cutting half my meds

Feb 5, 2014

I started treatment almost 8 years ago with Kaletra and Combivir..Due to the bad side effects i stopped my meds after one year and half and didnt take any for almost 6 years when i got sick.. My CD4 are still low( i just started almost 2 months now).I dont know the viral load.. My meds are: Prezista(1 morning,1 evening) Norvir same as Prezista, Intelence( 2 in morning ..2 in evening) and Viread one at noon..The side effects are very bad again wich makes me give up meds again wich i dont want..The question is: Which med can i give up so i cant take so many pills or if is there any possibility to cut meds on half and take them in morning and evening.. half dose as prescribed.. Thanks very much

Response from Dr. Henry

How to handle this situation depends on many factors including: current HIV and CD4 count levels, any documented drug resistance, what other HIV medications are available where you live, and others. It is not recommended to underdose standard treatments. If you live in the US then other options (such as relying more on an integrase inhibitor and perhaps trying to back off on the protease inhibitor/ritonavir such as once a day dosing) might be available depending on numerous individual factors that you need to discuss with your HIV specialist). KH