New results - 4.5 months on atripla

[vaguesbleues]

I just got the latest set of results, and after 4 1/2 months on Atripla, my viral load dropped from 50,100 to undetectable (<40 copies/mL) !!!  Yay! 

Now I have another question.  I've had some issues with diarrhea the past two months.  It's pretty much every morning and then sometimes 1-2 more times a day.  Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should try?  Have you found any over-the-counter options that work for you?  While it's not like I'm having to rush to the bathroom every few minutes, it is inconvenient and isn't much fun.  Any advice would be appreciated. 

But overall, I'm just elated to be undetectable.  I feel ::SO:: lucky to be dealing with this in a day and age in which medications can prolong life with this f*&king virus.   

[tednlou2]

Congrats on the labs!  As for the diarrhea, I'm not sure what over-the-counter products work best.  I use to have diarrhea a lot.  I remember having to change underwear and pants often--sometimes it would stain my clothing.  Sorry for being gross.  I remember having a bad accident in my car and having to ditch my clothes in a soccer field.  The car was a mess.  Before I was diagnosed, I thought my gallbladder was the culprit.  I thought perhaps it was my diet or being a smoker at the time, since smoking always seemed to stimulate my bowels.     

I'm not sure whether eating yogurt a few times a day changed that.  I now have the opposite problem--too hard.  Occasionally, I still get bouts of it.  Since I wasn't on meds, I can only point to HIV itself.  I'm sure others with more knowledge about trying to control diarrhea will let you know what has worked for them.

Wishing ya the best!   

[Stlguy1976]

Congrats!  I have been on Atripla for 3.5 months.  I only had some diarrhea issues the first week or so but have not had issues since.  I also have the opposite problem....too hard. 

Good luck and congrats.

[spacebarsux]

Congrats on reaching undetectable vaguesbleues! 

[Alan_B]

Congrats on the UD!

Having only started atripla 5 days ago and with a VL of 250000 it'll take ma a while to get to the same point!

Whats your diet like? Try a few bananas everyday maybe?

[vaguesbleues]

Thanks everyone!  I know that many wait years to reach UD, but I think it so fast for me as I started out with such a low VL of 50k at the highest point.  I almost wonder if I couldn't have foregone the medication for awhile longer, but with all the issues I was having related to CMV mono as well as wanting to minimize any damage early on, I did decide to go for it.  I finally feel healthy again to start biking and working out!  There for several months, I barely had the energy to get out of bed in the morning.

As for my diet, I eat a lot of fruit/vegetables/yogurt.  I only eat meat 2-3x a week, and even then only chicken or fish.  I'd try being vegetarian except that I just LOVE chicken and absolutely hate beans...yuck.  I'd be concerned about getting enough protein without beans.  Thankfully the diarrhea isn't so bad that I am left with only a few seconds to find the restroom!  That sounds terrible.  It's just become often enough the last month or so to become noticeable.  I mentioned it to my doctor at the appt. earlier this week and he said to monitor it and if it got worse to let them know.

Regardless, I'm glad to be at the point where I am!  Dr. appts every 6 months now!  Yippee!!

[terpie82]

That is great news VB. I've been on Atripla since it became available (2007-2008 I believe) and luckily for me, I've had minimal side effects. I did have bouts of diarrhea when I was first diagnosed and started meds (the multi-cocktail efavirenz, etc.) in 2003, but that later changed for me too, as others have reported. Perhaps tweaking your diet some more. It sounds like you’re already eat well though. Someone mentioned bananas, which is an excellent source of fiber. Have you tried adding more fibrous foods to your diet that will add more bulk to your poo? Also, I generally find when I eat a lot of fruits high in sugar like berries or oranges, I tend to get diarrhea. I suggest also keeping a food journal where you write down what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as snacks in between and also keep a record of when you take your meds. When tweaking your diet, the day(s) you don’t have diarrhea, you just go back to the day before and look at what you’ve eaten. It’s also possible one of your food items isn’t agreeing with your tummy and/or you meds. So the day(s) that you do have diarrhea, you temporarily not eat it the next to eliminate it as the cause for your diarrhea. Good luck.