Isentress/Truvada Switch - And Dreams

[WildcatCC]

I'll tell you what. When I was on Atripla, I had the most colorful, vivid dreams; dreams that I would recall in detail the next day much to the dismay of my BF who had to hear about them. 

Sadly, the Atripla treatment did not work well for me (stubborn numbers!) and I sought a change. My doc and I discussed the Isentress/Truvada combo. It seemed the right one for me and I made the switch. So far so good. New numbers in May.

But holy crap, the dreams! Now more then ever, the dreams are so real and so detailed yet so very strange. As soon as my head hits the pillow and until I wake up 8 hours later, I am racing through a rain-forest, playing a chello in Macy's, stringing a racquet with Andy Dick and Gwyneth Paltrow or doing beer chasers with my Aunt Bee.

Anyone else having unbelievable dreams on this combo?

[Billy B]

I'll tell you what. When I was on Atripla, I had the most colorful, vivid dreams; dreams that I would recall in detail the next day much to the dismay of my BF who had to hear about them. 

Sadly, the Atripla treatment did not work well for me (stubborn numbers!) and I sought a change. My doc and I discussed the Isentress/Truvada combo. It seemed the right one for me and I made the switch. So far so good. New numbers in May.

But holy crap, the dreams! Now more then ever, the dreams are so real and so detailed yet so very strange. As soon as my head hits the pillow and until I wake up 8 hours later, I am racing through a rain-forest, playing a chello in Macy's, stringing a racquet with Andy Dick and Gwyneth Paltrow or doing beer chasers with my Aunt Bee.

Anyone else having unbelievable dreams on this combo?

I don't, but then I take the Truvada in the AM. I am concerned about your Andy Dick dreams .....that really must be scary.
Billy

[Hellraiser]

OMG I have dreams where I'm working the counter at Macy's too and I have no idea why because I've never worked in a department store in my life.  I've probably had like 3 or 4 dreams where I'm working the counter at Macy's however.  That's so odd.

[WildcatCC]

I take my Truvada with one Isentress in the AM and the other Isentress in the PM.

Hellraiser - that is odd huh? Maybe we are destined to be counter gals.

[Forever England]

When did you make the switch? When I moved off Efavirenz I found it took several weeks for my sleep patterns to settle down. The dreams softened quite quickly, but I had enormous trouble waking up for several weeks.

[Miss Philicia]

I've been on Isentress and Truvada for 2.5 years and have not noticed any increase in vivid dreams.

[HowYouDoin]

Hi WIldcat, I started taking it this week and this is my 5th night on Isentress and my dreams are vivid and kinna violent. I tend to sleep less on it. Maybe i am less tired on ISentress than i was on Kaletra. I tend to have more energy now on this drug than i had on Isentress.

[thom k]

I've been on the Isentress/Truvada combo for about a year, maybe less and recently I've noticed how crazy vivid my dreams are-  not bad- just very day glow.

[Betelgeuse]

Very strange. Do you guys suspect it's the Truvada or the Isentress? 

I have absolute no change in my sleep patterns or my inability to dream on this regimen.

-Jimmy

[Miss Philicia]

While individual accounts are interesting, these issues (meaning "abnormal dreams"/vivid specifically) are 3 times less frequent with Isentress, and even more so in terms of nightmares (basically nil with isentress). I'd say it's nightmares one should focus on, as I would suspect that's where the tendency to lead to Sustiva-related depression lies.

Study data shows this:

In the study, the most commonly reported AEs in the regimens containing raltegravir and efavirenz, respectively, were diarrhea (6.9 versus 10.5 percent), nausea (12.5 versus 10.5 percent), dizziness (8.8 versus 26.3 percent), headache (8.8 versus 23.7 percent), abnormal dreams (6.3 versus 18.4 percent), insomnia (8.1 versus 10.5 percent) and nightmares (0.0 versus 10.5 percent). Neuropsychiatric AEs overall (of these, abnormal dreams and nightmares in particular) were reported less frequently in the regimen containing raltegravir versus the regimen containing efavirenz, (35 percent versus 61 percent, respectively) through Week 144.

[newt]

Erm, 1/3rd, yes but it's new, Isentress. The registration studies for efavirenz had CNS side effects/dreams etc at around 6%. Hmmm. All drugs tarnish (that is the side effects get better known) as they get used more, witness kidney stones and depression on Reyataz. << but generally I believe Isentress is kinder to the mind that efavirenz.

Lots of these effects are down to  a person's genetics interacting with the drugs. Some hospitals with links to good research departments can now test for some of these variations if the want (specifically efavirenz, specifically Liverpool).

- matt

[Inchlingblue]

OMG I have dreams where I'm working the counter at Macy's too and I have no idea why because I've never worked in a department store in my life.  I've probably had like 3 or 4 dreams where I'm working the counter at Macy's however.  That's so odd.

It means you like servicing others.

[sfpvguy41]

I think I was an unusual case:  lots of bad side effects when I switched to Isentress from Reyataz/Norvir, so much so that I switched back.  One of them was very vivid dreams, some intense nightmares that woke me up in a panic screaming.  Problems sleeping too...I'd go for hours and couldn't fall asleep until 4 or 5am, and was exhausted the next day.  I kept with it for 4 months and switched back and never had another problem.  So Isentress definitely can give nightmares, sleep problems, vivid dreams etc.  Some of the other problems I had were things my doctor has seen in his big HIV practice, but do not show up in study data....some also go away as you get used to the meds.

[Hellraiser]

It means you like servicing others.

True dat.