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Author Topic: Just started Epzicom+Isentress  (Read 2123 times)

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Offline jasper

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  • Posts: 3
Just started Epzicom+Isentress
« on: September 03, 2008, 02:56:31 am »
Just started meds for the first time and my doctor put me on Epzicom and Isentress.  I'm 15
days into it and it's been really awful.  The GI effects have been fairly manageable (some
nausea and bloating) but my brain feels like the gears are grinding. Headache, difficulty concentrating and
fatigue. It feels like withdrawls from anti-depressants, which I experienced a long time ago. Can't help but wonder if it's interacting with my Zoloft/Buspar.

I've had the worst allergies ever and have even had a reactivation of asthma which hasn't
happened in 10 years.

Because these aren't on the list of usual side effects, the doctor just says to "power through
it" and it'll go away eventually.  I'm finding it really difficult to function at work.

If anyone else has had a similar experience, I'd be grateful to know how you got through it. 
I've always been overly sensitive to medications and am wondering if this is just how it's
gonna be. Ughh!!!

Thanks for reading.


Offline newt

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  • the one and original newt
Re: Just started Epzicom+Isentress
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2008, 09:49:09 am »
Jasper

There are no known interactions between your combo and Zoloft etc

The symptoms you describe are consistent with abacavir sensitivity. Abacavir is one of the drugs in Epzicom.

About 8% of people who take abacavir have an allergic reaction. This usually develops within two weeks of starting abacavir. A feature in 8/10 cases is fever, but this is not always present. Rash, headache and fatigue are also common. As is difficulty breathing.

A simple blood test can identify nearly all patients who are allergic to abacavir - the HLA-B*5071 test.

If you are having an allergic reaction to abacavir, the symptoms will get worse each time you take a dose.  As this reaction can be serious healthcare providers should pay close attention.

- matt
« Last Edit: September 03, 2008, 09:51:04 am by newt »
"The object is to be a well patient, not a good patient"

Offline newt

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  • the one and original newt
Re: Just started Epzicom+Isentress
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2008, 09:50:41 am »
PS - welcome to the forums - matt
"The object is to be a well patient, not a good patient"

Offline atlq

  • Member
  • Posts: 518
Re: Just started Epzicom+Isentress
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2008, 10:10:18 am »
Jasper,

I am not saying that this applies in your case, but here is something that might be of interest to you:

http://www.poz.com/articles/hiv_isentress_depression_761_15212.shtml

Early stuff and a really small number of folks, but you might want to bring it to your doctors attention.

Best...
“Keep up the good work....   And God bless you.”
  --  Sarah Palin, to members of the Alaskan Independence Party, 2008

Offline Miss Philicia

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  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Just started Epzicom+Isentress
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2008, 12:33:14 pm »
Yeah, I read that poz article yesterday too, and it was the first thing I thought when I clicked on the link.  Obviously this is a new med, and the article is a bit "iffy" in its science but I'd still check it out.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

 


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