Do I need to take lots of pills?

HIV treatments used to involve multiple doses of different drugs taken at specific times each day, some before and some with food, which often meant complicated medication schedules. For most people, such complex drug routines are a thing of the past. Although most people now take a combination of three drugs (sometimes more) from at least two ‘drug classes’, it is not unusual for separate treatments to be formulated together and combined into a single pill to reduce the number of pills people need to take. Some people take a single pill each day.

You do not need to ‘master’ the science of HIV treatments. That is the job of your doctor. But if you want to know more, check out NAPWHA’s Treatment Database or AFAO’s Antiretroviral Agents Adult Dosage Card.

Taking your treatment as prescribed (adherence) is very important. In the long term, adherence can have major implications for the development of drug resistance which can affect future treatment options. For a list of tips about treatment adherence, see AFAO’s Adherence Fact Sheet or NAPWHA’s Adherence Tips.