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.
Dear Molly – and anyone else in a similar situation – please contact your local HIV clinic so you can access meds again. They are going to work okay and this will improve your long-term health. Even when people feel okay after stopping HIV meds, HIV starts to damage your immune system again without you realising it. Reconnecting with care is really important.
It would be better for the new clinic to have your earlier notes from the first clinic, but if this is difficult to arrange now, you could hopefully talk about this later, once you are back on treatment again.
I don’t know the details of where you live and currently get care, but if getting a letter from your old clinic is difficult, perhaps you can just register at a new clinic where you now live.
Hi,I’m defaulted for two years is it possible to restart taking ARV,and by the way,I also relocated to another province