Once You've Started

In this part of the guide we talk about some of the things to keep track of to make sure your treatment is working -- and what you may need to do if it isn't.

• Once you've started
• treatment, you and your doctor will monitor your viral load to make sure your treatent is working.
• Together, you will also watch for side effects and toxicities. These might cause noticeable symptoms, such as a severe rash or flu-like symptoms, or may only show up in your blood tests. We cover these issues in How to Tell if Your Treatment Is Working.
• Making Your Treatment Work Long-Term explains why taking your medications as prescribed and watching out for drug interactions are important for ensuring that your treatment continues to work.
• Changing Treatment explores the two most common reasons for changing a drug combination: either it stops working and HIV becomes active again or you just can't live with the side effects or some other aspect of the treatment.