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Author Topic: Just started Atripla And Have A New Born Baby, Bad Timing????  (Read 2905 times)

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Offline NewDaddy

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Just started Atripla And Have A New Born Baby, Bad Timing????
« on: October 20, 2011, 02:03:08 pm »
Feeling Guilty About Not Doing My Home Work….


The title of my thread is a little off because it’s actually my wife, not me who just started the meds.

I’m feeling guilty because she is very dependent on me and I wish I would have done more research before she started them. She is actually taking the 2 pill combo of Stocrin and Truvade.

We are unfortunately not together right now because of my work, I’m about 7000 miles away and we communicate on skype and the phone, but with my long work hours and both of us being in under developed countries it’s difficult due to bad phone and internet connections…

Her first night was horrible with dizziness and couldn’t sleep, she was a zombie today and not feeling well at all. She took her second dose about three hours ago, I just called because it’s time to give the baby her meds (Midnight) and she said that she is doing OK. She took care of the baby and went to the bathroom, was a little bit dizzy but not too bad. She was pretty out of it so I think I’ll get a better report tomorrow and I’m praying that she’s truly doing better….

Our new born is 6 weeks old and is taking Meds every six hours and milk every 2-3 hours so sleep for my wife is almost impossible anyways… She does have help from some very close friends but they are not aware of her status and do not know what the meds are that the baby is taking.

It’s a very complicated situation!!!!!

My wife’s health is very good. She has been undetectable since being diagnosed last year and her T Cell count has always been over 600. She was just tested a week after the baby was born and is still undetectable and T Cells at 700, but she was on meds during the pregnancy and this might have kept them high..

The doctor gave her the choice of starting HAART now or later, but he did seem to push her a little because he was worried about resistance because she was taking meds during the pregnancy.

We talked about it and decided to go ahead and start, she told me the name of the meds this morning and when I did some research on Stocrin and Truvade I found some mention of dizziness, and sleeplessness but nothing too bad, but when I started to read about Atripla I found some real horror stories and now I feel terrible about her taking it!

She has so much on her plate right now with the baby that I think we may have made a mistake. She needs all of her strength and sleep so I personally think that maybe she should stop and tell the doctor to either wait a few months or go with another therapy. I should mention that he DID NOT warn her of possible sleep problems, but I suspect that he didn’t want to CAUSE her to have problems by telling her. Again, this is not Europe or The States, they do things differently where we are…. We do like and trust the Doc, he is not a specialist but he does preach that he strictly adheres to the newest CDC guidelines..

I guess that we will see how she feels tomorrow but I have been reading through the forum here and a lot of you are more experienced and knowledgeable so I would appreciate your thoughts or advice.

Because of the situation with our new daughter I thought some people might be curious so I just want to mention that my wifes pediatrician is very experienced with HIV and pregnancy. It’s unfortunately very common here. She was very well cared for and had a caesarian section and we are extremely optimistic that the baby will be fine. The baby is taking the precautionary meds and will be tested (I Believe) in 2 months. I was tested when we found out my wife was pregnant and again about three weeks ago and I am HIV negative.

Thank You In Advance!

Offline Ann

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Re: Just started Atripla And Have A New Born Baby, Bad Timing????
« Reply #1 on: October 21, 2011, 07:02:35 am »
Hi Daddy, welcome to the forums.

I agree that starting any combo that includes Stocrin might not be the best choice for someone who is taking care of a newborn single-handedly. It's difficult to get sleep with a newborn at the best of times.

However, it is very possible that your wife will adjust to the meds after a day or three. This may be acceptable for her, provided it is not causing her to forget to give your daughter her meds. As your daughter is six weeks old, she should be coming off her meds soon anyway as the treatment protocol for newborns is six weeks of liquid AZT.

If the Stocrin side-effects continue to make it difficult for your wife to look after your daughter, this is something she needs to discuss with her doctor. Is there any reason why she cannot continue to take the combo she was on during the pregnancy? If she were to start taking the old combo again without a break (ie - taking the meds she's on now one day, and simply starting on the old combo the next, without a break) she wouldn't have to worry about resistance.

Your daughter does have an excellent chance of testing negative. Your wife was undetectable at birth and that is very important. Expect a negative result - I do.

As I said in your (now locked) thread in the Women's Forum, please encourage your wife to become a member here. We're here for her in this difficult time.

Hang in there. Your wife may quickly adjust to the new meds and if she doesn't, there are alternatives available. Please have her discuss this with her doctor sooner rather than later. Taking care of a newborn is enough of a challenge without having to deal with side-effects that make it difficult to get sufficient sleep.

Ann
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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline NewDaddy

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Re: Just started Atripla And Have A New Born Baby, Bad Timing????
« Reply #2 on: October 21, 2011, 02:11:42 pm »
Hello Ann, Thanks So Much for The Reply And the Optimism For Our Daughter!

Advice like yours is the reason I posted here but I do feel very guilty about not coming here sooner and getting a little more up to speed for the both of us because I feel like we should have spoke more with the doctor before she started the meds.

I'm sure my wife would love to participate in the forum and she could definitely benefit from the support but unfortunately English is not her first language and right now free time is extremely rare for her....  She does need support and we've discussed that but right now her options are limited, it is something that we will work on later when we are under better circumstances.

You brought up some great and very common sense points. She is going to talk to the Doctor ASAP but she did not take her dose tonight. She was completely out of it all day and was depressed because of the side effects and said that she just wanted to stop for now and see what other options there are. She was very disappointed because the regimen was just so easy to take, but she had to stop because of the difficulty of taking care of the baby.

I fully intend to do more research but I hope you don't mind if I ask a few more questions concerning your post.

1) Stocrin
Quote
I agree that starting any combo that includes Stocrin might not be the best choice for someone who is taking care of a newborn single-handedly. It's difficult to get sleep with a newborn at the best of times.
Is it the Stocrin causing the dizziness and nausea? I was under the impression that it was the Truvade. the way she described feeling was "Drunk and Out of it".

2) Resistance
Quote
Is there any reason why she cannot continue to take the combo she was on during the pregnancy? If she were to start taking the old combo again without a break (ie - taking the meds she's on now one day, and simply starting on the old combo the next, without a break) she wouldn't have to worry about resistance.
This is an excellent point. The doc followed the guidelines concerning pregnant woman and that's the combo that she was on, unfortunately I don't recall the exact name of the meds, but she did take her last dose the day before the C section and took nothing else until she started the Stocrin and Truvade. I'm feeling guilty again but I hope that her very short time taking the meds will not hurt her in the long run concerning resistance. Obviously this is something we need to discuss with the doc and will, but any advice is welcome..

My daughter will stop the liquid AZT in approx 10 days and my wife will get a slight break and we'll be able to take more time to get her where she need's to be.

She is very happy with her Doctor but I think that it might be time to get her to a specialist....

Thank You Again And Any Advice Or Comments Will Be Appreciated...




Offline Ann

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Re: Just started Atripla And Have A New Born Baby, Bad Timing????
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2011, 10:02:54 am »

1) StocrinIs it the Stocrin causing the dizziness and nausea? I was under the impression that it was the Truvade. the way she described feeling was "Drunk and Out of it".


Yes, it's generally the Stocrin (aka Sustiva, aka efavirenz) that causes a person to feel drunk, high and/or dizzy. Dizziness can cause nausea. Stocrin can also cause sleep problems (bad and/or very vivid dreams are common) and mood swings.  For many people, these side-effects diminish in the first week or so, but for some people it continues to cause problems.


2) Resistance. This is an excellent point.


It's not a good idea to suddenly stop taking this combo as it can cause resistance to the Stocrin portion. However, as she's only taken one dose, chances are she'll be ok. She should either not take any more now that she's skipped one dose, or she should resume taking it immediately and not stop again until she's seen her doctor and is given advice on how to do it correctly.

If she does not resume taking the combo immediately, she will need resistance testing before taking meds from the Stocrin class (Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors [aka NNRTIs]) again.

Honestly, in her situation having to take care of a newborn, she'd probably be best off not taking any more of the combo until she sees her doctor. That's what I would do under the circumstances. With her very good numbers, she can afford to wait a while before trying meds again, provided she is being regularly monitored by the doctor.

By the way, the meds she was on during the pregnancy were likely to be Retrovir (aka zidovudine, aka AZT); Epivir (aka lamivudine, aka 3TC) and; Viramune (aka nevirapine) or possibly Kaletra (aka lopinavir + ritonavir). She could now switch to Truvada (to avoid long-term use of AZT) and Kaletra or Viramune. However, if her one-off dose of Stocrin caused resistance, she will not be able to take Viramune.

Depending on what meds are available in your country, she could also try Truvada combined with another med such as Reyataz (aka atazanavir) + Norvir (aka ritonavir) or Isentress (aka raltegravir). The Truvada and Reyataz combo is once-a-day, Truvada and Isentress is twice-a-day.

You can read more about the meds I've mentioned in the Treatments section of this website.

You need to stop feeling guilty over not "doing your homework". It's not your fault she experienced side-effects and even if you'd known they were possible, it wouldn't have really changed anything. Stop beating yourself up.

Hang in there and let your wife know there are people out there who care and are thinking about her. I hope she can manage to get some sleep! :)

Keep us posted.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

 


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