An HIV specialist should supervise treatment. Patients who have an experienced provider to manage their care live longer and are healthier than those who do not have an experienced provider (Paterson et al, 2000).
It is critically important that patients take all of the right pills at the right times (Kalichman & Rompa, 2003). When people do not take the correct medicines in the correct doses, at the correct times, the levels of the drugs in their bodies drop, allowing HIV to multiply (OARAC, 2006). The more HIV multiplies, the more likely it is to mutate into a form that the drugs are not designed to combat. When this happens, HIV is said to be resistant to a drug. Because there is a limited number of anti-HIV drugs, people quickly run out of drugs that work against their HIV disease.
Although antiretroviral therapy may prolong the lives of people with HIV, many people have difficulty taking the right doses of the right medicines at the right times, for several reasons. First, antiretroviral therapy is expensive, so many people cannot afford it. In addition, antiretroviral therapy requires taking at least three drugs. Remembering to take the right drugs in the right doses at the right times is difficult for many people—especially for people suffering from AIDS-related dementia, for people with drug or alcohol problems, or for people with mental illness. Antiretroviral therapy is time-consuming. Having the time and the place to take the drugs is difficult for some people. Finally, HAART has many negative side effects, which make taking the drugs unpleasant. These side effects include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, muscle pain, wasting (loss of strength and weight), liver problems, diabetes, abnormal fat distribution, high cholesterol, skin rashes, inflammation of the pancreas, nerve problems, and increased bleeding (in patients with hemophilia).
Proper adherence to antiretroviral therapy can be vital to the success of the treatment regimen. MyMedSchedule.com is a helpful tool patients can use to keep their medicines and medicine schedules organized. Try MyMedSchedule.com today.
Discussion questions: What are the reasons that adherence to antiretroviral therapy might be difficult? In addition to staying on their antiretroviral therapy, what can people with HIV do to keep their immune systems strong?
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