POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: indianguy1984 on September 14, 2012, 03:13:10 pm
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Need some advice.
I work shifts - i.e. one day could be a morning, another day could be a night shift, another day could be afternoon - it is very erratic.
Seroconverted in Oct last year - latest labs came up CD4 550 VL 16156 copies/ml
CD4 21%
I am not so sure whether to start medication. Saw 3 doctors so far - all tell me different things. Why different doctors - long story.
I am scared whether I can be adherent to medication - was considering Atripla when my doctor told me to start Raltegravir with Truvada. A BD dosing isn't exactly what I am looking for as I have a hard enough time taking vitamins on schedule.
Are Atripla pills big - I saw a Truvada tablet and I was like gosh.
My cholesterol is a bit high - 244. Add atripla to the combination and I am not sure whether I'll have to take simvastatin in the future.
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Atripla pills are just slightly larger than Truvada.
Personally if I was in your situation I would start taking Atripla now, while my CD-4 is still decent. Yes, you may have to add a statin, lots of people do. I take Crestor.
Atripla is best taken at bedtime. I had a strange work schedule some years ago and taking it at bedtime (whether that was at 10:00am or 10:00pm) worked very well for me. Just make it part of your bedtime routine...... Undress, brush teeth, take Atripla, get in bed.
Good luck!!
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For an anytime no sleep disturbance 1 x day combo look at Prezista (boosted with Norvir) and two nukes of Reyataz (boosted with Norvir) and Truvada or Reyataz (alone) and Kivexa/Epzicom.
All these are sufficiently robust for time of day not to be a major issue and tend not to affect sleep. They do need food but a sandwich/bowl of cereal will do.
- matt