Tuesday, July 23, 2013

How Not To Miss Your Scheduled Intake of ARV's!

A lot of PLHIV's that I know sometimes miss or skip their scheduled intake of ARV's even though all our HIV doctors warned us not to. There are numerous reasons for this and I would like to list down some common reasons why PLHIV's miss or skip their scheduled intake of ARV's and give suggestions on how to avoid them:

1. I fell asleep!
    a. Set your timers: in your cell phone, alarm clock, etc.
    b. Tell someone to wake you up at the exact time when you need to take your ARV's
    c. You can ask a friend or relative to call your phone at the scheduled time to wake you up.
    d. If you are in a hotel, you can ask the front desk to give you a wake up call.

 2. I left them in the house
    a. Always carry a cocktail of your ARV's before you leave your house. You never know if there will be bad traffic, or you will be invited to a dinner or movie by co-workers or colleagues.
    b. Have a cocktail of ARV's in your office, in your car, in your briefcase all the time.

 3. I'm travelling and my ARV's are in one luggage!
    a. Before you travel, have a week's (or two) supply of your cocktail in all your luggages. This will make sure that even though you lost one luggage in the airport or missed one luggage during your connecting flights, you still have some ARV's in your other luggages.

 4. I ran out of ARV's and I forgot to have a refill
    a. Always monitor the number of your ARV's
    b. If you have only 2 weeks' supply of ARV's, plan to go to your HIV treatment hub for a refill.

 5. I was robbed and all my ARV's are taken from me.
    a. Don't carry all your bottles of ARV's wherever you go. Just bring one or two cocktails of ARV's in a pillbox when you go out of the house.

 6. I got confused and didn't know if I already took my ARV's that time of the day.
    a. Have a weekly or monthly pillbox. Each compartment is specific for that day or time of the day. 
Here are the pillboxes that I use:

 A. Monthly Pillbox (Since I take all my ARV's at the same time, each compartment is specific for one day. This makes a perfect 4 week pillbox)

B. Weekly Pillbox ( I have one of this in the car and one in the office)


 C. One Day Pillbox ( I carry this in my pocket everyday)



    b. Have logbook or a notebook to monitor your intake of ARV's

 There are so many other reasons why some PLHIV's skip or miss taking their ARV's. But for me the best solution to this is to NEVER allow it! 

 1. Please make it a habit to take your ARV's on the scheduled time and there should be no excuses!
2. Put it in your minds that even missing it or being late for one time is NOT ACCEPTABLE!
3. If you value your health (and your life) then you should VALUE your ARV's. They are your lifeline while waiting for the cure!
4. Your ARV's should be on the top of your priorities from now on!






"WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
NO PLHIV is alone with his or her struggle with HIV!"

-Pozziepinoy-



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