Question
What if I miss a dose or take a double dose by mistake?
29 December 2017. Related: Adherence, All topics.
Hi, if i forget to take my pill on time, or maybe take it twice a day, without remembering i took it, then maybe overdose by mistake. Can it cause any harm to my health?
Answer
Missing an occasional pill is okay
Taking a double dose of HIV medication is usually okay  – but it is not a good idea. The main risk is that you might get side effects for a few hours due to the short time when you have higher drug levels.
Additional doses of other types of medication might require speaking to a doctor or pharmacist about the short term side effects.
It is better to get a pill box. Then you can see each day whether or not you have taken your meds. These are cheap and work really well.
Josh.
Answer revised 16/02/22
Hello mMichael and thanks for getting in touch.
As with any medication, if you are not feeling well please contact a healthcare provider.
For the future, you only need to have two doses when you start your PrEP on demand regimen.
Chances are you will not need to do something, you will probably feel ok for the rest of the day.
Take your medication as prescribed for the following doses, don’t skip any doses in the following days.
Took 3 doses of prep in one day. Is that ok? What should I do?
Hello Fabian and thanks for getting in touch.
PrEP requires at least 4 doses per week to be effective.
So you had protection when you were exposed.
Provided you continued taking PrEP on 28 and 29/12 then you are fully covered.
Remember: it’s always better to be on PrEP than not.
You can only start PEP within 72 hours after exposure.
A healthcare professional will assess your risk and make the decision, if you are still interested to be assessed you should act as soon as possible.
On Friday (27), I had unprotected (no condom) sex as the insertive partner with a man whose HIV status I don’t know. I’ve been taking PrEP for five weeks but have missed around 7 pills this month. For the week that I was probably exposed, I skipped my doses on Sunday (22) and Wednesday (25) before the encounter. While I did take my pills on Monday(23), Tuesday (24), Thursday (26) and Friday (27), I’m unsure if those doses provided enough protection in case I was exposed to HIV. I’m feeling very anxious and wondering if I should start PEP treatment given the missed doses in the month and the week leading up to this encounter??