No drug cures infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). However a number of drugs have been shown to reduce the rate at which HIV multiplies within the body. Each of these drugs seems to be reasonably effective for certain time periods. However after some time passes the drug seems to lose some or all of its ability to prevent multiplication of the virus. When this occurs you may be switched to another antiretroviral drug or you may be given a second drug to take with the first drug. The length of time it takes for a drug to lose its potency varies with each person. For some this takes only a few months whereas others obtain benefit from the same antiretroviral drug for years.
Because it is not clear why some people do well for only a short time and others do well for a long time, your response to the drugs will be watched closely. Your doctor will schedule you to return for examination and blood testing on a regular basis. It is important that you keep your medical appointments so that your doctor can determine if your drug therapy is working. If it is not working, your physician will want to change drugs or add another drug to the ones you are taking.
Antiretroviral drugs are very powerful and may cause physical reactions, called side effects, even while they are doing their job of preventing HIV from multiplying. Some of the side effects are temporary and go away after a few weeks. Other side effects will continue as long as you take the drugs. Most of these side effects can be described as being uncomfortable or inconvenient, but not harmful. Other side effects, however, may be permanently damaging or even life threatening. Therefore it is important that you learn what to expect when you take these drugs.
You are the best judge of how you feel and what is happening to your body. The physicians and nurses caring for you need your assistance in watching for potentially harmful side effects. Therefore, be sure that you understand any medications prescribed to you and report any unusual symptoms. Additionally new drugs are constantly being developed - and most are available in Bermuda.
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