A week into meds and swollen lymph nodes....

[HippieLady]

Hi everyone

I started my meds on June 4th....Truvada, Norvair and Reyataz.  I've been doing well on them so far, just a little nausea and vomiting more so if I eat dairy before bed.  Yesterday I noticed swelling in the lymph nodes in my neck...it is painful!  It hurts to turn my head too far because my jaw compresses the node.  I was running a low grade fever last night with chills and shaking. 

This morning my fever is still very low grade...99.8, and my lymph nodes are even more pronounced.  I don't think I could even reach my ID doctor on a Sunday...I never tried.  But the swollen nodes kinda freak me out.  The last time they were this big and painful was when I was going through my serconversion sickness.  Oh and my throat does not hurt at all on the inside, only the swollen nodes hurt like the dickens.

Do you think maybe my body is just reacting to lowering VL and raising CD4 already?

[BlueMoon]

Hi Hippie Lady, sorry to hear you're not feeling well.  I understand that sometime a rebounding immune system can cause an inflammation called IRIS.  You can find information on this site by searching for that term.

Or, it could be unrelated to HIV or HAART.  If you want to see a doctor today you might try a walk-in clinic.  I gave up on expecting any short-term help from my HIV doctor or GP.  I started using a walk-in clinic for things I want looked at right away.  The hours are convenient, and they seem unfazed by HIV.

Edit -- I don't see a lesson for IRIS at Poz.com, so here is a link to an article at The Body. 

[HippieLady]

Thank you Blue!

I had read some info on TheBody about IRIS in the wee hours of the morning.  But it's also been very windy here and lots of nasty crud can get kicked up in the desert during a good windy day.  I've had a stuffy nose for a few days so maybe it's allergies or a summer cold.

Having had mono once before in my 20's and then a pretty bad seroconversion sickness...the swollen lymph nodes freaked me out at first.  I feel no other pain like when I swallow or anything.  I'm going to try not to worry about it too much.  I'm not touching them or feeling them...I know they are swollen cause they hurt and I can see them so there's no need to touch them.  I am putting a cool cloth on my neck to try and reduce the swelling and discomfort.  At this point I guess that's really all I can do.

[Hellraiser]

Thank you Blue!

I had read some info on TheBody about IRIS in the wee hours of the morning.  But it's also been very windy here and lots of nasty crud can get kicked up in the desert during a good windy day.  I've had a stuffy nose for a few days so maybe it's allergies or a summer cold.

Having had mono once before in my 20's and then a pretty bad seroconversion sickness...the swollen lymph nodes freaked me out at first.  I feel no other pain like when I swallow or anything.  I'm going to try not to worry about it too much.  I'm not touching them or feeling them...I know they are swollen cause they hurt and I can see them so there's no need to touch them.  I am putting a cool cloth on my neck to try and reduce the swelling and discomfort.  At this point I guess that's really all I can do.

What was your beginning CD4, IRIS usually only happens when people have a very low CD4.  I went through months of rash which I presume was caused by IRIS as my CD4 slowly rose.  Still under the AIDS range but I look and feel fine now.  Actually I may be over 200 CD4 now bu it's been 3 weeks since my blood draw and they haven't given me my results.

[HippieLady]

What was your beginning CD4, IRIS usually only happens when people have a very low CD4.  I went through months of rash which I presume was caused by IRIS as my CD4 slowly rose.  Still under the AIDS range but I look and feel fine now.  Actually I may be over 200 CD4 now bu it's been 3 weeks since my blood draw and they haven't given me my results.

My CD4 just before starting therapy was 196...I think.  My labs right before that my CD4 count was 220 and my VL was 4,510. 

[Hellraiser]

My CD4 just before starting therapy was 196...I think.  My labs right before that my CD4 count was 220 and my VL was 4,510. 

Dunno, IRIS comes on when your immune system has been low for a long time and it lets everything get by it.  When the HAART starts working it kicks back into life and starts fighting off everything at once which initially makes you feel pretty terrible, but it's of course better than the alternative.  That may be what's going on with you, if it's not too expensive or too much trouble you may want to see a physician and get their opinion.

[Matty the Damned]

Hi everyone

I started my meds on June 4th....Truvada, Norvair and Reyataz.  I've been doing well on them so far, just a little nausea and vomiting more so if I eat dairy before bed.  Yesterday I noticed swelling in the lymph nodes in my neck...it is painful!  It hurts to turn my head too far because my jaw compresses the node.  I was running a low grade fever last night with chills and shaking. 

This morning my fever is still very low grade...99.8, and my lymph nodes are even more pronounced.  I don't think I could even reach my ID doctor on a Sunday...I never tried.  But the swollen nodes kinda freak me out.  The last time they were this big and painful was when I was going through my serconversion sickness.  Oh and my throat does not hurt at all on the inside, only the swollen nodes hurt like the dickens.

Do you think maybe my body is just reacting to lowering VL and raising CD4 already?

Eh, the nodes they swell. For all sorts of reasons. May have nothing to do with teh HIV.

MtD

[WillyWump]

My nodes remained swollen for about 6 months after starting meds...especially the little ones on my ear and under my chin. They've since gone back to "normal". But I still have flare ups now and again, Doc says nothing to get worked up about.

Hopefully yours will subside soon enough.

-Will

[tednlou2]

Oh the nodes.  I got them so bad after infection.  I had them on both sides of neck, under chin, behind ears, in the shoulders, and groin.  They actually stayed swollen for years, but the pain eventually went away.  I had a tooth infection earlier in the year and the ones in my neck started hurting like hell.  They gave me antibiotics and took care of the tooth and the pain went away. 

Do you have any dental/mouth issues?  Or, any sinus issues/allergies?  Since you're only experiencing the ones in your neck, it seems they are local.  It could just be a coincidence.  If they don't go down soon, I would talk to your doc.   

[HippieLady]

I left a message for the nurse today, she called me back and I explained the situation...nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes and night fevers.  She wants to see me first thing in the morning....Yay!  Total sarcastic yay there....the clinic is downtown and I live about an hour away from downtown on a good day without rush hour traffic.  And I'll have to take my kids with me. 

I am nervous as to why she would want to see me so quickly.  I thought they'd just call in something for the nausea and call it a day.  My husband is quite worried as well.  We don't think we can handle more medical bombs dropped on us at the moment.

[tednlou2]

I left a message for the nurse today, she called me back and I explained the situation...nausea, vomiting, swollen lymph nodes and night fevers.  She wants to see me first thing in the morning....Yay!  Total sarcastic yay there....the clinic is downtown and I live about an hour away from downtown on a good day without rush hour traffic.  And I'll have to take my kids with me. 

I am nervous as to why she would want to see me so quickly.  I thought they'd just call in something for the nausea and call it a day.  My husband is quite worried as well.  We don't think we can handle more medical bombs dropped on us at the moment.

I'm sure they just want to make sure all is okay.  When I gave blood about 3 weeks ago for my upcoming doc appt, I told them that I had been having bad pains in my right rib area.  They sent me to get it checked out.  My liver numbers were good, so it seemed I was just constipated.  I guess they just wanted to be better safe than sorry.  I'm sure they will tell you it is probably nothing or IRIS.

[HippieLady]

Another rough night last night with vomiting and high fever.  I work up with a rash all over my torso.  I'm going to see my ID doctor this morning, I really hope she gets to the bottom of this today.

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer, but I can't handle throwing up any more.  My whole body hurts!  I have so many lymph nodes swollen right now...neck, head and armpit.  I feel like ass!  Wish me luck that it's simple like a med reaction or something.

~HippieLady

[HippieLady]

My ID doctor said the fever, rash and nausea is from the Bactrim...I'm allergic to it.  She said the swollen nodes are due to IRIS.  So I'm to stop the bactrim and she gave me a script for Zofran.  Does anyone know how long it takes Zofran to take the nausea away?

[Hellraiser]

A lot of people are allergic to bactrim...actually I have to wonder if there are more people allergic to it than not.  I didn't know you were on bactrim or I would've brought it up.  Did the doctor give you a prescription for dapsone or mepron in place of the bactrim?

[HippieLady]

A lot of people are allergic to bactrim...actually I have to wonder if there are more people allergic to it than not.  I didn't know you were on bactrim or I would've brought it up.  Did the doctor give you a prescription for dapsone or mepron in place of the bactrim?

No she said that because my CD4 was only a few numbers below 200 at my last labs she didn't feel the need to replace it with something else.  I am pretty pleased to not be taking it anymore.

[Nestor]

I've only had a swollen lymph node once, when I first got infected with HIV.  It lasted for about a month.  No pain.  But throbbing lymph nodes have been a pretty regular occurance in the six years since then, always under the arms.  However, in my recent illness (CMV infection) there was quite regular, and sometimes rather painful throbbing of lymph nodes in upper thighs.  Here's the interesting thing--the throbbing resumed AFTER I got better!  Maybe it's just a feature of recovery, which in your case would be a hopeful sign? 

[newbieguy]

I had this problem in the past, before I was ever diagnosed...In my self-denial phase. It was not fun to say the least. I got this awful pain under my right armpit and it just exploded. I got a high fever about 102 and my node there swelled up as big as a baseball and stayed that way for about 3 weeks. It hurt just doing basic things like moving around. Agony! I went on a stong antibiotic and it cleared up. But later that summer (2007) I got a small lump in my groin and my node there swelled up too. It also cleared up after antibiotics. Looking back, Im sure this was right after I was infected. Luckily I havent had anymore of this. But it seems like a common immune response or reaction? Hope you feel better
xo