Re: Forgetting to take meds

[Guest guest]

The side effects probably show that this time you doubled up on the dose. For the specific combination of the three drugs in Atripla, if your have such good adherence otherwise, you are unlikely to do any harm from being missing an occasional dose and waiting until the next evening. This assumes your viral load has been undetectable for this time.

This is supported by a small study called FOTO (Five On Two Off) where people with undetectable viral load for more than a year missed their weekend meds without seeing their viral load increase.http://www.ias2009.org/pag/Abstracts.aspx?AID=3046

Not that this strategy is recommended in guidelines (and not approved by the FDA) but it is good to reduce the stress from worrying about an occasional missed dose.Simon

On 9 January 2012 07:00, <hoppefaith@...> wrote:

 

In the 20 aprox yrs I;ve been taking meds. I dont think I've ever forgotten to take a dose( remember three times a day viracept? ) .  Now, with the once daily atripla, I was about 90% sure that I forgot to take the dose  a few days ago, because I saw the glass of water I filled to take the pill with and in the morning I noticed that the water was not drank and I was wondering if I took the pill as well.  So, in the morning I took the atripla and simply continued the same nite with my usual schedule. . Wow, that day I sure felt zonked out bec of the sustiva element.. Question, would you have skipped the dose and waited till bedtime, or do as I did, and  take the dose in the morning and  at nite as well ?  I wonder what the sustiva does to my sleep as it is.. I think I;ll wait for the quad pill though..  any thoughts?

[Guest guest]

It is my understanding that if your next dose is scheduled within six hours, wait until then. If more than six hours away, take the missed dose. ~

[Guest guest]

, you saved me the time of answering the same thing.

I can't imagine how crazy I'd get trying to remember if I took my pills or not,

if I didn't have a pill box. Imagine having to haul out everything you need

every time you take a dose? I'd go nuts.

Even if your HIV meds are a single pill, you've probably got other pills to

take-- multivitamins, supplements, low-dose aspirin (if you're over 50), etc.

Why on earth would you want to haul out all that crap every time you take a

dose? Do it once for 2 weeks and be done with it. And you'll never wonder if

you took your meds anymore.

That one's a no-brainer.

>

> I would skip the dose and take it at the regularly scheduled time in the

> evening. This advice is particularly true for Atripla, due to the extremely

long

> half life of Sustiva. Sustiva stays in your body for about a week after you

stop

> taking it. I'm not sure about the half life of Viread and Emtriva, the other

two

> drugs in Atripla, but I've often been assured by my doctor that a single

missed

> dose of any HIV medication is nothing to get too worked up about. Viral

> resistance happens in people who have multiple missed doses.

>

> I would strongly recommend that you (and anyone taking HIV medications!) get a

> pill box with compartments for each day of the week and lay out your pills a

> week in advance. That way you can look at the pill box and see if you've taken

> your pill for that day. None of us, especially as we get older and somewhat

more

> forgetful, can remember whether we've taken our pills consistently.

>

> Forgetting to take meds

> Posted by: " hoppefaith@... " hoppefaith@... bjncarlsbad

> Sun Jan 8, 2012 11:32 pm (PST)

>

>

> In the 20 aprox yrs I;ve been taking meds. I dont think I've ever forgotten

> to take a dose( remember three times a day viracept? ) . Now, with the

> once daily atripla, I was about 90% sure that I forgot to take the dose a

> few days ago, because I saw the glass of water I filled to take the pill with

> and in the morning I noticed that the water was not drank and I was

> wondering if I took the pill as well. So, in the morning I took the atripla

> and

>

> simply continued the same nite with my usual schedule. . Wow, that day I

> sure felt zonked out bec of the sustiva element.. Question, would you have

> skipped the dose and waited till bedtime, or do as I did, and take the dose

> in the morning and at nite as well ? I wonder what the sustiva does to my

> sleep as it is.. I think I;ll wait for the quad pill though.. any

> thoughts?

>

[Guest guest]

I'll 2nd what the others have said about using pill cases... and even then I

will occasionally forget a once-daily dose until later in the day.

But I also wanted to add my personal experience with Sustiva (which I took for

some time) and Atripla (which followed the Sustiva regimen).

For a long time I actually enjoyed the vivid dreams that Sustiva gave me... but

after a couple years of not sleeping soundly and not wanting to get hooked on

something like Ambien... I switched my Sustiva from the nighttime dose to the

daytime dose.

For a few days only, I had to deal with some anxiety... not a great deal and I

knew where it was coming from. But that evened out quickly and I never noticed

it again. AND I started sleeping MUCH better, almost immediately.

Each person is physiologically different, so what worked for me may not work for

everyone/anyone else. I don't offer this as advice, just my experiences on a

different way to do it.

<SNIP> . Wow, that day I sure felt zonked out bec of the sustiva >element.. I

wonder what the sustiva does to my

> sleep as it is.. I think I;ll wait for the quad pill though.. any

> thoughts?

>

[Guest guest]

I'll 2nd what the others have said about using pill cases... and even then I

will occasionally forget a once-daily dose until later in the day.

But I also wanted to add my personal experience with Sustiva (which I took for

some time) and Atripla (which followed the Sustiva regimen).

For a long time I actually enjoyed the vivid dreams that Sustiva gave me... but

after a couple years of not sleeping soundly and not wanting to get hooked on

something like Ambien... I switched my Sustiva from the nighttime dose to the

daytime dose.

For a few days only, I had to deal with some anxiety... not a great deal and I

knew where it was coming from. But that evened out quickly and I never noticed

it again. AND I started sleeping MUCH better, almost immediately.

Each person is physiologically different, so what worked for me may not work for

everyone/anyone else. I don't offer this as advice, just my experiences on a

different way to do it.

<SNIP> . Wow, that day I sure felt zonked out bec of the sustiva >element.. I

wonder what the sustiva does to my

> sleep as it is.. I think I;ll wait for the quad pill though.. any

> thoughts?

>