ATRIPLA: Now undetectable (vl >40) after 5 months

[jonny81]

Hello everyone.

this is my first medication i've ever been on after 10 years without any treatment.

Side effects first two weeks were SHIIIIT (see old post) really awful but took a few weeks off work.

Just notes for anyone starting Atripla:

• took longer than normal to get down to undetectable - but doc said I had other stresses (moving house & travel) that may have contributed.
  
  needed sleeping tablets (zolpidem tartrate) to sleep for a bit - do not need them now everything normal.
  
  was given Maxalon (metroclopramide) for nausea initially - but the packet is still unopened.
  
  very easy to take, feel a little drowsy for about 20 mins about 1 hour after tablet but can still work and function as normal
  
  sometimes get bad stomach cramps (like i've been kicked in the guts) but nothing lasting or really bad.
  
  adherance - I have never missed a dose but been out by a few hours from time to time (due to being longhaul cabin crew).
  
  When i first started I double dosed a couple of times when I couldn't remember if I had taken it or not - called the doc and he said it's far better to double dose than take nothing at all. SOLUTION (so easy...): pill box (duh...) like ur granny has. U can feel like an old hag when you get your pills ready for the week on Sunday heh heh.
  
  Weight has increased slightly - from 73kg to 78kg this is apparently normal due to body not fighting the virus any more - you have more energy. SO trying to eat less/more healthy. Increased cardio at gym by 20 mins.
  
  Actually feel healthier than ever before as i have cut alcahol down to bring weight down but keeping recreational drug use up - has no real effect on meds except look out for liver health - LOTS of water.
  
  mentally - great to know you have it all managed and sorted out. Gives me a sense of achievement and winning the battle.
  
  All in all it's been a life adjustment, but not huge - no major dramas and a feel MUCH better for it and acually wish I'd started earlier.
  
  Good luck for anyone starting - just STICK WITH IT

[BlkRedBonenla]

I'm taking ATRIPLA too, but I've never quite shed my old, alternative HIV views either. So when I hear doctors seeming to make excuses to every contingency, I just get suspicious.

Your doctor telling you your VL took 5 months to go undetectable was because of moving sounds like a load of crap. Nevertheless, CONGRATULATIONS on getting there, Jonny. Really!!! Bottom line with the docs: they just don't know very much, and we are Guinea Pigs.

My only side effect starting ATRIPLA was the rash, which lasted exactly 6 days. Sleeplessness has been an issue, exacerbated by my weird work schedule, but I take one or two melatonin pills an hour before bedtime, and this helps. I also started taking my meds in the middle of the night [I always wake 4-5 hours after going to sleep: bathroom, dream, etc], and I take the pill and go back to sleep ... this is perfect, but I don't know if it explains my recent 100 pt DROP in cd4. If my doc tells me that's not significant, I will ask why a 100-pt RISE is significant. I'm still asking for what the norm is and how this is arrived at, but I digress ...

Yes, the pill box was an early solution for me too. You'd think you'd know if you took a pill, but with so much going on .. I know. Been there!! I have a little shot glass by my bed. I put the pill in it when I get home, so I don't have to fumble with the pill box in the middle of the night.

Don't forget the basics> Good eating. Sleep. Your body is your temple and engine and furnace, etc.

[posmale]

HI there..

Thanks for your post. I have been pos for 3 years but only on medication, Atripla for 5 months. Last night I double dosed, not realizing that I had, only to wake up about 4 hours later feeling clammy, dizzy, nervous and tad short of breath. I didn't know what to do since there weren't many posts on taking a double dose of Atripla on Google. I called the poison control center and then called my Dr who callled me back at 430am to tell me not to worry, just ride out the storm, and continue normal regimen the next night.

I hope that more people will continue to make posts letting people know their experiences....how we all can learn.

Cheers,
POSMALE     

[metekrop]

jonny81,

CONGRATUALTIONS on your achieevments.  Keep up the good job.

But would you mind telling here about your number and at different time fram that you take the test.

Tks

[jonny81]

Oh yeah sorry - I'll get a printout from the doc of all my counts since 2003. The ones below are just rough ones i jotted down at the time, and no percentages.

My CD4 was under 300 for two months running in jan/feb this year which is why I started on meds. That's the trigger in the UK - I know it differs in other countries.

I know it has now jumped up to 500+ (yay!) and VL is less than 40/undetect.

But i will put a full version of all of them on here after next visit with dates from 2003 onwards and percentages if anyone wants to compare notes.

J
x


AUG 03   814/10,500
SEP 03   782/7,020         
MAY 04   887/59,900      
SEP 04   1,300/73,421      
DEC 04   1,032/83,100
NOV 05   656/233,945       
AUG 06   690/60,811      
JUN 07   476/170,541
FEB 08   251/4,922   
MAY 08   397/96,619
JUN 08   497/147,544
JUL 08   497/154,847
AUG 08   695/60,811
MAY 09   390/121,267   
AUG 09    414/99,452
NOV 09   294/120,335
JAN 10   245/190,259

FEB 10   ***START ATRIPLA***
   DIDN'T TAKE NOTES FOR A FEW MONTHS - BUT V/L ONLY DROPPED VERY SLOWLY    DURING THIS TIME - ALMOST HAD TO CHANGE MEDS AS THEY THOUGHT IT WASN'T WORKING

MAY 10   512/UNDETECTABLE >40

SO... YEAH.. WHOO-HOOO!

Got my life back at last (and just in time for summer - owzat??!).

G&T in the garden anyone?