Key takeaways

  • Truvada is used to treat HIV infection in adults and children, and to prevent HIV in people at high risk through pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).
  • Common side effects include nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, and headache.
  • When used for HIV treatment, Truvada is combined with other antiviral medications like Tivicay (dolutegravir) or Isentress (raltegravir). For PrEP, Truvada is taken alone.

Truvada is a brand-name medication. It contains two active ingredients, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, and is currently available in generic form.

Read on to learn more about Truvada so you can talk with your doctor about whether it is the right medication for you.

Truvada can cause mild or serious side effects. The following list contains some of the key side effects that may occur while taking Truvada. This list does not include all possible side effects.

For more information on the possible side effects of Truvada, talk with your doctor or pharmacist or refer to the drug’s prescribing information.

More common side effects of Truvada include:

  • fatigue
  • nausea
  • diarrhea
  • dizziness
  • headache
  • depression
  • insomnia (trouble sleeping)
  • skin rash
  • abdominal pain
  • decrease in weight

Many of these side effects may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. If they’re more severe or don’t go away, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. If your symptoms are life-threatening, call 911 or your local emergency number right away.

Experiencing side effects? After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves a drug, it tracks and reviews its side effects. If you develop a side effect while taking this medication and want to report it to the FDA, you can visit MedWatch or call 800-FDA-1088.

Truvada comes as an oral tablet that you typically take once per day. Your dose of Truvada depends on your body weight in kilograms (kg). For reference, 1 kg is about 2.2 pounds (lb).

For example, for treating HIV in someone who weighs 28 to 34 kg (62 to 75 lbs) or more, the typical dose of Truvada is one tablet, 167 milligrams (mg) emtricitabine/250 mg tenofovir disoproxil fumarate once daily.

For HIV prevention (PrEP) in someone who weighs 35 kg (77 lbs) or more, the typical dose of Truvada is one tablet of 200 mg emtricitabine / 300 mg tenofovir disoproxil fumarate taken once daily.

Talk with your doctor about your health history before starting Truvada. If you have kidney problems, your doctor may recommend a different dosing schedule.

How to take Truvada

Truvada should be taken once daily at about the same time each day.

It can be taken with or without food. Taking it with food might help decrease any stomach upset that could be caused by the medication.

Overdose

Taking too much Truvada can increase your risk of harmful effects. Symptoms of an overdose can include:

  • stomach upset
  • diarrhea
  • vomiting
  • fatigue
  • headache
  • dizziness
  • symptoms of kidney damage
  • symptoms of liver damage
What to do in case of overdose

If you think you’ve taken too much of this drug, call your doctor or seek guidance from the Poison Help at 800-222-1222 or through their online tool. But if your symptoms are severe, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room right away.

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves prescription drugs such as Truvada to treat certain conditions.

Truvada for HIV

Truvada is approved to treat HIV infection in both adults and children. HIV is a virus that weakens the immune system. Without treatment, HIV infection can develop into AIDS. In some cases, Truvada may be used to treat people who’ve tried a different HIV treatment that didn’t work for them.

Truvada is considered a “backbone” medication. That means it’s one of the drugs that an HIV treatment plan is based on. Other drugs are taken in combination with a backbone medication.

Truvada is always used along with at least one other antiviral drug for treating HIV. Examples of antiviral drugs that may be used with Truvada to treat HIV include:

  • Isentress (raltegravir)
  • Tivicay (dolutegravir)
  • Evotaz (atazanavir and cobicistat)
  • Prezcobix (darunavir and cobicistat)
  • Kaletra (lopinavir and ritonavir)
  • Prezista (darunavir)
  • Reyataz (atazanavir)
  • Norvir (ritonavir)

Truvada for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)

Truvada is approved for preventing HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in adults and adolescents with a high risk of getting HIV. People with a high risk of getting HIV include those who:

  • have a sex partner who has HIV infection
  • are sexually active in a geographic area where HIV is common and have other risk factors, such as:
    • not using a condom
    • living in jail or prison
    • having an alcohol or drug dependence
    • having a sexually transmitted disease
    • exchanging sex for money, drugs, food, or shelter

Truvada is used alone when it’s prescribed for PrEP. It’s not used with other drugs.

Below are a few things to consider before starting treatment with Truvada.

Boxed warnings

This medication has boxed warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A boxed warning is the strongest warning that the FDA requires. A boxed warning alerts doctors and patients about drug effects that may be dangerous.

  • Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection: HBV infection can worsen in people who have HBV infection and stop taking Truvada. If you have HBV and stop taking Truvada, your doctor will do blood tests to check your liver from time to time for several months after you stop the drug. You may need treatment for HBV infection.
  • Resistance to Truvada: Truvada should not be used for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in people who already have HIV because this can cause viral resistance to Truvada. Viral resistance means that HIV can no longer be treated with Truvada. If you’re using Truvada for PrEP, your doctor will do blood tests for HIV infection before you start treatment and at least every three months during your treatment.

Other precautions

Before taking Truvada, talk with your doctor about your health history. Truvada may not be right for you if you have certain medical conditions or other factors affecting your health. These include:

  • Kidney disease: Truvada can worsen kidney function in people who have kidney disease. If you have kidney disease, you may need to take Truvada every other day instead of daily. If you have severe kidney disease, you may not be able to take Truvada.
  • Liver disease: Truvada can cause liver damage. If you have liver disease, Truvada might make your condition worse.
  • Bone disease: Truvada can cause bone loss. If you have bone disease, such as osteoporosis, you may have an increased risk of bone fracture if you take Truvada.

Interactions

Truvada can interact with several other medications, such as acyclovir (Zovirax), atazanavir (Reyataz), and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (Epclusa). It can also interact with certain supplements, as well as with grapefruit juice.

Drinking alcohol while taking Truvada might increase your risk of some side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, and headache. Drinking too much alcohol and taking Truvada might also increase your risk of liver or kidney problems.

These are not all the possible interactions with Truvada. Be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications and supplements you are taking before starting Truvada.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

It may be safe to take Truvada while pregnant. In animal studies, Truvada did not have harmful effects on offspring. However, animal studies don’t always reflect how humans would respond.

It may not be safe to take Truvada while breastfeeding. Truvada can pass into breastmilk.

Another reason not to breastfeed is that HIV may be transmitted to a child through breast milk. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people with HIV avoid breastfeeding. (The World Health Organization still encourages breastfeeding for women with HIV in many countries.)

If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or breastfeeding, talk with your doctor about the safest option for you.

The cost of Truvada may vary depending on your location, the pharmacy you use, and your insurance coverage.

There are multiple financial assistance programs, such as Ready, Set, PrEP, and coupons, such as those from Optum Perks, that may be able to help lower your cost of Truvada.

When used to treat HIV, Truvada is combined with other HIV antiviral medications. Examples of other drug combinations that may be used to treat HIV include:

  • Biktarvy (bictegravir, emtricitabine, tenofovir alafenamide)
  • Genvoya (elvitegravir, cobicistat, tenofovir alafenamide, emtricitabine)
  • Stribild (elvitegravir, cobicistat, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, emtricitabine)
  • Isentress (raltegravir) plus Descovy (tenofovir alafenamide and emtricitabine)
  • Isentress (raltegravir) plus Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and lamivudine
  • Tivicay (dolutegravir) plus Descovy (tenofovir alafenamide and emtricitabine)
  • Tivicay (dolutegravir) plus Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and lamivudine
  • Triumeq (dolutegravir, abacavir, lamivudine)

Learn more about how Truvada compares with other medications:

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about Truvada.

Diabetes is not a side effect that has been reported in studies of Truvada. However, a kidney condition called nephrogenic diabetes insipidus has occurred in people taking Truvada. With this condition, the kidneys don’t function correctly, and the person passes a large amount of urine. This can lead to dehydration.

If you have this condition and it becomes severe, your doctor may stop your treatment with Truvada.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services doesn’t recommend Truvada for preventing herpes infection in people with HIV infection.

However, some clinical studies have tested whether Truvada, when used for PrEP, can also prevent herpes infection. These studies, which can be found here and here, had mixed results.

There are no reported interactions between Tylenol (acetaminophen) and Truvada. However, taking high doses of Tylenol can cause liver damage. In some cases, Truvada has also caused liver damage. Taking high doses of Tylenol along with Truvada might increase your risk of liver damage.

Truvada contains two drugs: emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. These drugs are both nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs).

These drugs block an enzyme called reverse transcriptase that HIV needs to copy itself. By blocking this enzyme, Truvada prevents the virus from growing and copying itself. As a result, the levels of HIV in your body begin to decrease.

Truvada is a brand-name medication that can be used for the treatment and prevention of HIV. It is an oral tablet that is typically taken once per day.

If you have questions about whether Truvada is the best choice for you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Disclaimer: While Medical News Today strives for factual, comprehensive, and current information, this article is not a substitute for a licensed healthcare professional’s expertise. Always consult a doctor before taking or discontinuing any medication. Drug information is subject to change and may not cover all uses, directions, precautions, warnings, interactions, reactions, or adverse effects. The lack of a warning does not guarantee a drug’s safety, effectiveness, or appropriateness for all patients or specific uses. Learn more about our approach to content integrity.