3.13 Can I take a break or stop my treatment?

Unless there is a medical reason to stop HIV treatment (ART), it is best not to stop or take a break.

The best results from ART come from staying on treatment and from taking the meds as they are prescribed.

The longer you stay on treatment the longer the benefit should continue.

If everything is going well, it is still important to continue taking ART. This is even if your health is feeling better.

If you have difficult side effects it is better to change treatment than to stop treatment.

Stopping ART, even for short periods is not good

Stopping ART will increase viral load again very quickly.

Viral load can increase from undetectable to several thousand within a week or two.

Viral load does not become detectable after only a few days though. So missing one or two days meds will usually be okay. Your partners will not be at risk from missing meds for a day.

Each interruption of treatment also carries a risk of developing drug resistance. If will also make increase the risk of transmission to sexual partners.

If you want to stop ART please talk to your doctor first

Please talk to your doctor if you want to stop ART.

This is so your doctor can understand how you feel. If this is becasue of side effects, an alternative combination might help.

Your doctor can also arranged different monitoring for you.

Last updated: 1 January 2023.