aids drugs timing when travelling to another country with different time zone

Apr 2, 2010

Hello,

my mother would be visiting me here in US very soon. Currently she is on truvada and efavirenz. In india she takes truvada in the morning and efavirenz before going to bed.

Since there is a time difference of 12 hours, is it ok if she continues the same after coming to US i.e take one in the morning and one before bed or she has to take drugs according to the time in india i.e per US timing take truvada in the night and efavirenz in the morning.

Or is it ok if she takes the medicine according to the us timings i.e truvada in the morning and efavirenz in the night.

Thanks

Response from Dr. Young

Hello and thank you for your post.

Since efavirenz (Sustiva, part of Atripla) is typically taken around bedtime and has lasts in the body for a long time, the easiest thing to do is to simply take it according to local time. So, when your mother arrives in the US, she would take her medications on US time.

I hope that she has a safe and uneventful (if long) trip to the States.

BY