A condom was left inside me after my hiv partner came. He retrieved it quite easily. After 8 hours i started the PEP medication. 1 blue Truvada tablet in the evening and 2 of the other antiviral yellow Kaletra tablets. However I got the dose WRONG in my panic and took only 1 Kaletra tablet morning and evening instead of 2 for the first 5 days. Do you think this has made the treatment worthless. Other than that I have religiously taken the doses correctly and finish in 3 days. Please can you give me an honest answer! Amy

Hello Amy,

No, I don't feel the dosing error rendered your PEP "worthless." Some PEP regimens only use two drugs, such as Truvada (tenofovir plus emtricitabine). You were placed on a three-drug regimen to afford extra protection an attempting to prevent or abort HIV transmission. Certainly we recommend proper dosing and strict adherence for PEP to have the best chance of being effective. It's worth noting that even with complete adherence and proper dosing, PEP is not 100% effective. There are PEP failures. At this point all you can do is finish your course of PEP and then follow the post-PEP testing guidelines (six weeks, three months and six months from the date of exposure). I'd also suggest you and your positively charged partner read through the information in the chapter devoted to magnetic couples in the archives of this forum. You might consider some of the harm-reduction strategies discussed there.

Good luck.

Dr. Bob