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Tips for Working With Your Healthcare Team for Positive Health

[ Maximizing the Benefits of Your HIV Care ]
[ Tips for Talking With Your Doctor, Nurse or Pharmacist ]

[ Download “Tips for Working With Your Healthcare Team for Positive Health” ]

Maximizing the Benefits of Your HIV Care

You and your healthcare providers are partners in your treatment and care. You are the person living with HIV , so it’s your right to be actively involved in the decisions that will affect your life. Asking questions about HIV, keeping a healthcare journal with new or follow-up questions—even bringing in your own Internet research or articles from magazines like POZ or medical journals—are all ways that you can learn more and participate fully in your care.

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Tips for Talking With Your Doctor, Nurse or Pharmacist

Keep a healthcare journal. A journal can be a valuable tool for you and your healthcare team for tracking how you are responding to treatment and how you are managing your disease. Write down or keep a computer record of everything you learn about HIV, your meds, your overall health (including questions and concerns about cholesterol and/or heart disease and anything else that can affect your health. Remember to ask your doctor about drug-drug interactions that can affect your HIV treatment—including over-the-counter treatments for issues like heartburn. You may find it helpful to keep your list of questions, medical information (about HIV and other health issues), prescriptions, etc. in one place. Whether it’s information your pharmacist gives you about side effects, a medical word or lab test you learn about, answers to your HIV questions, or details about your overall health, a healthcare journal will help you get the full picture of how you are doing.

If you are a woman living with HIV, talk with your doctor about questions you may have about how HIV affects women differently; your reproductive health (eg, menstrual problems, the possibility of pregnancy, menopause, etc.); and health concerns that affect women more than men (eg, heart disease, bone loss, etc.).

It is really important that you write down any symptoms you are experiencing. To help your doctor determine if the symptoms are related to HIV and/or to your meds, keep track of when you take your meds and any other details that may be important. Include any over-the-counter and alternative medicines or nutritional supplements you start taking (after you make sure they won’t affect your HIV meds). Be honest with your doctor and nurses. Your healthcare providers are used to hearing all kinds of details about the human body and its functions. Your experiences are just as important as your viral load tests and CD4 cell counts .

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Prepare for your doctor’s visit. Be clear about what you want to remember to talk about. Make a list of HIV questions or concerns in your healthcare journal ahead of time and take it with you. If you need additional support, bring a caregiver or other member of your support team who can help you talk with your doctor and understand the decisions you’re making. Finally, arrive on time to make sure you get the full benefit of your appointment. (If transportation is a problem, make arrangements with a friend or family member or use the transportation resources that may be available through your local AIDS service organization or other community services center.)

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Share your thoughts. Ask questions. Talk openly. In other words, make it a two-way conversation. Many people are used to letting their doctors do all of the talking because doctors are experts. Of course, your doctor is really smart—but you are the expert when it comes to how you are managing life with HIV every day. Write down your HIV questions ahead of time and be sure to bring them up. Ask questions if you don’t understand a lab result or a treatment decision or why you may be experiencing certain symptoms. Your doctor may be able to help you with side effects —which can help you stay on your HIV meds—but only if you talk about any symptoms or effects you are experiencing .

And when your doctor or nurse asks you questions, answer them fully and honestly so they have a complete understanding of your health and all that may be affecting it. Your doctor and nurses have probably heard it all, and they are used to learning about their patients’ private lives—including alcohol and drug use, relationship problems, financial worries, daily stresses, pregnancy concerns and other areas of someone’s personal life that can have an impact on their health and healthcare.

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Repeat what you hear. One way to make sure you understand your treatment and care is to repeat what you hear in your own words. Many times people hear something different from what their doctor, nurse or pharmacist says. Repeating what you've heard can help clear up any misunderstandings right away, inspire additional, helpful HIV and other health-related questions, and improve your confidence in your ability to take an active part in your care.
Clarify. Ask that unfamiliar or new words be repeated, defined or written down for you—including the names of your meds, any diagnoses (opportunistic infections or side effects) and any medical terms you don't know or understand. If you want to know more and have other HIV questions, ask where and how you can get more information.
Keep in touch. Make sure you understand who you can contact between appointments if you have any non-emergency questions or concerns. Find out the best times to call and when you can expect a response. Ask for telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, and keep them in your healthcare journal or in another place where you keep important numbers.

You and your healthcare team—your care providers and your family and friends—need to be committed to working together to make the most of your care. Open communication with your doctor, nurse and pharmacist is one way of empowering yourself to be your own best advocate for your long-term health and well-being.

Because you will not give in.

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This information does not include everything you may need to know about HIV and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider.

	Click here for Complete Product Information. Indication INVIRASE in combination with ritonavir and other anti-HIV medicines is used to treat HIV infection. INVIRASE should always be used with ritonavir. Important Safety Information
	WARNING: INVIRASE® (saquinavir mesylate) capsules and tablets and FORTOVASE® (saquinavir) soft gel capsules are not the same and cannot be used interchangeably. INVIRASE may be used only if it is combined with ritonavir, which greatly reduces saquinavir's metabolism to provide blood saquinavir levels at least equal to those achieved with FORTOVASE. When using saquinavir as the only protease inhibitor in an anti-HIV regimen, FORTOVASE is the recommended formulation.
	Taking INVIRASE/ritonavir with certain drugs could create potential for serious and/or life-threatening side effects. INVIRASE/ritonavir should not be taken with Pacerone®, Tambocor®, Rhythmol®, bepridil, quinidine, Seldane®, Hismanal®, ergot medications, Propulsid®, Versed®, Halcion®, rifampin, pimozide or products containing St. John's wort Garlic capsules should not be used while taking unboosted saquinavir, due to the risk of lowered saquinavir blood levels Taking INVIRASE with Mevacor® or Zocor® is not recommended. Caution should be used if HIV protease inhibitors, including INVIRASE, are used at the same time as other medications like these that are used by the body in the same way Discuss all medicines, including those without a prescription, and herbal preparations you are taking or plan to take with your doctor or pharmacist INVIRASE should not be taken if you have had a serious allergic reaction to INVIRASE or any of its ingredients INVIRASE/ritonavir should not be taken if you have serious liver problems. Tell your doctor if you have or have had liver disease, such as hepatitis People with severe kidney problems have not been studied when taking INVIRASE. Tell your doctor if you have or have had kidney problems In people taking protease inhibitors, increased bleeding (in people with hemophilia) has occurred as well as diabetes/high blood sugar Some people taking INVIRASE/ritonavir have had increases in cholesterol and/or triglycerides Changes in body fat have been seen in people taking anti-HIV medicines. It is not known if taking protease inhibitors causes these changes, and the long-term effects are not known at this time In clinical studies, the most commonly reported side effects of moderate or severe intensity were: changes in body fat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, feeling tired and pneumonia INVIRASE is not a cure for HIV infection or AIDS. INVIRASE does not prevent the transmission of HIV. Invirase and Fortovase are registered trademarks of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. Ritonavir is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories. Though used in combination as part of a boosted protease inhibitor regimen, INVIRASE and ritonavir are separate prescriptions. Other brand names appearing in this pamphlet are trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Please see Complete Product Information.
	THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR U.S. AUDIENCES ONLY. Copyright © 2004-2009 Roche Laboratories Inc. All rights reserved. Use and access of this site is subject to the terms and conditions as set out in our Legal Statement and Privacy Statement.


	Click here for Complete Product Information.

	THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR U.S. AUDIENCES ONLY. Copyright © 2004-2009 Roche Laboratories Inc. All rights reserved. Use and access of this site is subject to the terms and conditions as set out in our Legal Statement and Privacy Statement.
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