POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: lawrence03 on July 01, 2010, 03:06:21 am
-
So I plan on starting treatment sometime in the next week and the pharmacist was less than knowledgeable about these drugs:
Can you all answer these questions?
* As far is timing of the medication I know I should take the isentress 12 hours apart; can you give me some sort of range that I should not be worried about like +/- 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc. of the same time each day, I'm just concerned with my constantly changing sleep schedule that I don't want to freak out if I am a little late/early...
* What happens if I miss a dose and at what time would you say its too late to take it (after several hours?) if I remembered?
* What happens if I do experience side affects, what can I do? OTC's, contact my doctor for other prescriptions?
-
Hi, I'm not a doctor, so all of the following refers to how I personally regard the taking of my medicine.
I'd say you only have to start worrying about missed doses if you're talking about hours past the time you're supposed to take it. A window period of about 30 minutes shouldn't cause any problems, but you should try to be on time as much as you can. Set an alarm on your mobile phone, say, so you're always reminded.
The info that comes with the meds usually say something along the lines that if you miss a dose and it's nearly time to take your next one, forget about the missed dose and just wait for the one you're due to take, then carry on as before (i.e. you shouldn't take a double dose). If you're not due to take your second dose for a while, you should take the missed dose as soon as you remember then carry on as normal.
If you experience side effects, you should talk to your doctor, rather than try to self-diagnose. However, Truvada and Isentress are relatively side-effect free.
Hope that helps,
BM
-
When I first started Isentress/Truvada since it was all very new to me, I was very exact about the time and set two alarms on my cell phone, 8 AM and 8 PM but the timing does not have to be that exact.
Eventually I started to get used to taking the meds and after a couple of months I have not needed the alarm, taking the meds has become part of my routine and I remember. Part of what has helped in making this a routine is realizing that the timing does not have to be exact. It's perfectly fine for it to be off even by a few hours. Isentress is likely to be approved for once a day use at some point, maybe even soon.
I highly recommend a transparent weekly pill container (or two) because it's possible to find yourself not sure if you took the meds or not and by using these you can clearly see if you have taken it based on what's left in the container. I fill up two of them at a time which of course lasts two weeks, it was becoming a hassle to fill one up every week.
Make sure your first dose is both Isentress and Truvada, you would not want just Isentress in your system for the first 12 hours.
Personally I'd try to be good about the timing until you reach undetectable and until you get used to this becoming a routine for you.
Check out this link:
http://www.hopkins-aids.edu//q_a/patient/recent_questions/re__isentress_dosing_intervals.html?contentInstanceId=530369&siteId=7151
PS: This is overall a very easy combo to take. There are some people who have had issues but I think it's a minority, most people do very well with it and don't experience much in the way of side effects. It's important to monitor kidney function while on Truvada, which I would imagine your doctor is aware of if he/she has HIV experience.
-
When I first started Isentress/Truvada since it was all very new to me, I was very exact about the time and set two alarms on my cell phone, 8 AM and 8 PM.
Eventually I started to get used to taking the meds and after a couple of months I have not needed the alarm, taking the meds has become part of my routine and I remember. Part of what has helped in making this a routine is the fact that I realized that the timing does not have to be exact. It's perfectly fine for it to be off even by a few hours. Isentress is likely to be approved for once a day.
I highly recommend a transparent weekly pill container (or two) because it's possible to find yourself not sure if you took the meds or not and by using these you can clearly see if you have taken it based on what's left in the container. I fill up two of them at a time which of course lasts two weeks, it was becoming a hassle to fill one up every week.
Make sure your first dose is both Isentress and Truvada, you would not want just Isentress in your system for the first 12 hours.
Personally I'd try to be good about the timing until you reach undetectable and until you get used to this becoming a routine for you.
Check out this link:
http://www.hopkins-aids.edu//q_a/patient/recent_questions/re__isentress_dosing_intervals.html?contentInstanceId=530369&siteId=7151
PS: This is overall a very easy combo to take. There are some people who have had issues but I think it's a minority, most people do very well with it and don't experience much in the way of side effects. It's important to monitor kidney function while on Truvada, which I would imagine your doctor is aware of if he/she has HIV experience.
^^^^^^^^
Ditto!
I have been on these meds for several months without any problems. I had a little gas at first but that has stopped.
Billy