I have started taking them in the evening but with my work I now think moving to taking them at breakfast would be easier.
Can I just start doing that or is it more complicated than that now I’ve started?
Answer
Hi
There is a lot of flexibility in timing to find what works best for you.
With the meds in your combination is also easy to switch from evening to morning. Take your last evening dose at the usual time, and then take another dose the next morning at the time you want to take them. You are doing this to make sure you never leave more than 24 hours between doses, when the drug levels could drop too low and risk resistance.
Your drug levels will be slightly higher for the first few hours of dose the next day. This is unlikely to be a risk because there is already a wide range of variability in drug levels achieved by different people.
If you are worried about this, your last evening dose could be taken without the ritonavir, but this might be unecessarily cautious.
The only meds that really need to be taken at night are efavirenz and rilpivirine, or the combined pills that include these meds (Atripla and Complera).
Your HIV pharmacist would also be able to talk to you about this on the phone if you want to check this with the clinic first.
Hi Lebogang, citalopram is not a medication used for HIV treatment. Have you spoken to a doctor about this? Medication needs to be taken at a time that best suits you. In general, switching will not be a problem if you can stick to the new time. Taking medication at the same time every day is to ensure the drug level within the body stays high enough to work.
Hi
I’m on citalopram and I used to take it in the morning but I’d get very sleepy half of day then I switched to taking them at night for the past 3weeks but now I’m struggling with getting out of bed in the morning and I’m forever getting heart palpitations during the day.
Can go back to taking my meds in the morning and will that not affect the medication from working?
Luvigen is a generic versions of tenofovir DF (TD), lamivudine (3TC) and dolutegravir coformulated into a single pill (TLD).
https://i-base.info/guides/12423
It is best taken in the morning because one of the side effects of dolutegravir is not sleeping well.
If you find you can sleep well though, you can take it whenever is best for you.
Can I take Luvigen at night
Hi Teenarh,
Please see Q4 here: https://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
Hi.. I forgot to take my Acriptega in the evening and I was scared to take it in the morning so I waited for 24 hrs before taking it. Will it cause any effect
Hi Ngoni,
Yes it’s OK to take Acriptega in the morning, this isn’t a problem.
Is good to change time to take my tablets from evening to morning .I’m drinking Acriptega
Hi Thobile,
It’s OK to take the morning pill, this won’t be an issue.
Am taking Emdolten every morning.so mistakenly took it night before bed at 21:00 pm .do I continue the following day to take it morning.plz help am scared now what to do.my time of taking them in the morning is 8:00 pm.