Which Are The Easiest Drug Combinations? (A Look At Fewer Pills and Once-A-Day Dosing) en español
Reducing Daily Doses
Most drug combinations being used by HIV-positive people today require taking pills one or two times a day (see "Are Once-Daily Regimens Now a Possibility?" later in this lesson for examples of complete once-daily drug regimens). If you are taking or plan to take a once-daily anti-HIV drug or once-daily drug combination, there are a few key points to consider:
Once-daily vs. every 24 hours? Once-daily medications should be taken every 24 hours, not at various time points throughout the day (e.g., with dinner on Monday, with breakfast on Tuesday, with lunch on Wednesday, etc.). Waiting too long between doses can cause the virus to become gradually resistant to the drugs being used. Thus it is important to get into the habit of using anti-HIV drugs – whether they are once-, twice-, or three-times a day – at the same time every day.
Missed doses: There is some concern that missing a dose of a drug that only needs to be taken once a day might be worse than missing a dose of a drug that needs to be taken twice- or three-times a day. If a dose is missed, it's not clear how late after the missed dose – or how soon before the next dose is supposed to be taken – that a makeup dose can be swallowed.
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