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Author Topic: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?  (Read 4187 times)

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Offline uk lady

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  • Posts: 51
fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« on: December 03, 2008, 05:51:19 am »
Hiya all i am a 28 yr old positive female, i have been on meds now for about 3 years. changed meds in last 9 months due to me & partner wanting to try for a baby. i changed form sustiva/truvada to kaletra/truvada.  all has been well with this combo numbers have stayed the same which is undetectable vl & cd4 500. i have diarreah & loose stools quite a lot but other than that no other side effects. my problem is since being on kaletra i have lost a lot of fat i still weigh the same tho so i guess this is lipodystrophy. this has just got worse since being on kaletra & i now lost lots on my butt & legs. does anyone think changing meds would do the trick? i may not gain the fat back but could changing stop it from getting worse? was wondering wether or not its the kaletra & truvada that doesnt go together as i was fine on sustiva & truvada. obviously if changing meds is better thing to do then whatever i go on has to be safe for pregnancy as we are currently trying for bbay now. any info would be great as im going out my mind here not wanting this to get any worse. thanks guys

Offline Moffie65

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  • Posts: 1,755
  • Living POZ since 1983
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2008, 08:23:48 am »
Hi UK,

I would suspect that being on Kaletra was a decision to keep your immune response high, and allow you to have a child.  Any of the side effects that occur on our bodies should not be a reason to get off the meds and switch to another.  These meds are not like a variety store that we pick and choose because of vanity.  I was on Kaletra for about three and a half years, and my body still shows the after effects in my obvious lipo.  However, I am still here, and the virus didn't get control of my immune system until that regimine failed

As for the side effect of the squirts; one thing you can do that will tighten up your bowels is to eat yogurt every day, and do so with regularity.  What this does is to restore the good bugs that live in our stomachs, and helps us digest food better.  Give it two weeks and I bet your bowels will return to some level of normalcy anyway. 

I would not recommend changing a working HAART simply for the looks of our bodies, becasue the changes are probably permanent.  After all, one of the first things we loose with HIV is our Butts, so I would ask you to simply get used to it.
The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals,
and 362 to heterosexuals.
This doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals,
It's just that they need more supervision.
Lynn Lavne

Offline GSOgymrat

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  • Posts: 5,122
  • HIV+ since 1993. Relentlessly gay.
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2008, 09:01:44 am »
Any of the side effects that occur on our bodies should not be a reason to get off the meds and switch to another. 

I respectfully disagree. I switched from Kaletra because it made my cholesterol go to over 350 and my triglycerides go to over 1600. I never had a solid bowel movement while I was on it. I lost weight and my lipoatrophy got worse. I felt Kaletra may have been keeping my HIV under control but it was putting me at risk for stroke. Side effects can be brutal and sometimes deadly and personally I'm not going to suck it up and take my medicine like a good boy when there are other options.

UK Lady I don't tell people what medication to take. I decided to take a chance and see if I could find something better and I did. It could have not worked and I might have had to switch back. My advice is learn as much as you can so you can make an informed decision.
« Last Edit: December 03, 2008, 09:04:20 am by GSOgymrat »

Offline uk lady

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  • Posts: 51
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2008, 11:39:34 am »
Hiya thanks for your replies. i know that we shouldnt take decisions to change meds lightly & i really wouldnt just do this without thinking long & hard about it. the thing is i know that my body wasnt like this before going onto kaletra so it really makes me wonder wether switching would be better as i am losing a lot of fat now & i dont want this to get any worse, this has all happened within 9 months aswell si it must be kaletra i guess.  i aswell am very gratful indded that i am still here & alive & well but i cant help feeling very down especially when people keep asking me if i have lost weight, it really brings up depression i thought i had buried a while ago.  i really understand what you are saying moffie i just dont know wether i want to sit & let the kaletra make my body worse.  thanks gsogymrat for your input aswell i respect you dont tell people what meds to take i understand that. i am very treatment naive only been on these meds & sustiva so i really wouldnt have any idea what i could take that is a bit fat friendly & of course safe for pregnancy so if there is anyone with any info on what i could take or maybe discuss with my doc i would be very greatful. thanks again guys

Offline Peter Staley

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  • Founder & Advisory Editor, AIDSmeds.com
    • AIDSmeds.com
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2008, 12:17:58 pm »
UK Lady -- please do not post multiple threads in our forums asking the same question.  We've deleted your other threads since this one had replies.

Thanks for helping out.

Offline uk lady

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  • Posts: 51
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2008, 01:12:32 pm »
Whoops sorry about that i didnt realise wasnt supposed to sorry again :)

Offline jkinatl2

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Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2008, 01:37:26 pm »
I think my own situation is odd enough that my opinion on matters like this is, at best, to be taken with a grain of salt.

But I have personally made decisions about meds based on long term effects, short term effects, side effects and research.

Recently, I put my foot down about any further use of AZT, for example. And certain other drugs that are known to cause lipo were 86'd when they were prescribed. I forced my doctor to be creative. And in some instances, I found another doctor.

There are enough drugs on the market today which do not cause unwanted effects, especially for those without resistance. The regimen might be a little less forgiving, and might be a little pill-heavy. But I think it's important to decide which sacrifices you are willing to make.

After all, you might be living in that body for fifty more years :)

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline Moffie65

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,755
  • Living POZ since 1983
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2008, 06:25:30 pm »
Ford and UK lady, I am certainly sorry for that statement.  I too have switched meds for various reasons, but never because of the way it made my distorted body look.  I just haven't had the luxury of shopping meds due to the fact that my immune system is shit anyway, and I am so resistant to the effectiveness of most of the meds anyway. 

I am sorry If I misled, but I still feel that for just vanity, I think switching a combo that is working in most other ways; I wouldn't necessarily recommend that kind of switch.

Please accept my apologies.
The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals,
and 362 to heterosexuals.
This doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals,
It's just that they need more supervision.
Lynn Lavne

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2008, 08:38:07 pm »
It's not a "vanity issue" if it leads to ever deepening depression issues.  Try getting lipo in your early 30's and not developing mental issues.  Of course, 10 years ago this was also aggravated by doctors not having a name for the condition, or knowing what was causing it... much less being offered anything to do about it, but I digress.

Simply put there is no reason NOT to switch meds, if only to try and halt the process.  There are too many other viable options out there, though admittedly I am hesitant to offer any because of the pregnancy issue.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline GSOgymrat

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  • Posts: 5,122
  • HIV+ since 1993. Relentlessly gay.
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2008, 08:58:03 pm »
Please accept my apologies.

No need to apologize. It just hits a nerve with me because some doctors have an attitude that as long as the viral load is suppressed you should just be thankful to be alive, take the pills we tell you and ignore the side effects.

Offline uk lady

  • Member
  • Posts: 51
Re: fat loss & kaletra, shall i change meds?
« Reply #10 on: December 04, 2008, 04:42:03 am »
Absolutly no need to apologise Moffie at all you have your opinions i respect that & totally undersatand what you are saying. its def a toughy isnt it i mean im only 28 & the thought of just sitting & letting the kaletra make my body any worse is just unbearable i know its a bit for vanity but also not as it really makes me depressed as not a lot of people know about my status & im finding it real hard now to even go out, i avoid social situations as much as i possibly can & people are asking where i have been, i keep making excuses this is really not good for me at all. im not even expecting to maybe regain this fat loss if i switch just wondering if i can halt is somehow. i did bring this up with my doc & he sort of brushed it off & told me to exercise but i have & no luck. i have docs again next wk so i am going to bring it up again. GSOgymrat i totally agree aswell on the doctors well def mine altho hes very nice, he only really interested in my numbers, to me thats not good enough tho as living with hiv seems to be far more bearable than the side effects of this damn kaletra!!!!!! thanks guys il look up info on what other med i could maybe take safe for pregnancy

 


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