One Talkabout reader discusses ways to better manage taking HIV medications.
It seems like a lifetime ago that health care providers and community organisations in the HIV sector were strongly urging those of us on antiviral therapy to comply with the guidelines for taking HIV medication. Compliance was the name of the game if positive people were to survive, and beat HIV. Our doctors discussed it with is and it was widely and often reported on in the gay print media.
There were various methods adopted for us to remember to take our medication. These included things such as the humble doset box and nifty little pill containers so we could take our drugs wherever we went, and not forget a dose. There was even a range of devices with alarms that would suddenly sound off at the appropriate time when it was time for dosing. I will never forget my six week European holiday in 1998 when I was taking up to 40 drugs daily (three times a day). For this trip I took a shoe box with my six weeks supply. It was a pain in the arse having to cart these drugs around the world with me, but what choice did I have? It was fun seeing the drugs slowly dwindle away as the weeks progressed.
Things have changed somewhat over the past ten years. I no longer take as many drugs as I used to due to many of the drugs now being combined together to form a single or multiple drug combination in one pill. The drug companies have tried to make it as easy as possible for us. We don’t seem to hear the word “compliance” bandied about as much as we did beforehand. Maybe we should?
I work in a sexual health clinic in NSW which is attached to a large outer city hospital with a case load of just over a 100 HIV positive clients. I receive numerous phone calls a week from clients who have either run out of their medication or are very close to it. These calls are from clients who are not working, are generally very well and have nothing better to do with their time. This often causes administration personnel, doctors and pharmacy staff a lot of anxiety when they are otherwise very busy keeping up with the demands of their patients.
In our particular setting one week’s notice to the pharmacy is required before drugs can be ordered and collected. As you can imagine, this also places more stress on all concerned and usually only one months supply will be dispensed at a time. Of course up to three months will be dispensed for people with special needs, living long distances from the hospital or going on holidays.
I have never been the type of person who lines up their medications on the kitchen window sill or bench top. Besides looking untidy and not wanting to advertise the fact that I am on medication of any sort, I feel that they should be kept out of sight in either the bedroom or bathroom. For many years I have divided my medications up by night and day doses with all required medication in either a small snap-lock plastic bag or more lately small clear pill jars with either a yellow dot on the lid for morning doses or a black dot for evening doses. This serves as a great reminder that my drugs are running out and it is time to either visit the doctor or get another script filled…its that simple!
I have always been organised when it’s time to arrange new prescriptions from my doctor and therefore never fail the compliance test. So why can’t people be more organised and manage their antiviral medication more effectively? It would be very interesting to see how other positive people (both well/unwell, employed/unemployed) organise themselves and are fully compliant in their anti-viral drug management.
Maybe Talkabout could ask readers to write in and advise what methods of compliance they use and how they keep track of their medication so that they ensure they never ever run out.
Paul
We welcome your letters and comments. Letters may be edited. To email Talkabout write to: editor@positivelife.org.au or send your letter to Talkabout Magazine, PO Box 831, Darlinghurst NSW 1300.
