I was on ARVs for 2 years, now I hate them

Feb 01, 2009

ANTIRETROVIRAL therapy (ART) is treatment for life. It is not good for anyone to stop taking the drugs just because they feel okay. It is actually possible to feel okay when your CD4 count, which measures the degree of damage done to the immune system by

Face HIV with Dr. Watiti

Dear Doctor,
I stopped taking ARVs five years ago. I have been okay till late last year when I developed TB. I have now been on TB drugs for two months and feel okay. However my doctor has advised me to resume taking ARVs but I hate them! He says I might have to go on second line drugs, which I hear are stronger. My CD4 count is 270 cells/ml. Do I have to swallow ARVs or these second line drugs?/b>
Resty

Dear Resty,
ANTIRETROVIRAL therapy (ART) is treatment for life. It is not good for anyone to stop taking the drugs just because they feel okay. It is actually possible to feel okay when your CD4 count, which measures the degree of damage done to the immune system by HIV, is very low.

The fact that you hate the ARVs means you have a negative attitude towards them. You need to undergo ART adherence counselling so that you look at them with a positive.

You should have your CD4 count
checked again plus doing a viral load to
see how active the virus is in your body.

Your liver and kidneys should also be
checked and if they are normal, you
should go back to your first line drugs.
Second line drugs work differently and
we use them when there is evidence the
first line drugs have failed.

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