kaletra and truvada pep

[fuzzydisco]

Hello, newbie here

I have been prescribed truvada and kaletra pep for 30 days. I have been going Google mad, and I'm absolutely petrified about the side effects. I'm currently on day one.

Would anybody be able to share their experiences with me? Goiod or bad?

Also, I am an insulin dependent diabetic and drink a LOT of water to keep myself hydrated. Would this lessen the effectiveness of these drugs in anyway?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[J.R.E.]

Also, I am an insulin dependent diabetic and drink a LOT of water to keep myself hydrated. Would this lessen the effectiveness of these drugs in anyway?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

Hi,

No, The amount of water you drink, would not have an effect on these medications.

[J.R.E.]

http://www.aidsmap.com/iTruvadaKaletrai-HIV-PEP-combination-is-safe-and-effective-with-a-low-rate-of-discontinuations/page/1509762/


Ray

[fuzzydisco]

That's encouraging, many thnks for this.

So far, I feel mildly dizzy and tired.

Anyone have any personal  experiences with this combination ?

Many thanks

[surf18]

just take your pills and be thankful you may have a chance to nip this thing in the bud. id take your deal over my deal any time. do it and be grateful! cause a life with this well i wont go there. just take your pills with a smile on your face every day that you have  a chance.

[Ann]

Steve,

You originally posted this in the Treatment and Side Effect forum, but as you are not confirmed hiv positive, you cannot post in the forums meant only for hiv positive members. I've moved it into the Am I Infected forum, which is the more appropriate place for it.

Please read our Welcome Thread and abide by our rules. Thank you for your cooperation.

May I ask why you are taking PEP? It is all too often prescribed when it is not actually needed.

Ann

[fuzzydisco]

My apologies

Yes of course you can ask;

I had a rather unfortunate casual encounter with someone. I was the receptive partner. We started off with a condom, but somewhere along the line he removed it. I eventually noticed it on the bed beside me, and quizzed the guy about it...he told me that he preferred bb and wasn't going to cum inside me, and withdrew. He then later confessed he was HIV positive with an undetectable load.

I sought PEP less than 24 hours later.

Currently petrified!

[Ann]

Steve,

How unfortunate that this guy was less than honest with you. I promise you that not all positive people are like that, so please do not judge us all by one idiot. At least he disclosed in the end.

However, everything is adding up very much in your favour. One, he didn't cum inside you, although pre-cum can also be infectious.

Two, he has an undetectable viral load and this means he is very unlikely to infect you, although it is not impossible.

Third, you're taking PEP. All things considered, I fully expect you to come out of this ok and hiv negative.

Stick with the meds - it's only for a month. Drinking a lot of water is actually recommended when on antiretroviral meds, so keep doing that.

Something that may put you more at ease - studies have been done in order to find out if a negative woman can conceive naturally with a positive man when he has an undetectable viral load. This has been shown to work, without the woman becoming infected. While vaginal and anal intercourse have different risk rates, (due to the more fragile nature of the anal lining) these studies still show that your risk is lower than it would have been were he not on meds.

Combine that with PEP and the fact that he didn't cum inside you and what you'll get is highly likely to be a negative result.

You need to know that PEP extends your window period by one month, so for a conclusive result, you need to count three months past your last dose of PEP. You can test at six weeks post-PEP, as the vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by this time. A six week negative must be confirmed at the three month point, but is highly unlikely to change.

Oh, and in addition to the link Ray supplied you with, you can read more about the meds you're taking by clicking here

Keep taking your PEP and good luck. I fully expect you to test negative when the time comes.

Ann