help?! red painful itchy eye? reyetaz? or what is the culprit? anyone else?

[jportland]

So I was prescribed Reyetaz, Norvir, and Epsicom a year and a half ago and this was the first time i took meds. No problems happened. I was then told in August 2009 that the norvir was just a booster to the reyetaz and that I could drop the norvir and just take an extra reyetaz pill and this worked just as well. So August 1st i started on this new regimen of just Epsicom and Reyetaz cuz norvir had to be kept in the fridge and that was annoying to me anyway.  Then on September 3rd I got a red dot on my eye. over the weekend it got bigger and looked like pink eye.
                      I went into the doc and said I had pink eye and the swabbed it. After the culture came back it tested negetive for pink eye ( conjuntivitis) both viral and bacterial, neg for herpes, neg syphillis, neg shingles. There was so much pressure in my eye and then it spread to the other one. Long story short it lasted 3 weeks and they never knew what it was and just chalked it up to some random eye infection and a random event. So ok no big deal athough it was awful and painful and i thought my eyes was gonna explode it hurt so bad in the middle week of the 3 especially was bad. i would have liked to have known.  
              So yesterday I notice a red dot on my eye. IT'S BACK! ugh. So I am moving Tommorow to a different state! And they never knew what it was last time! I had 4 diffrent docs look at it before! So just now I decided to put in Reyatez side effects. One of the SERIOUS side effects it lists is " Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes, like "pink-eye")!!!!! So if u remember i switched in only August from 200mg of reyetaz to 400mg... However norvir was the booster before is all... So is it really any different in the first place? But cuz i'm thinking it might not be but at the same time it was only a month later that I got an eye infection!
           And now 2 monthes later to the day almost again i am getting one?! is there a buildup and to much reyetez in my system? I am not taking reyetaz anymore! or if i do i wanna go back to the booster of it with norvir cuz this didn't happen before even though it makes no sense cuz it's just a booster but that's the only thing i can think of. And i have no doc to go to for a week. I will keep taking epsicom but i'm afraid to take reyetaz and it says to stop taking it anyway if u get that symptom. Although i'm suprised and u'd think u'd would a gotten it rite when u started meds for the first time and at ANY dose if u were gonna have problems. thoughts on this?

[Inchlingblue]

 I will keep taking epsicom but i'm afraid to take reyetaz and it says to stop taking it anyway if u get that symptom. Although i'm suprised and u'd think u'd would a gotten it rite when u started meds for the first time and at ANY dose if u were gonna have problems. thoughts on this?

You cannot just take Epzicom and stop the Retyataz! This is dangerous, you could get resistance to the meds and have a rebound in your viral load.

I have not heard of the problem you are describing happening because of Reyataz. You say that conjunctivitis is a possible side effect of Reyataz according to what you read but you are also saying that you did not have conjunctivitis.

This condition with redness in the eyes can happen when there is excessive dryness, I would try an over the counter eye lubricant ("artificial tears") and see if that helps. I know someone who smokes pot and this happens to them.

If you are able to go back to the lower dose and add Norvir that's fine but do not just stop taking Reyataz, that is not the solution.

I would prefer to take Epzicom and Reyataz without Norvir, the fewer the medications that a person can take as long as they do the job, the better.

[Ann]

According to the Reyataz website, you only need to stop taking it if the eye problem is present with a rash. It looks to me like they're talking about SJS, and what you're describing doesn't sound like SJS.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any side effects, symptoms, or conditions, including the following:

    * Mild rash (redness and itching) without other symptoms sometimes occurs in patients taking REYATAZ, most often in the first few weeks after the medicine is started, and usually goes away within two weeks with no change in treatment.
    * Severe rash has occurred in a small number of patients taking REYATAZ. This type of rash is associated with other symptoms which could be serious and potentially cause death. If you develop a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop using REYATAZ® (atazanavir sulfate) and call your healthcare provider right away:
          o – Shortness of breath
          o – General ill-feeling or "flu-like" symptoms
          o – Fever
          o – Muscle or joint aches
          o – Conjunctivitis (red or inflamed eyes, like "pink-eye")
          o – Blisters
          o – Mouth sores
          o – Swelling of your face
    * Yellowing of the skin and/or eyes may occur due to increases in bilirubin levels in the blood (bilirubin is made by the liver).
    * A change in the way your heart beats may occur and could be a symptom of a heart problem.
    * Diabetes and high blood sugar may occur in patients taking protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
    * If you have liver disease, including hepatitis B or C, your liver disease may get worse when you take anti-HIV medicines like REYATAZ.
    * Kidney stones have been reported in patients taking REYATAZ. Signs or symptoms of kidney stones include pain in your side, blood in your urine, and pain when you urinate.
    * End stage kidney disease managed with hemodialysis.
    * Some patients with hemophilia have increased bleeding problems with protease inhibitor medicines like REYATAZ.
    * Changes in body fat have been seen in some patients taking anti-HIV medicines. The cause and long-term effects are not known at this time.

Other side effects of REYATAZ taken with other anti-HIV medicines include: nausea, headache, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, fever, dizziness, trouble sleeping, numbness, and tingling or burning of hands or feet. source

Ann

[jportland]

thanks kids:)  And i didn't stop taking my meds.... Oh and thanks for pointing that out Anne that is should go ALONG with a rash:)  Wich i don't have. It's just odd... conjunctivitis in september and now again 2 monthes later??? WTF? ha. well rite now it's still like a red dot so we'll see if it blows up into what it was before but so far it;s pretty tame and doesn't bug me or look bad really. Hope it goes away. I'm just lost. Am on meds for over a year. Tcells are higher than ever been in 6 years. Viral load 0... Healthy. And havn't had pink eye since i was 7. And now twice.... Just find it odd... hmmm. Happy holidayszzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!

[tednlou2]

I hope you're feeling better.  Let us know if you find out any further info about the situation.