Question
There was a stock out of ARVs, what is the risk?
18 February 2013. Related: Access to treatment, All topics.
I am on Odimune (Atripla) since 2012 June. My CD4 was 350 and viral load was 18000. In January 2013 CD4 was 450 and viral load less than 50.
I had to skip my treatment for two weeks because of delays in posting of my medication is this going to have a negative impact on my CD4 and viral load?
Answer
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear that you missed a few doses of Odimune because of stock problems. Has your clinic resolved this to prevent this happening again? Unfortunately this problem is far too common in South Africa. The Treatment Action Campaign are campaigning to improve this – you may want to get in touch with them for information about this, and what to do if this happens again.
It’s difficult to say whether or not this will have a negative impact on your treatment. Missing doses increases the risk of developing drug resistance, which would mean you would need to change treatment. The risk is probably lower if you stopped suddenly for two weeks and restarted, and higher if you try to spread your meds out to cover this period. But a lot of this is unfortunately down to luck. When you missed doses your viral load will have gone up, and it’s possible during this time that you may have developed resitance. The actual risk is probably quite low from a once-off, but the only way to know will be to monitor your viral load and make sure this stays below 50 and doesn’t go back up. See this link for more information about missed doses and drug resistance.
Make sure your doctor knows about these missed doses, and ask him/her to check your viral load now that you are back on treatment to make sure this is being kept down.
Hi Lera,
Please see Q4 here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
I was late with my meds by 2hrs, is this OK?
Hi Mark,
You’ll be fine. Please see Q 4 here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
I forgot to take may med 6hrs, and my med is efavirenz, lamivudine and tenofovir or 1 pill. Is that okay?
Hi Dyani, missing one dose is okay – everyone does this occasionally.
I’ve missed my Odimune treatment once – is there any risk that i’m in?
Hi Vovo, missing a single pill will be ok. Just start as soon as you remember.
i forgot to take a hiv treatment a single what im going to do nw. My treatment atroiza and insonaiz plz help
Hi,
Which country do you live in? It’s important to discuss this problem with your clinic to try and avoid missing doses- they may be able to suggest a way to fix this problem. Whether or not you can buy ARVs with medical aid will depend on where you live.
I’m having the same problem of missing doses because of delaying of receiving my meds at post office.Can I buy Odimune over the count with medical aid at pharmacists?