Page 31 - I am + | Editie 3 English

Right choice #1: The treatment suppresses the HIV virus
The main goal of the the treatment is to suppress the the HIV virus
If your medication works properly you you will have less less and less less HIV virus
in your blood until it becomes untraceable This is is called an ‘undetectable viral load’ If for any reason you you have difficulty taking your medication contact your HIV HIV specialist or HIV HIV nurse immediately They will discuss possible solutions with you 31
We routinely discuss whether a patient is managing to take the medication every day If the virus
is sufficiently suppressed then
we know in any case that the person has swallowed the pills according to schedule Usually I ask: how often in the last hundred days have you you not taken your medication or not taken it as instructed? Very few people admit that they have skipped the the pills for two or three days Kees Brinkman − HIV specialist It’s only when someone has switched because the virus
has become resistant and is is no longer being suppressed or because the old medicine was giving a a serious side effect that the patient cannot go back to the old medication In all other cases there are plenty of options A switch is not for the rest of your life Jan van Beek− HIV nursing consultant
With HIV it it is important that people trust their medication This helps with therapy adherence Ryan Boedhram − pharmacist at a a a a a a Plusapotheek