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If you have stopped your HIV treatment, you are not alone. It’s not uncommon for people living with HIV to have paused or stopped treatment at one point or another. The important thing is that you take the next step to get back on track.
did you know?
In a survey of 30,751 respondents across 25 countries,
1 in 4 people
living with HIV have reported pausing or stopping HIV treatment at some point.*
The good news? It’s possible to get back on treatment.
*Data are drawn from studies that were conducted between 2020 and 2023.
Whether you’re ready to start treatment again or you still have questions, you can start by talking with someone on your care team. You can talk with your healthcare provider (HCP), a social worker, a case manager, or another member of your support team.
No matter how long it’s been since you last took medication to manage your HIV, you and your HCP can work together to develop a plan that can help you stay on treatment and engaged in care.
When you talk with your healthcare provider about what treatments might be best for you now, it’s important to be open about why you stopped treatment. Here are some topics you may want to discuss if they were a part of the reason why you stopped:
The more information you provide, the better your healthcare provider will be able to help you find the right treatment for you and help you find ways to stay in care.
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People featured are compensated by Gilead.
If you have stopped your HIV treatment, you are not alone. 1 in 4 people living with HIV have reported pausing or stopping HIV treatment at some point. The good news? Getting back on track is possible, and the best time to start the conversation is as soon as you can.
Whether you still have a few questions or are ready to get back on treatment, talking to someone on your healthcare team is the right place to start. It could be your healthcare provider, a social worker, a case manager, or another member of your support team. Whether it’s been a few months or longer since you last took medication to manage your HIV, you and your healthcare provider can work together to develop a plan to help you stay on treatment and engaged in care.
It’s also important to be open about why you stopped, whether it was due to things like difficulties with mental health, substance use, stigma, or if the reasons were related to your treatment, such as side effects, pill size, the number of pills, or trouble fitting treatment into your routine. If you remember the name of the medicine you were taking before you stopped, that information can also be helpful. By sharing these details with your healthcare provider, they can help you choose a treatment that better suits your needs and discuss strategies for staying on treatment.
No matter why you stopped, what’s important is that you get back on HIV treatment as soon as possible. The sooner you are back on treatment, the sooner you can reduce the amount of virus in your body, helping to restore your immune system. Taking HIV medicine as prescribed can help you reach an undetectable viral load. Undetectable means the amount of HIV in your blood is so low it can’t be measured by lab tests, and according to research, when you achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load, you can’t pass the virus to anyone else through sex.
When you’re ready to get back on and stick to HIV treatment, a longer, healthier life is waiting for you. Talk to your healthcare provider or a member of your healthcare team about restarting treatment today. Learn more at HelpStopTheVirus.com
FEATURED VIDEO
Even if you have stopped HIV treatment, the good news is, getting back on track is possible. The first step to restarting treatment is talking with someone on your healthcare team. Watch the video to learn more.
