Treatment Options for HIV

Talk to a doctor as soon as you find out that you are HIV positive. Your doctor will give you a thorough examination, including laboratory tests to determine whether you need to start HIV treatment or not. It is important to discuss your medical history, lifestyle, and special concerns in an honest way to make sure you and your healthcare provider determine the treatment option that's best for you.

Types of treatment for HIV

While there is no cure for HIV, there are many different combinations of medicines available to treat HIV. It's different for each person. Your doctor will look at your physical exam, laboratory results, treatment history and individual needs to prescribe the best treatment for you.

Antiretroviral drugs are used to help control HIV. These drugs attack HIV and help keep it from spreading in your body. There are six different classes of HIV drugs. Each drug class fights HIV in a different way. The primary difference between each class is the stage of HIV replication (when the virus makes copies of itself) that the drugs target.

Classes of HIV drugs

What is HAART?

• HAART stands for Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
• HAART combines different kinds of drugs, so that they can help slow the copying of HIV
• HAART means taking at least 3 drugs from at least 2 classes

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recommends a preferred regimen of
1 NNRTI or 1 PI (preferably boosted with ritonavir) or 1 INSTI and 2 NRTIs for patients new to treatment.


There is often new information about HIV. Help yourself by learning everything you can about the different treatments. Talk to your doctor about what you learn and any questions you may have.

ATRIPLA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS and you may continue to experience illnesses associated with HIV-1 infection, including opportunistic infections.

See your healthcare provider regularly while taking ATRIPLA.

Please click here for Important Safety Information, including information on buildup of lactic acid in the blood, serious liver problems, and sudden worsening of hepatitis B virus.