Indinavir: What It Is, How It Works, and What You Need to Know

When treating HIV, Indinavir, a protease inhibitor developed in the 1990s to block HIV from copying itself. Also known as Crixivan, it was one of the first drugs to turn HIV from a death sentence into a manageable condition. It doesn’t cure HIV, but it stops the virus from multiplying by targeting an enzyme called protease—something the virus needs to build new infectious particles. Without this enzyme, the virus can’t mature, and your body’s immune system gets a fighting chance.

Indinavir is part of a larger group called protease inhibitors, a class of antiretroviral drugs that include ritonavir, lopinavir, and atazanavir. These drugs work best when combined with other HIV medications, like nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), to form what’s called HAART—highly active antiretroviral therapy. You won’t find Indinavir used alone today because newer drugs are safer, easier to take, and have fewer side effects. But understanding Indinavir helps explain why modern HIV treatment works the way it does.

It’s not a first-line drug anymore. Why? Because it requires strict dosing—every 8 hours, on an empty stomach—and it’s linked to kidney stones, nausea, and high bilirubin levels. People on Indinavir had to drink at least 3 liters of water daily just to avoid kidney problems. That’s why doctors now prefer once-daily pills with better tolerability. Still, Indinavir played a huge role in shaping today’s HIV care. Many of the rules we follow now—like avoiding food with certain meds, monitoring kidney function, and using combo therapy—came from lessons learned with drugs like this.

If you’re looking at older treatment records or researching how HIV care evolved, Indinavir shows up often. It’s not just a drug—it’s a milestone. The same posts you’ll find below cover similar themes: how drugs like Retrovir (Zidovudine), an early NRTI, worked alongside protease inhibitors; how Cefpodoxime, an antibiotic, has nothing to do with HIV but shows how drug research adapts over time; and how Zestoretic, a blood pressure combo, teaches us why mixing meds matters. The thread? Real people need clear, practical info about what drugs do, how they interact, and what trade-offs they involve.

Below, you’ll find real guides that dig into how medications work, how they’re compared, and how patients actually use them. Whether you’re checking side effects, comparing alternatives, or just trying to understand why a doctor chose one drug over another, the posts here give you no-fluff answers. No jargon. No marketing. Just what you need to know.