HIV & hormone therapy?

Dr. Demetre: I just started hormone therapy for my transition. Will this make my HIV medications less effective? You have some questions? We know HIV.
Dr. David: I’m a doctor. I’m trained for this.
Dr. Leandro: We’re gonna give you what you need.
Dr. Demetre: Generally speaking there is no interaction with the HIV medicines, so as long as you take your medicines for HIV as prescribed, even if you’re on hormones whether that’s testosterone or estrogen, you should not have a problem. On the flip side, some hormones may be affected by some HIV meds, so it’s really important that when you work with your provider, as you’re looking at what your goals are in transition that you have a really good conversation about what your dosing should be like on the hormones because if you’re not achieving your transition goals, there could be a drug interaction causing the problem. If you support your transgender goals, if you support your transgender care with your provider, you’re gonna actually be more comfortable engaging with them to keep your viral load suppressed, to keep yourself healthy, and to keep your partners healthy.

Questions about mixing hormones and HIV meds? Dr. Demetre gives tips for how people living with HIV can transition safely.

For transgender women, under the care of a trained medical professional, you can safely transition with hormone therapy while on antiretrovirals (ARVs). Your doctor can work with you to find the right drug combination to ensure you stay healthy and your transition is not negatively affected.

 

#AskTheHIVDoc is a video series from Greater Than HIV featuring top HIV doctors providing answers to commonly-asked questions about HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

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