3.11 Side effects

HIV treatment (ART) has a low risk of serious side effects. ART is now more tolerable and easy to take.

Most people on ART do not get side effects and lead their normal life. If side effects occur, these are usually mild and they resolve within a few weeks.

If side effects are difficult or continue, then it is often better to change to a different combination.

Bt before starting ART, it is common to still worry about side effects.

Most side effects are usually mild.
They usually also become easier within a few weeks as your body gets used to treatment.
The risk of more serious side effects is small any should be picked up by your doctor with routine monitoring.
More recently, weight gain has been reported as a possible side effect. This mainly affects African women using dolutegravir, especially with tenofovir alafnamide (TAF). Everyone starting ART should have their weight recorded before ART and then at each monitoring visit.

Many people put up with side effects when there are better options. It should be easy to change to a different combination. This is why it is important to report any new symptoms or changes in your health to your doctor.

If you are unlucky and get side effects, first contact your clinic.
Your doctor needs to know how the side effects affect your life.

Before starting ART, find out how many people report the most common side effects. For example, maybe 1 in 10 people (10%) feel more tired. This means 9 out of 10 people (90%) don’t feel more tired.

The doctor, nurse, or HIV pharmacist should be able to talk about this.

Ask how many people stop treatment because of them (usually very few).

Even rough estimates will give you a good idea of what is involved. Ask other people taking the drugs for their experience. This way you will know what to look out for.

The long list of possible side effects is very different. The risk of each of these might only be 1 in 1000 or 1 in 10,000, or even lower.

Section 4 — Side effects of ARVs

3.11 Side effects

Further reading