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ANNOUNCER: Many people with HIV know just how important it is to avoid missing doses of their medication. Just ask Bob Branigan.
BOB BRANIGAN: If there are times when you do miss your medication or if you continuously miss your medication, you risk that chance of having your viral load increase, forming a resistance to the medication. And if you form that resistance to the medication, then that option is gone for you.
ANNOUNCER: And losing options means fewer medicines available to fight the virus. But as important as it is, sticking to a medication regimen is not always that easy.
BOB BRANIGAN: I think that sometimes with HIV, depending on what medication regime you're on, there are so many different combinations of pills that we're taking that, with everyday life, you go about your life. And as you are living with this disease, there's time where life just kind of gets in the way and you're either at work or you're at play with friends and — and you're feeling good and sometimes you go, "Gee, did I take that medication?" You're feeling so good sometimes and you tend to forget.
ANNOUNCER: Certain drug combinations may also present particular challenges to adhering to treatment.
BOB BRANIGAN: Some of the initial challenges that I had with taking my regimens when I was initially on AZT, 3TC and Crixivan, at the time was making sure that I drank enough water so that I didn't get kidney stones. Before I was HIV-positive, I did have a problem with kidney stones, so I knew that I was prone to kidney stones. So drinking enough water. And also, making sure that I took it on an empty stomach. And making sure that I ate at a certain time.
ANNOUNCER: Luckily there are strategies to help keep you on track.
BOB BRANIGAN: There are pillboxes that you can have that have — some of them are by day, some of them are by hour. I know that there are people with HIV disease who are taking many more pills than I am, not only for the HIV but for maybe perhaps other things that they are — have going on with them. And I would say that, perhaps having a pillbox, counting them out at the beginning of the day or in the evening or at the beginning of the week on a Sunday, to make sure that you have enough medications for yourself for that day.
I know that some of my friends who are HIV-positive keep a chart for themselves and making sure that they have a tally as to the medications they've taken for the day to make sure that they've taken the medication. And that they can look back and refer back to that to see that they have indeed adhered to their regimen.
ANNOUNCER: Whatever does the trick, sticking to your drug regimen will prove to be good medicine in the long run.
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