Take Control of Your Sexual Health.
Visit the following resources for information about HIV services, including where to get tested, where to get PrEP, and information on starting HIV treatment.
The below are questions that were submitted for the Instagram Live event that took place on October 9th. Although we didn’t have to time to address these questions during the live event, Dr. Franco Chevalier has provided written responses.
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Can someone who is not a US citizen/resident, get access to HIV medication in the US? Where can someone who is not a US citizen/resident get access?
Yes, someone who is not a US citizen/resident can most definitely have access to HIV care and medication through Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. Through this program, clinics can provide care regardless of status and without jeopardizing your status or fear to be reported. You can visit the Ryan White page at https://ryanwhite.hrsa.gov for more information.
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What are the options if the daily oral HIV medications are causing side effects?
It is important to note that ALL medications can have side effects, including HIV medications. The good news is that, even though HIV medicines can sometimes cause side effects, most of these are manageable, but a few can be serious. Overall, however, the benefits of taking HIV medications is far greater than the risk of having side effects from the medication. Another important point is that newer HIV medicines are much better tolerated and cause far fewer side effects than the medicine we used to prescribe to people living with HIV in the past. Also important to remember that not all medications are created equal. This means that different HIV medicines may cause different side effects for some people and even people taking the same HIV medicine can have different side effects or none at all. The most important thing you can do, is to communicate with your health care provider about possible side effects that you are experiencing or are concerned about so that together you can find ways to manage them.
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Is it still effective to take the daily oral HIV medicines every other day or every 3 days?
HIV medication is only effective if taken as prescribed. Meaning, if you are taking an oral pill that is meant to be taken daily, you should not skip any doses, and take it once a day. On that same note, if you are getting injectable HIV medication like Cabenuva, you should be on time for all your injections to ensure that you remain healthy and undetectable. Skipping doses or missing doses increases the risk that the HIV virus can develop resistance against the medication, and if so, it may cause the medication to not work anymore, which can be problematic and may lead to having to change your medications all together to ensure that you are able to continue to stay healthy and undetectable. Taking the medication as prescribed by your doctor will ensure that your HIV viral load remains low/undetectable and your CD4 counts high.