Question
Does diarrhea affect the absorption of my HIV meds?
16 January 2012. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi,
I have a question. I looked over the site but could not find a similar one.
I just took my meds at 10pm and at 10.30pm had a bout of diarrhea. I’m worried that my meds won’t have been absorbed properly.
I thought about taking another dose but decided against it. I just wondered what the advice is on this.
Last year I had a couple of days of serious diarrhea and I’m worried these occassions will mean my HIV will come back.
Should I be worried?
Thanks.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Generally, there is no need for you to worry about diarrhea affecting the absorption of your medication. This is because, once you take your tablets, there is plenty of time for them to be absorbed through your gut before you go to the toilet. There is no need therefore to take a second dose should this happen again.
Advice around this is that if you have have diarrhea for more than a few days, then it is recommended that you speak to your doctor. He/she will manage it by giving you medication for it or, if necessary, do an examination to determine the cause.
Please follow this link to our guide managing side effects.
Best wishes.
Hi Mampathi,
Please discuss this with your doctor. They should be able to give you something for the diarrhea. If it’s a major issue then you may need to change combination. Again, this will need to be discussed with your doctor.
Hi I’m taking my treatments properly bt problem is diarrhea after 1hr i taking pill at night again after the pill.n my bums getting smaller
Hi Betty,
How long has this been going on for? Have you discussed this with your doctor? You having diarrhea won’t affect how your body responds to meds. They’ll still be working like they should do.
Hi I’m drinking arv for 10 years but now after drinking medication I got diarrhea and should that medication works or not ?I start loose weight and heart rate is high start baat fast what is problems I don’t sleep at night after toilet.