POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: sacinsc on November 03, 2007, 09:38:21 pm
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Just took my second day of Reyataz, Norvir and Truvada. This morning I was a little dizzy and had to go back to bed for a while, eventually it went away. I take the pills with dinner every night at 8:30pm. Just wondering if anyone has had any side effects from these? When they started? What can I expect really? I want to go with this knowing what can happen and be happy when it doesn't!
Thanks guys
Matt
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I just started the same regimen. Its been a little over a month for me. My bilirubin levels are higher than they used to be. Occasionally my eyes are yellowish. I've had a lot of nausea. I take my meds at about the same time in the evening as you too.
I've had evenings where I wake at 3 am and puke then wake up every hour afterward and puke for several more hours.
It comes and goes really. I don't puke every night. Thank God.
But it does mess with your head. I get anxiety everytime I have to take my pills.
I look forward to reading more posts on your thread. It might help me too.
Thanks,
Wendy
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I've been on this combo for two years. It has the fewest side effects of any combo I have been on. The only side effect I have in occasional yellowing from elevated bilirubin. I love taking meds once a day. The best part is it's one of the few combos that has kept my viral load undetectable.
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I take Reyataz with the Norvir boost, but not Truvada. I still take Combivir. I have taken the Reyataz/Norvir combo for about three months now. No problems.
I have never had a side effect from Reyataz or Norvir, and haven't had any of the nausea, diarrhea, etc., sometimes associated with Combivir for years. I have taken it, or its equivalent, for more than 11.5 years.
Good luck and hang in there. The initial side effects should start to pass in two to eight weeks.
HUGS,
Mark
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Oh I failed to mention with this combo my viral load went from 750,000 to undetectable in one month.
So it must be working pretty good huh?
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So far so good, Question.....I have to take a drug test this week for work. Any worries about false positives? I know some do.
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Sustiva is the drug that can sometimes cause false positives on drug tests.
If you haven't taken it, you should be fine.
HUGS,
Mark
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That takes a load off. I was worried about taking this drug test this week.
And no other side effects so far. Maybe a little diarrhea, but I had that before hand.
Maybe there wont be any!
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I have been on this combo since starting meds last year. Great for me. No side effects other than gas, easy adherence (take mine at breakfast) and my CD4 has gone from 179 to 527 & viral load went immediately to undetectable and has been there since.
Feeling very pleased and extremely lucky to have had such success,
Good Luck,
Woods
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This is the combo I take. I started about 6 weeks ago. Initially I felt a little nausea in the first few weeks. Now, I honestly can say that I don't really notice anything that seems like a side effect. I am experiencing some tingling in my extremities, but I am not sure what that is about. My VL is really going down... I hope it keeps going down.
I take my meds in the morning with breakfast because my evening schedule is erratic, cause I work late a lot. The only problem is those days that I want to sleep in, I have to get up, take my meds, and go back to bed.
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Feeling pretty good about this combo right now. No real side-effects that I can definitely attribute to the drugs. I am kinda looking forward to my next round of test the beginning of December. Thanks :)
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I've been on the same meds since feb 07 and at first didn't have any side effects, the last three months been having to deal with bad rash on back & sides and kidney pain; seen ID doc for it did some test and he said it was a side effect from the meds, I use witch hazel to help with the irratation and it helps dry the rash up. I noticed i have more headaches but i've always had a problem with them. Just remember to drink plenty of water on a daily basis, cause the meds can take a toll on the kidney's.
But i can say these are the first to get my virus undetecable and my cd4 up to 880. so i do give them praise for that, so the little things aren't as important. great combo :D
Paulette
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I had a friend suggest I take my norvir with coffee or other hot beverage because I didn't like the way it felt in my stomach.
I've been taking my pills with cocoa every evening since. Its helped me. I still throw up every once in a while but it is not right after I take the pills its wayyy after they have digested.
I know its the meds because I didn't throw up prior to being on this regimen unless of course I was sick or something.
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Peppermint and ginger ale is good for the nausea and for an energy boosts I take a sublingual (under the tongue) B12 as well to help with that. I've been on these meds since Feb07 and i can't stress the importance of drinking plenty of water with this combo, it put us in a higher risk for kidney disease. who nows has kidney stones :(
Paulette
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I've been on the same combo for 11 months. No major side effects which is good. but, my viral load went from 500,00 to 1600 and my t-cells from 4 to 39, which tends to be slow and my doctor is alittle perplexed cause he thinks i should be undetectable by now. He's not sure what to do next so if anyone has any ideas to suggest let me know. I do feel crappy alot from the virus and possible the meds. just want to feel well enough and my numbers to be better so that i have the energy to do something with my life. Can it be a mutation or a resistance to meds that I'm not improving very fast? If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions I could do or talk with my doc about let me know. :-\
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hullo, I've been on this combo for three years , diarrhoea only problem .
my viral went to un-detectable in two months , my t's are 500
today my doctor called and said come in , viral has jumped to 7,000 !
sort of odd, but I did have a really bad case of the runs for three weeks before last test !
other than this , regime has been very good !
little side effects NEVER puked EVER !
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One month in, had yellow eyes for a few days...but that was my fault. Learned to take these with a couple crackers not a meal because it cramps my stomach. Hate not being able to take anything for heartburn but oh well. My CD4 jumped in a month from 294 to 355 which I was surprised about and my VL dropped from 124000 to 510...all in all I cried when I found out.
We will see again in 6 weeks.
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That's good to hear Sac..it just takes a little time for the meds to settle, I'm on Reyataz, Norivir,Tenofovir and Emtriva..same combo only we don't have Truvada here.
As you said, all in all the results are good...well done.
Hugs
Jan
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Hiya sac,
I am no this combo since mid 2006 and it is doing pretty well for me. Some diarrhoea at the beginning, and some heavy stomach sensation from time to time, but no more noticeable things.
Labs are OK, bilirrubin is high but I have not yet become the yellow-man, so it is ok.
True, my face skin is a bit drier now, I have to use a hydratant cream, specially during winter months.
I have a mild pain in the hips, but my doctor says it is not due to these meds.
I have gained 5 kilos (about 10 pounds) in all this time. I've passed from nausea and problems to eat to having problems to not eat too much!!! I feel hungry all the time.
So, I go to the gym, drink a lot of water and try to control what I eat: lots of fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken and dried fruits. Not too much red meat, no butter or fried meals at all, and some suplements such as selenium, L-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid and linoleic conjugated acid.
At the moment it all is working OK for me.
I hope I could be on this combo as much as possible.
Hugs!!!
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Two months in and this combo seems pretty good for me too :) Hooray. Meds seem to doing their job. I have learned though NOT to take these with a big meal...major stomach cramps. So now I take them before I hit the sack. Weight hasn't changed at all. Some diarrhea but nothing major. I will know if they made me undetectable MLK weekend. Oh the dry skin on the face is an issue....I use a face scrub from Labseries and a Face Rejuvenator for Kiel. Seems to take care of it. I do however seem to be getting a lot of acne in the middle of my chest which is really odd....no hair there so it can't be folliculitus. I'll ask the doc next time.
Matt
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Hi,
This is my first combo started at VL 12,000,000 and Cd4 35 in October 2006. I went to <50 after 30 days and now still < 50 and Cd4 238 (November 2007). Of course I waited for the side effects when I started and ..... waited for the side effects and... outside of a little extra "gas" and some "itchy scratchy" skin which subsided after a month or so.....nothing else.
My bilirubin is elevated, but I have had no yellowing of eyes or skin. The Doc says, yeah your bilirubin is elevated but we definetly know why that is, so no worries.
So looking back on where I was, I love this combo. I take them after breakfast. I am in a trial so it might be epzicom instead of truvada (I doubt it). Of course I can't compare to anything else, but I would definetly recomend it. Good Luck.