Precautions
Drug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®
It is very important that your doctor check your or your child's progress at regular visits, especially during the first few weeks that you take this medicine. Blood and urine tests may be needed to check for any unwanted effects.
Do not use this medicine together with elbasvir/grazoprevir (Zepatier®) or voriconazole (Vfend®).
The medicines in this combination tablet are also available as Complera®, Descovy®, Emtriva®, Genvoya®, Odefsey®, Stribild®, Sustiva®, Truvada®, Vemlidy®, or Viread®. Do not take the efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir combination with any of these medicines.
Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. Use 2 effective forms of birth control to keep from getting pregnant during treatment with this medicine and for 12 weeks after the last dose. Some birth control pills may not work as well while you are using this medicine. Use birth control pills together with another form of birth control, such as condoms, a diaphragm, or contraceptive foam or jelly. If you think you have become pregnant while using the medicine, tell your doctor right away.
Two rare but serious reactions to this medicine are lactic acidosis (too much acid in the blood) and liver toxicity. These are more common if you or your child are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking anti-HIV medicines for a long time. Call your doctor right away if you have abdominal or stomach discomfort, cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or a decreased appetite, muscle cramping or pain, unusual tiredness or weakness, trouble breathing, or yellow skin or eyes.
Contact your doctor right away if you have any changes to your heart rhythm. You might feel dizzy or faint, or you might have a fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeat. Make sure your doctor knows if you or anyone in your family has ever had a heart rhythm problem such as QT prolongation.
You might have mood or behavior changes with this medicine, such as feeling sad or hopeless, or getting upset easily. You could feel nervous or hostile, or have decreased awareness or responsiveness. Some people become violent and want to hurt themselves or others. Call your doctor right away if you or your child have any strange feelings, thoughts, or behaviors.
Some people who have used this medicine developed serious skin problems. Call your doctor right away if you or your child notice a severe skin rash, blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin, red skin lesions, sores or ulcers on the skin, or fever or chills while you or your child are using this medicine.
This medicine may also increase your risk of developing fractures (broken bones). Ask your doctor about this if you have any concerns.
This medicine may increase the risk of kidney problems. To lower this risk, avoid other medicines that can be harmful to the kidneys such as aminoglycoside antibiotics, certain other antiviral medicines, and NSAID pain medicines.
This medicine may cause some people to become dizzy, lightheaded, drowsy, or less alert than they are normally. Even if taken at bedtime, it may cause some people to feel drowsy or less alert on arising. Be careful to limit the amount of alcohol that you drink, since alcohol can also make you drowsy. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.
Your immune system may get stronger when you start taking HIV medicines. Tell your doctor right away if you or your child notice any changes in your health. Sometimes the immune system will start to fight infections that were hidden in your body, such as pneumonia, herpes, or tuberculosis. Autoimmune disorders (such as Graves' disease, polymyositis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome) may also occur.
This medicine may cause you to have excess body fat. Tell your doctor if you notice changes in your body shape, such as an increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck, or around the chest and stomach area. You might also lose fat from the legs, arms, and face.
Make sure any doctor or dentist who treats you knows that you or your child are using this medicine. This medicine may affect the results of certain medical tests.
This medicine does not decrease the risk of transmitting the HIV infection to others through sexual contact or by contaminated blood. Make sure you understand and practice safe sex, even if your partner also has HIV. Avoid sharing needles with anyone.
Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or non-prescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements.
Portions of this document last updated: May 01, 2024
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