Question
What happens if I miss a dose?
5 February 2018. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi,
I’m aged 28, female, im starting this new Atroiza today. I’m responsible but what happens if I miss a day or 30 min off drinking my tablet.
Answer
Hi,
Thanks for your email.
The best reason to aim for the same time every day, is so that you get into a good routine. This will help you make your meds an easy part of your life. This is especially true when you first start treatment until your viral load becomes undetectable.
Generally it is OK to have a window of an hour either side of your normal time to take your meds. So if you aim to take it at 9 pm each day so long as you take it between 8pm and 10pm this will all be fine.
Most people will miss a dose at some point, but so long as this is not every week , this is also okay.If this keeps happening, please talk to your doctor about things that might help. The more doses you miss though the more likely that you will develop drug resistance.
Please see this page about adherence for more information.
Note: This answer was updated in February 2018 from a question first posted online in September 2013.
Dear Godfrey, thanks for your post. Becasue your latest test was positive, this is the most important thing to focus on now. If this was a rapid test then the result now needs to be checked at a clinic or laboratory to confirm the result. An HIV clinic should also test your CD4 count and /or viral load results.
Some people can go for many years without becoming ill, so the test in 2017 might have been accurate and the middle test might have been a false positive.
The CD4 and viral load results will help the doctor advise you about the earlier tests.
For me I tested positive in 2017 but I ignored the results and in 2020 I tested negative but later on in 2025 I tested positive. is possible to stay with HIV for seven years with out medication
Hello Marcia and thanks for getting in touch.
Are you living with HIV? Do you take some other medication too or just duotemtric?
Hi i missed a dose of duotemtric twice because I was away and I’m worried,am I in trouble?
thanks Florence :)
thank you .for the advise
Hello Evanse and thank you for getting in touch.
Don’t worry. It happens some times and people might miss a dose.
Your treatment won’t be affected by these two times you missed your doses.
Other people have found it easier to remember by:
– setting an alarm
– using a pill box
– taking their tablets at the sae time every day
See if any of these might work for you.
See below the link with more information about not taking ARVs for a day or two:
https://i-base.info/guides/starting/forgot-my-pills