Some mutations can keep multiplying even when you are taking an antiviral drug. When this happens, the drug will stop working. If you take a protease inhibitor by itself, resistance develops within one month. When you take more than one antiviral drug at the same time, HIV mutates much more slowly and it takes much longer for resistance to develop. Sometimes, if you develop resistance to one drug, you will also have resistance to other antiviral drugs.
Resistance can develop quickly.
It is very important to take protease inhibitors according to instructions, on schedule, and not to skip or reduce doses. The capsules are either 200mg or 400mg. A 333mg capsule is also available for people who need to take 1000mg of indinavir because of drug interactions in some combinations. If you take indinavir by itself, you should take it when your stomach is empty. This means taking indinavir two hours after eating, or one hour before eating.