Before taking bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir,
tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir tablets. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
tell your doctor if you are taking dofetilide (Tikosyn) or rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane, in Rifamate, in Rifater). Your doctor will probably tell you not to take bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir if you are taking one of these medications.
tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking or plan to take. Be sure to mention any of the following: acyclovir (Zovirax); carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Epitol, Equetro, Tegretol, Teril); cidofovir; ganciclovir (Valcyte); gentamicin; other medications to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); metformin (Glucophage, Riomet); nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn); oxcarbazepine (Trileptal); phenobarbital; phenytoin (Dilantin, Phenytek); rifabutin (Mycobutin); rifapentine (Priftin); ritonavir (Norvir, in Kaletra); valacyclovir (Valtrex); and valganciclovir (Valcyte). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. Many other medications may also interact with bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir, so be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications you are taking, even those that do not appear on this list.
if you are taking an antacid containing calcium, magnesium, aluminum (Maalox, Mylanta, Tums, others) or sucralfate (Carafate), take bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir on an empty stomach 2 hours before you take the antacid or sucralfate.
if you are taking an iron or a calcium supplement, take it at the same time as bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir along with food.
tell your doctor what herbal products you are taking, especially St. John's wort.
tell your doctor if you have or have ever had the conditions mentioned in the IMPORTANT WARNING section or any type of infection that does not go away or that comes and goes such as tuberculosis (TB; a type of lung infection) or cytomegalovirus (CMV; a viral infection that may cause symptoms in people with weak immune systems) or kidney disease.
tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. If you become pregnant while taking bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir, call your doctor. You should not breastfeed if you are infected with HIV or if you are taking bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir.
you should know that while you are taking medications to treat HIV infection, your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight other infections that were already in your body or cause other conditions to occur. This may cause you to develop symptoms of those infections or conditions. If you have new or worsening symptoms during your treatment with bictegravir, emtricitabine, and tenofovir be sure to tell your doctor.