There’s a magic word to remember when it comes to picking your HIV treatment: choice. Though you may feel that it is best to simply take the pill that your doctor prescribes, the reality is that you are the expert when it comes to your body, and you have a say in which medication you take.

After having a conversation with your doctor that includes many of your own preferences around treatment and after they make a recommendation, the ultimate decision on what to take lies with you, as treatment must fit into your routine. Remembering that you get to choose your own treatment is a small mental adjustment that will empower you to live your best life with HIV.

The basis of any good decision is having all the available information before making your choice. Acquainting yourself with the different drugs will make any conversation between you and your doctor much smoother. Luckily, plenty of tools can help you make your decision, such as POZ’s HIV Drug Chart. Actively participating in your care, rather than letting it happen to you, is central to success with your HIV doctor and the rest of your care team.

“Engaging with your provider and that team that comes with an HIV clinic—including the social worker, the nurses, the pharmacist and others who may help in the process—all of these people can really be helpful advocates for you,” says Serin Edwin Erayil, MD, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the associate program director of its Infectious Disease Fellowship Program.

Any discussion of treatment choice will also include some discussion about how the medication will fit into your lifestyle. “I usually say, “It doesn’t matter what time you take it as long as you are consistent with that time,’” Edwin Erayil says. To that end, Edwin Erayil often suggests that people either set an alarm, use a pillbox or couple taking the pill with a daily habit, such as drinking coffee. “I encourage consistency,” she adds.

However, the conversation about your HIV treatment is not one you have only once. That conversation can continue, especially if you’re considering switching regimens. “I provide a lot of agency,” Edwin Erayil says. “If they’re comfortable switching and it’s a safe and effective drug they’re bringing up, then switching is definitely OK.”

Understanding a patient’s lifestyle is a big factor in switching them to long-acting injectable medication as well, something Edwin Erayil has done with many patients. “It’s a collaborative decision,” she says. “Does this person’s life enable them to come in for pretty regular appointments?” These are questions that, Edwin Erayil emphasizes, ought to be asked and answered together as a team.

“If you find a provider that vibes with you and meets your style of compassion, that’s a big step,” she says. “My hope is that every patient encounters some version of that in their care.”