The Atripla has been on the counter for 2 weeks, still haven't started.

[cjmchgo]

Hey everyone,

I have to start meds after being + for over 15 years. I shouldn't be scared, I've certainly had enough time to prepare and research but I am totally freaking out.
I'm truly petrified of the initial side effects. And I know its because of all the horror stories I've heard over the years from different people.
How bad can it be?   

[Alain]

We are all different and medication affect us in different ways. I would try to be kind to yourself and give yourself chance to get used to it. Try not to worry about something that you do not know yet, it is adding to the pressure you already have. Go for it, one day at the time. You might very be surprise with the results and the minimum side effects with good numbers.

Best of luck with it and keep us posted, Alain.

[aztecan]

How bad can it be?  

Nobody can tell you the answer to this. You may have side effects, you may not.

If you do, they shouldn't last more than eight weeks, although there are some people who go 12 weeks and some for whom things don't improve.

If you find yourself unable to withstand Atripla, there are quite a few options from which you and your doctor may choose.

But, you should consider the side effects of not taking the meds.

They may include uncontrollable diarrhea, blindness, painful swelling and growths near your neck, under your arms or in your groin, severe weight loss, wrenching stomach pain, oozing sores on your skin, difficulty breathing, loss of memory and the ability to concentrate or form sentences, loss of the ability to speak clearly, and the list goes on.

Now, you choose. Which are you more afraid of?

HUGS,

Mark

(Edited to add: I have been on meds for nearly 13 years.)

[SoSadTooBad]

cjm - dive into that Atripla bottle!!  You will feel a little drunk at first, but then things will smooth out and your overall health will improve!!  2.5 years on meds, and it was the best thing I ever did - good luck and keep us posted.

[Rural_oz]

Hi cjm, I was in your shoes 5 weeks ago.  Terrified about starting meds, we don't have atripla here in Aus. so I was starting Kivexa & Viramune. 
We are all different, but so far my side effects have been : nothing!
I feel very lucky (so far) and wish that you will be too.
(and having this website has been the best thing for me, and I hope you will find that also)
Hugz   David

[cjmchgo]

Thanks for the support everyone.

[Miss Philicia]

So if in another week you Atripla is still sitting on the shelf what are you planning to do about this quandary?

[dingowarrior]

I hope I'm not breing rude...

But If I were you,and time has come to start...

I'd be more afraid if I DIDN'T start meds..Ya know whatta I mean....

You'll be ok, personally I had one bad night.(first night) after that,smooth sailing. 

Good luck..

[J.R.E.]

Hey everyone,

I have to start meds after being + for over 15 years. I shouldn't be scared, I've certainly had enough time to prepare and research but I am totally freaking out.
   

You had a good run without having to be on meds. At the same time, I understand that no matter how much we think we're prepared to start, we're really not. I know that was my case, and I went 17 plus years, before starting. I also thought I was prepared but wasn't. Wasn't until I was placed in the hospital, that I realised how much of a mistake it was to try to hold off for so long, for whatever the reasons.

Don't get yourself to that point. You may get through this initial start, with very little side effects, to worry about . I had very few problems, after starting on meds. That's not to say, there weren't some problems, but overall things went pretty well. Not everyone has horror stories about the meds.

Now try to get a date set, and get started. Let us know how things are going.


Hang in there----Ray

[hades01]

You will be fine!

[txalberta]

I understand exactly your feeling. When I finally made the decision to go on meds, I knew (because I procrastinate) that being alone for the beginning would just cause me to stall.

Thank gawd my best friend knew what I would do and traveled to oversee the first week of med-taking. Having his support in-person to take that first dose was amazing, and his continued presence relieved my fears of side effects. Luckily I have not experienced any - 10 months in!

Maybe you have someone in your life to lean on for that type of support?

Also - aztecan has it completely right! Are you more afraid of side effects, or getting very sick?

Very good luck to you, and hop into those bottles sooner than later.

love.

[PozitivelySouthern]

Two months on Atripla and I feel great!

The first night I had some really cool dreams. I also suffered a little anxiety (worrying about the side effects) and I was drowsy in the mornings for the first week or so. Now I am just fine. It is like I am not on medication at all.....zip, zilch, nothing.

Give yourself a few weeks to adjust and then you can resume a normal social life at night. If you are going to be hanging out with friends, keep a pill in your pocket. That way, if quick plans are made, you don't have to worry about missing a dose.

[cjmchgo]

Wow!
Thanks for all the support and stories guys.
It's time.
I know I don't want to end up in the hospital with some crazy infection that could have been prevented. That would just be so dumb.
I"m hoping I'll actually feel better in the long run. For the last three years I'm always fatigued, have headaches and low energy.
I'm really just afraid of the first night. I feel like I'm going to be taking a tab of LSD. 

Thanks again everyone!

[jkinatl2]

Honestly, Sustiva is not THAT bad for the vast majority of those who take it. You  may have odd dreams the first few nights, feel a little "out of it" for a few days or weeks. But you will deal, if this is the path you choose to take.

You can always wait until the incentive to adhere to the drug regimen is more powerful. Coming out of a two week hospital stay myself, I can attest to the persuasive power of ten cd4 cells, a viral load inthe millions, and not being able to breathe.

I hope you don't have to get to that point, but you might. Whatever it takes to make certain you follow through on the commitment to stay on the regimen as best as, as long as you can.

Some of us have to wait until death rears its ugly head, until we are impoverished and sick, homebound and riddled with infections. And it has been my experience that only very rarely can one human being's experiences really have an impact on another's. I watched dozens of friends die. I had to get close myself before I made a change, and who knows how long it will last?

We are all in this together. But we do it all alone, at the end of the dark night.

[midland moe]

I did the exact same thing...I found out it was much ado about nothing...I felt like I was stoned the first few nights after I took it, and 3 weeks into it I broke out into a painless small rash on my shoulder that went away the next day.

[ALH300]

I have taken Atripla the last two nights and I have had no side effects at all...So far its been a breeze. I got it back in October and didn't start until I was ready. I simply looked and the pill the other night grabbed a bottle of water and swallowed it. Layed there waiting for something weird to happen but eventually fell asleep.
Good Luck!

[Seadickrun]

Honestly, Sustiva is not THAT bad for the vast majority of those who take it. You  may have odd dreams the first few nights, feel a little "out of it" for a few days or weeks. But you will deal, if this is the path you choose to take.

Sustiva was my first drug and I'm a worst case scenario.  I started seeing pretty patterns on the wall 45 minutes after taking my first pill:))  I smiled and thought to myself, "shouldn't I be asleep before the wild dreams start?"  I felt drunk, couldn't type straight, and had a hard time walking in the apartment.  This went on for a week and then, I just couldn't get off the couch for 20 hours a day and became suicidal by the end of the month.  When my doctor found out at the next visit (I thought everything was normal) he switched me to Truvada/Viramune and I have been a happy camper ever since.  I have yet to come across anyone who has a reaction to Sustiva like I do.  You should have no problems with Atripla but if your symptoms are over the top like mine were, just call your doctor and discuss it. 

[a2z]

Hey everyone,

I have to start meds after being + for over 15 years. I shouldn't be scared, I've certainly had enough time to prepare and research but I am totally freaking out.
I'm truly petrified of the initial side effects. And I know its because of all the horror stories I've heard over the years from different people.
How bad can it be?   

So, did you give it a go yet?

[Maggie]

I want to thank you aztecan for your post.  I was ready to stop my meds last nite.  I've been poz for 16 years and was doing fine on Viramune/Truvada until my kidneys started to go a few weeks ago and I ended up in the hospital to get hydrated again. 

I am now taking Isentress/Viramune/Emtriva and I am having a hard time.  Then, when I read about what REALLY could happen if I wasn't on meds ........ well, I retracted my decision to stop meds altogether. 

thank you 

[DanKenny]

Hey, sorry for chiming in late....but I was also in your position about a year ago.....I started it immediately I got the tabs, and then quickly transitioned to taking it in the morning,  not much side effects (I only feel dizzy if i ate a heavy breakfast shortly before/after the tabs).   Other than that, I look forward to taking it every day.... so jump right in !!

all the best, DK

[Miss Philicia]

So it's now been about 6 weeks since cjmchgo would have picked up his prescription, but I don't see where he's followed up in the thread and stated what's happened.  I see he last checked in on the board yesterday so perhaps he can give us a progress report.

[cjmchgo]

Hey everyone,

Well, I FINALLY started after several ugly anxiety attacks and excuse after excuse why I should wait until the next night or next week.
It's been four full days now and I am feeling some effects that I hope diminish.
Really tired during the day and THE DREAMS, they never stop.
And just kind of under the weather feeling.
Again, thanks for all the support through my initiating therapy and I wish all the best through everyones personal journey with HIV and medications.
Any advice or information on other people's side effects and how they are dealing with them would be nice too.

Thanks,
Craig

[Rural_oz]

Good onya Craig, stick with it.  My first blood test 6 weeks after starting meds showed a VL drop from 35,000 to 90.  May you be equally successful.  Hugz

[Miss Philicia]

Hey Craig, I'm ever so delighted to hear from you and to know you've started taking your medication.  I'll let others weigh in here on side effects from this med as it's been a decade since I was on any of the components in Atripla.  The first month of any HIV med can be a bit touch and go but once you get over that period most side effects greatly lessen as our bodies acclimate to the medication.

[skeebo1969]

  The dreams will slowly go away.  Like Miss Philicia said any med will present some form of side effect for the first month and greatly diminish once your body gets used to it.  I use to have to get out of bed to get the dreams to stop during the first few weeks because if I just simply woke up and turned over they would start where they left off.

  Make sure you take Atripla on an empty stomach for the first few weeks especially, it will help lessen the dreams trust me.  I found even after months on Atripla that if I ate a high fat meal I would have the vivid dreams.  If I ate fried dishes in excess I would sometimes suffer nausea also.

  The tired feeling will slowly go away in due time.  At least in my own experience it did.

  Hope this helps. 

[apou70]

hello from berlin in germany!
this is for the people fearing taking meds:

first of all this forum really helped me with my fears about taking any meds because of possible side effects.
all of you give very helpful information and i am happy to found you by coincidence.

i waited until my CD4 was 150 and 11%. it was difficult to understand to take any meds because i felt still very healthy but finally decided to take atripla about 2 weeks ago.

and i have to say: no side effects whatsoever, very good sleep, normal eating behavior - everything is fine. i even got more power than i used to have over the last half year.

well, i hope - after this rather easy start - my blood test in january will proof that everything is fine and i can continue.

take good care!

[MaxPep]

There are people all over the world that aren't as fortunate and may never have the opportunity to have access to these medications.  We should all be very grateful.

[wamess]

I can relate. I just started Atripla 3 evenings ago. I was going to wait until the weekend, as I had this fear that I would have some weird side effects that would interfere with work, or that I might break out in a rash. Instead, curiosity got the better of me and I took my first pill Wednesday evening. The only side effects I have noticed was feeling wobbly the next morning. As for strange dreams: I have always had lots of strange dreams and I quite enjoy them (they are like free movies ), so not an issue for me. The one ODD thing that I noticed is that after taking that first pill, mentally I felt like I had crossed over or changed somehow; instead of being 'poor me who had HIV and thought I would tough things out med-free', a feeling that I somehow had taken this irreversible step to 'the other side'.....sound like a bunch of malarkey....and perhaps I have been watching to many sci-fi movies, but I related to taking my med as somehow morphing into another type of human being.....IN REALITY, I think it was my mind's way of dealing with what had been a major fear of accepting that I was HIV+.
I can't deny the truth now....I can't hope that somehow it is going to go away on its own....can't imagine that any of the vitamin supplements are miraculously going to reduce my VL from 500K down to nothing.....can't imagine that something or someone is going to wave a magic wand and make this all disappear. INSTEAD, I overcame my fear, ACCEPTED that I have HIV for life and I am going to treat it with what scientific research has shown to be most effective at this point in time. I was in denial until last week. I'm glad I managed to overcome that denial.