POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: TabooPrincess on November 26, 2012, 12:14:40 pm
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Been on atripla around 5 months and all good going - no real side-effects other than the messed up sleep. But I just feel wrong in myself, like I'm on the wrong path/track in life and a general feeling of miserableness and underlying panic/anxiety which I'm in control of at the moment. I'm not depressed, nowhere near but I just feel wrong.
Is this likely to be atripla or just life in general? I've always been a fairly content happy-go-lucky person but I seem to be so highly strung lately and can't see anything good in the future, just the same old weariness. Nothing has changed in my life only taking atripla so I don't know....
I'm not sure if I should request a change or not since everything else about atripla suits me fine. Any ideas?!
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That sounds almost exactly like me on Sustiva. Took months for the CNS effects to fully kick in. I ended up suicidal, which is entirely not me. I would take these changes in mood seriously.
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I didn't know if it might because it's winter, or I've put on weight, or I'm just pissed off with my job (which incidentally has been suffering lately), or I might want to move house, or move city, or change partners, or it's just natural with age, or I want another baby/don't want a another baby, or I'm exhausted....the list is endless and I'm tired of it all lol just want to be content with my lot again.
And yeh - it is getting worse as the weeks go by.
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I was in the same place after about 2 years on Atripla. I was also very quick to get angry which is not normal for me. My DR and I discussed several times switching off Atripla but I didn't think (wrongly) that it was affecting me. After all how could I be depressed if I could still laugh at jokes! I didn't really want to give up the one-a-day pill.
About a year ago, I switched to Issentress and Truvada. A week after the switch I caught myself walking down the street with a spring in my step and whistling! Feeling much better, laugh easier, and some stool issues I was having cleared up. Though that took a little longer. I didn't realize the cloud I was under until it was gone. Now I wish I had made the switch sooner.
Three pills a day vice one is a little more challenging to manage sometimes, specially with my work schedule, but it isn't that big a deal.
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By all means change your combo.
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I was on Atripla for 2.5 years. At the end of year 1 I could tell my behavior had changed. I was more anxious and became extremely defensive aqt the drop of a hat. I took it as long as I could and then I swapped to Complera. All of that shit faded away. Talk to your doctor about different combos. Isentress + Truvada, Stribild, Complera, should all be brought up.
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I was on Atripla and tell everyone how bad it was for me. This does not mean it won't work for other people. Some love it. I was on it for four years. I had the dreams, but they never stopped. I had vivid dreams every single night for four years. I was very weak, and I felt like a zombie. I was just not right. It was more gradual, but all I could do was be tired. When I switched I felt like I could THINK again, I felt more like myself. It was a big difference.
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Taboo:
Is there anything you do for mess up sleep? On Atripla for about a month, and have the toughest time falling alseep. Not sure about depression, but I'm not laughing a helluva lot these days. Maybe, to understand if one is in depression one's got to be out of it to realize being in it. Do know that the things that used to make me tick and click don't do much for me know, and I need to find some inspiration figuring out something else . . . God knows what.
-fisher
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Taboo:
Is there anything you do for mess up sleep? On Atripla for about a month, and have the toughest time falling alseep. Not sure about depression, but I'm not laughing a helluva lot these days. Maybe, to understand if one is in depression one's got to be out of it to realize being in it. Do know that the things that used to make me tick and click don't do much for me know, and I need to find some inspiration figuring out something else . . . God knows what.
-fisher
I had a big problem sleeping on Atripla and when I did sleep it wasn't very restful. This was probably the largest contribution to me changing regimens.
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I'm getting my new meds tomorrow - I've opted for truvada and darunavir. My mood has been getting worse, I feel so dark and bleak. I can't see any light at the end of the tunnel, just panic and fear. I never feel like I'm fully awake and sometimes struggle to remember what really happened and what didn't when the dreams are too vivid. I hope the change will ease this, otherwise it's back to the drawing board and accepting that I'm just a miserable cow these days.
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Oh and my consultant has not said anything about norvir. Is this always needed?
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I've been on Truvada, Prezista (darunavir) and Norvir since last July and I like it.
I was advised (both by people here and by my consultant) that if I'm going to take it (Prezista) with Truvada, I have to take Norvir as well. You should double-check with your consultant about this. I remember specifically discussing this with my doc (because I'd hoped to avoid Norvir) and he said he absolutely did not recommend going without Norvir.
Aside from a little more diarrhea than usual in the first week or so, Norvir hasn't been a problem for me. It just takes a little getting used to for your gut. (Caveat - for a small minority, it continues to be a problem.) I worried about Norvir because I've already been dealing with hiv related diarrhea for over ten years and I was wary of making it worse and no longer being able to control it as I do now. But like I said, aside from the first week or so it hasn't been a problem.
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I've been on Prezista since it was in clinical trials. Like Ann, I've not heard of taking it without Norvir.
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Everyone's experience is different. For me, Atripla was the first HIV drug I took, and it worked wonders for me. It kept me undetectable the whole time I was on it. And overall (other than first week feeling extremely loopy and stoned). I never had really weird dreams on it. After about a year on it I started having slight bouts of anxiety. I also had bouts of strange thoughts and sometimes downright sadness. I also had some dizziness, and having a LOT of trouble falling asleep at night, when I had never had that problem before. The sleep problem was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. So all in all I liked Atripla and it did a lot of good things for me, but in the end I decided to take my doc's advice and try a similar medication, Complera, which does not have the sustiva in it. I just needed my sleep, but wanted to stick to a very similar medicine, so Complera was what I decided on. You have to do your research and decide what med combo you think will best suit your needs. Good luck.