POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: JJDF on April 02, 2011, 01:16:56 pm
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Hi Everyone,
Started Isentress and Truvada (first meds) on March 28th. Overall, I'd have to say things are going well. I was able to take the week off of work so the timing was good. But I do have a question.
I take the Isentress and Truvada together in the morning. By mid-afternoon, I am very, very gassy (stomach) and really feel the need to belch frequently. It's not even the "polite" burping, I'm talking I could win a contest for sure! Another result of this is a loss of appetite, I believe because my stomach is so full of air. I've been eating much less this week because of this but making sure my choices are healthy. The evening Isentress does not produce this effect.
Does anyone else have experience with this side effect? Is it one that will go away with time as my body adjusts? I'm taking Gas-X but it's hardly making a dent - any other suggestions? In the grand scheme of things, I'd say this is a very minor issue, but I thought I'd ask. Thank you for all your great information on here!
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Truvada can, indeed, make some people very gaseous. I take digestive enzymes twice daily for this. Mine is a prescription one, but the ingredients can be found in OTC stuff. The ingredients are: Amylase, Lipase, Protease.
You can read more here: http://www.catie.ca/sideeffects_e.nsf/TOC/2D22DE12DE0C39CA85256C7C00696914?OpenDocument
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I started Isentress/Truvada last October and experienced more gas early on than I do now. Over time, it's decreased. I don't use any products to lessen it and I eat the known gas-producers: beans, cabbage, etc., without any more difficulty than I had before starting meds.
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I have a poz friend who seemingly farts every 15 minutes in public and I keep wondering if I should have a discussion with him about it.
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Let us know how that goes if you do. Farts on the quarter hour would make it difficult to enjoy a movie with him.
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More burping and farting is the only side effect I've had from the same combo... Additionally, they have a very distinct smell that they never had pre- meds... :-X
I can't complain though, the I and T have done remarkable things for my numbers (and the way I feel!)
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Thank you for the information. I went and purchased some of the digestive enzymes mentioned and will give them a try. I think it's getting better each day. Hopefully I can get it to a quiet burp at some point, and at least it's coming out that way at the moment!
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Thank you for the information. I went and purchased some of the digestive enzymes mentioned and will give them a try. I think it's getting better each day. Hopefully I can get it to a quiet burp at some point, and at least it's coming out that way at the moment!
Cutting out dairy really helped my tooting.
Billy
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Thank you for the information. I went and purchased some of the digestive enzymes mentioned and will give them a try. I think it's getting better each day. Hopefully I can get it to a quiet burp at some point, and at least it's coming out that way at the moment!
Getting better each day...
Yes you're only a few days in. HAART is a shock to the digestive system not least because HIV before it was such a shock.
Maybe it will all settle down soon enough. I used anti-gas pills at the beginning on days when I was all blown up.
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Do you take your Truvada with food? My friend finds he gets gas problems if he takes his Truvada (well, Atripla) within 4 hours of eating.
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Hey there.
I just started 2 days now taking I and T...I have some gas too and feel full as well. So like you I am trying to eat healthy.
I am also having some numbness in my hands like when they fall asleep and start waking up.
I am hoping that goes away after a couple more days of use.
How has your gas problem been doing now that you are into this for a few months?
Have you had any other side effects?
Thanks
C -
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Truvada without food makes me a Saturn 5 rocket of an afternoon, just saying....
- matt
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Haha...
Thanks for the heads up Matt.
Did you have any other side effects? Did you body feel weird the first week taking this?
I can't tell what's in my mind making me anxious or what's from the meds!
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Yes
About 6-9 months in on tenofovir (one of the drugs in Truvada) I got mouthy and stressed. It passed.
Anxiety may be from Isentress. Likely to pass.
- matt
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Thanks for all the informatiion. After the first week, the gas and bloated feeling subsided substantially. I do make sure I take it with food, because on an empty stomach it causes a large amount of gas - not nausea though.
Had my first labs only 3 weeks into the treatment and while my CD4 had not increased, the viral load took a HUGE dive. I had to have the labs 2 weeks before a visit, so that's why I was only 3 weeks in. Go back in 3 months. Dr. was very pleaseed with the progress, and the liver/kidney numbers were good.
I do appreciate all the help on here. Have learned a great deal about meds and nutrition. Takes a bit of the anxiety away.
Newt - interesting you had some stress feelings with the Truvada and it passed. While I've not had a short temper, I've found my tolerance for things that used to bother me get to me sometimes. It passes, and I don't feel "anxious", though it could be anxiety nonetheless. All in all, the I & T combo has been a very tolerable one.
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I was on Atripla and could not sleep. My doctor switched me to Isentress and Travada last week. I feel great as I am getting better sleep but can't stop burping and have a small burning sensation in the stomach. Will this pass or is it a permanent side effect?
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My gas and burping (also had a full feeling in my stomach) went away within a couple weeks.
Someone on here said to maybe avoid as much dairy products.
So the Atripla kept you from sleeping? That's why I didn't go that route cause I was worried it would do the same to me. But I am having some 'jitteriness' and anxiousness on this right now that I am hoping will pass.
The doctor had me on Clonazepam to help with the stress of just finding out about HIV and everything, but I think it has made the jitteriness/anxiousness worse so I have stopped taking it.
Hopefully that will help.
Good luck with I/T. A buddy I have made from here is on it and said he has no effects from it after a couple weeks.