Question
I’ve been off meds for 8 months, can I restart?
6 December 2020. Related: Adherence, All topics.
I stopped taking ARVs 8 months ago and I feel fine. Is it possible to restart taking ARVs, or is it too late?
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
Though you feel fine, you’re still living with HIV. If you’re not taking ARVs, your HIV won’t be controlled. Your viral load will have rebounded and there may have been a drop in your CD4. When someone stops taking medication it also in some cases means that they may have become resistant to the ARVs that they were previously taken, this is why adherence is important.
Even if you’ve not taken any medication for 8 months, it’s not too late to restart. The best thing to do is to book an appointment to see your doctor. Let them know that you defaulted, but that you’re now ready to restart. Ideally they should check your viral load as well as your CD4 count. They should also talk to you about your treatment options.
Once you restart, it’s important to adhere. If you think this might be a problem, try and get some support for this.
Hello Starlink and thanks for getting in touch.
Your treatment works very well and that’s why you are undetectable now (viral load under 200 copies).
It’s not advisable to skip treatment for 4 days at a time as the levels of the drugs become too low and resistance might develop.
As long as she is undetectable you are both protected.
If she has a detectable viral load while on medication that might mean she is developing resistance and that virus can be passed on during sex.
Hi, I am on treatment for 8 months now and last I check, my viral load was 178. So now we used to have sex with my partner and she sometimes don’t take her treatment for 4 consecutive days. So my question is, can my viral load be a problem or can she re-infect me with the virus ?