Facial Wasting With Reyataz?

[milguy]

It is my understanding that Reyataz is not generally associated with facial wasting.  I've been on it with Truvada and Ziagen since it first came on the market, originally with Norvir but about two years ago I woke up with neck and facial swelling and discontinued the Norvir (doctor found in his research that some anecdotal info that it could cause such a problem) but upped the doseage of the Reyataz from 200 mg per day to 400 per day.  With the higher Reyataz dosage and no Norvir the blood work has even gotten better - besides undetectable, t-cell counts almost up to 700 and bellirubin(?) almost normal so less of the jaundice appearance I would get with the Norvir and Reyataz. 

Now to my main point.  Since the first of this year I began noticing a marked increase in facial wasting, I have been thinking it's just the gradual result of 21 years of virus and drugs, but just came across some pictures from 2005 and 2006 and although there may be some slight indication of facial wasting in these pictures there seems to have been an acceleration of the process in the last two years - pretty much corresponding to the time I have increased the Reyataz doseage.  Maybe at 200 mg per day no problems with Reyataz but maybe not with 400 mg per day?  Any one have have any info or thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Tom

[Miss Philicia]

I would veer towards it being a delayed effect of older drugs, but that's just me.  In my experience there's often a period of time where, in hindsight, one may have been having initial lipo effects and not completely knowing it.  By the time you might discuss it with your doctor some time may have passed.

And once you state that you're a long-term survivor and were on HIV meds for a long time (how long exactly?  the entire 21 years of infection or... )  For me, even though I already have lipo and have had it for a decade, I'd be quite hesitant to play around with the Norvir.  It's a very low dose if you are using it as a booster, and most recent studies as far as I know seem to indicate that for those of us that are treatment experienced the effective use of protease inhibitors is to combine it with 100mg of Norvir.  You're just going to encounter this, I would think, along the road even after Reyataz has run it's course (i.e. with something like Prezista, a newer PI).  At any rate, you've gone off the Norvir booster and your regimen is working well so that's good for you.

As you can see here there's no strong evidence of lipo with Reyataz (but then it's only 5 years old so...):

http://www.aidsmeds.com/archive/Reyataz_1563.shtml

There's also been a bit of news that genetics play a huge role with a propensity to encounter lipo, in combination with meds.

[milguy]

Yea, have been on many of the HIV drugs since finding out I was positive 21 years ago - starting with AZT 2 months after finding out I was positive.  I had a very aggressive doctor plus I tend to be someone who would rather try something than do nothing.  This now rather than later mentality is probably why I recently decided to go with some PMMA fill by Dr. Casavantes.  Had it done last Wednesday, 6/18/08.  I'll be updating the site in a few weeks with my assessment of the procedure and results, as it will take about 6 weeks for the full effect of the treatment to be evident, but so far I'm pretty pleased. 

Tom

[dixieman]

Hey... let me know how the pmma works... I've been thinking of having sculptura to add some mass to my face... lately I've had the Clint Eastwood look but, its getting farther in progression than I'd like now. I've heard pro's and con's on all... and how does one find out whose a reputable doctor?

[bobino]

Hey... let me know how the pmma works... I've been thinking of having sculptura to add some mass to my face... lately I've had the Clint Eastwood look but, its getting farther in progression than I'd like now. I've heard pro's and con's on all... and how does one find out whose a reputable doctor?

Dixieman,

If you want my two cents, skip the Sculptra entirely and go for PMMA.  I spent lots of money on Sculptra, but the effects just don't last.  Better to spend the money up front and get a permanent filler.  If you want more info on Sculptra, check out pozniceguy's posts on the topic.  He's been in a trial sponsored by Dermik, the manufacturer of Sculptra.

As for a reputable doctor, people on this site have used a number of different doctors and can provide information on their respective experiences.  I went to Clinic'Estetica in Tijuana, and I was very pleased with them.  Dr. Morales is very kind, the staff is extremely helpful and professional, and relatively speaking, the treatment is affordable.

PM me if you want more details.

John