After you are diagnosed with HIV, your doctor will start you on a daily pill (or pills) called antiretroviral therapy (ART). Taking this medicine helps your body fight HIV. Though ART is not a cure, it can decrease the amount of virus in your body.
The only way your doctor can tell if the medicine is working, though, is if you show up for appointments and for blood draws, so it's critical to keep taking your medicine and attend all your appointments at the clinic or the doctor's office.
In order for your doctor to prescribe the most effective and safest medication for you, you must tell them about all other medicines you take. Some medicines should not be combined with HIV medicines or they could make you sick enough to go to the hospital.
Like all medicines, ART can have side effects, but most ART is very well tolerated.
Some side effects might show up in your blood, even if you don't even notice them. That's why it's essential to go to your clinic or office visits, since that's the only way your doctor can find these side effects.
Tell your doctor about any side effects immediately, especially if they last longer than several days or make you so sick you have to go to the hospital. Your doctor will determine if you need to switch your medication.
If your side effects are bothersome but not serious, your doctor can recommend certain strategies to help you deal with them (eating smaller meals when you feel nauseated, for example).
Do not stop taking your medication unless your doctor tells you to. Remember, your doctor has selected the medication that gives you the best chance of managing your HIV. Stopping your medication by yourself will make you sicker than your side effects.
Most HIV medications are daily pills, but one consists of two shots, taken every month or couple of months in the clinic or doctor's office. You can only switch to this medication if you have a low enough level of virus in your body and are willing to go to the clinic or doctor's office for treatment. Talk to your doctor if you're interested in this option after a few months of treatment.
Read Part 1 of this series: For Your Patients -- Knowing Your Risk for HIV
MedPage Today's "Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by doctors, meant for physicians and other healthcare professionals as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.
