Herbs, supplements and HIV

January 2005     View PDF     En español

Talking with your doctor

To lessen the chance of herb-drug interactions, experts encourage people to have more in-depth discussions about complementary therapy with their doctors and pharmacists. This may take some getting used to for both patients and doctors alike. Doctors may need to learn to listen and support their patients, in a nonjudgmental way, about using these therapies. And it may very well be the patients who actually drive this learning curve.

However, patients also need to be open and honest about what they’re using and considering. One way to capture information about drug interactions and side effects is to record all the supplements you use in a complete drug history. It’s also important for patients, doctors and pharmacists to keep up-to-date on the latest drug-herb and drug-vitamin interaction studies.