No Hiv, No Aids

There are several reasons for this. Two of the more important reasons are drug intolerance and drug failure.

Drug intolerance means that there are side effects that make it difficult to take the drugs as directed.
Drug failure means that the drugs are not working well enough to decrease your viral load.

You should ask your doctor to explain why any changes are needed in your treatment.

If the reason is drug intolerance, your doctor may change the drug(s). He or she may replace one or more of your current drugs with different ones of the same strength and class.

If the reason is drug failure, your doctor should change all your drugs to new ones you have never taken. If you have been taking three drugs, and all three drugs cannot be changed, then at least two drugs should be changed. Using new drugs will reduce the risk of developing drug resistance.

Before changing HIV drugs, you should talk to your doctor about

• all HIV drugs you have taken before,
• the strength of the new drugs your doctor recommends,
• possible side effects of the new drugs,
• how well you will be able to follow (adhere to) the new treatment, and
• the number of HIV drugs remaining that you have not yet used.

You may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial using new drugs or treatment strategies. For more information about participating in a clinical trial, ask your doctor, or visit the National Library of Medicine’s ClinicalTrials.gov Web site at: www.ClinicalTrials.gov.