Viagra connect and HIV medication

[fred2005]

Hi. My name is Cosmin and I have been recently diagnosed with HIV. I have CD4 510 and the viral load the doctor said its on the high side but can't remember how much she said. I will start treatment very soon but my problem is I need some medication for ED and until now I was using herbal Viagra ordered from eBay. Will I still be able to take it? I have tried taking 1/4 of the 100mg tablet and its still OK for me. At the moment I feel OK and I don't have any simptoms, I admit I am a smoker and will try to quit but its so damn hard, I also have to lose weight because I am obese at 117kg and 1.7m. Thanks and I have to say I've been reading a lot on this forum and some topics boosted my morale thinking will live until old age but others got me worried of consequences from the medication and wrong life style. My goal is to reach 70, but if not...whatever God wants
I forgot to mention that i hear a ringing in my ears and have some dizziness, and that happened after I got the news that I'm positive so I blame it on the shock, doctor said it might be tinnitus and there's not much to do about it. I also have a problem at my left ankle its like a wound that never heals but there's no liquid coming from it, it looks like dead skin, doctor said its not from HIV because of my high CD4 should be healing, so i have to check this with podiatry doctor perhaps.
Wish everyone a healthy and fulfilling life

[CaveyUK]

With any drug, it's worth checking on a drugs interaction checker to see if there are any warnings. Some HIV medications are better than others in that respect - essentially, if your treatment includes a booster drug there tend to be more interactions.

This is the one I use, although there are others if you google
https://www.hiv-druginteractions.org/checker

If it turns out you are okay taking Viagra (Sildanafil) with your suggested HIV meds, then I would suggest going that route rather than buying herbal stuff on the internet. Whilst probably safe, you have far less idea whats in them.

If ED treatment is important to you, I suggest discussing it with your doctor so when you start treatment you can start on a combo that doesn't interact.

Don't worry about your lifestyle or weight too much at the moment. Many of us still have vices, and the important thing is to focus on your treatment and getting undetectable. You will have plenty of time to fix the other things in your life that need fixing - just concentrate on one thing at a time

As for the non-healing wound on your ankle - have you been tested for Type 2 diabetes?

[fred2005]

Thanks for the fast reply

I forgot to mention I am 38 years old. I didn't test for diabetes yet but for sure I will. My ED is important because I am married and can't imagine marriage without sex, she is negative by the way and at the moment we use condoms and probably will ever use from now on no matter my VL, I don't want to take any chances. My wife understood the situation and she is very supportive, I know you can still have kids but like I said at the moment I don't want to take any chances and get her infected.
Will keep everyone updated with this situation because I have appointment Tuesday and I will talk about all my concerns with my doctor.

[CaveyUK]

You shouldn't ditch condoms anyway until you have been safely UD for six months. When that time comes, you can always discuss again with your wife. My gf actively wanted to ditch the condoms as soon as we could, but everyone is different.

I'd certainly get your blood sugar checked. Diabetes can cause slow-healing wounds, and whilst diabetes can be trickier to treat than HIV, you do have some dietary options that can work wonders (I was in diabetes territory a year ago btw).

Good luck anyway and keep us posted

[harleymc]

Hi Fred,

There's plenty of us poz blokes who use Viagra,  but Cavey's advice is good, get the real stuff so that you can be certain of what you're getting your dr and your pharmacist should be able to advise what combinations are safe.

Two things that you have identified can help a lot with ED, is giving up smoking, and losing weight, both help the circulatory system..

Book a longer appointment with your doctor so you can have a long consultation to discuss the range of issues and options.

I'm 33 years poz, I'm aiming for my nineties.

[fred2005]

Hi everyone. As promised i will give an update because i had my appointment today. I have 40000 VL and 510 CD4, was prescribed Ictastan (which is a combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir), and tivicay which is dolutegravir. Is this a good combination of drugs? Will start my treatment tonight, and i was wondering if there will be side effects, but i guess i will find out soon. Regarding to Viagra connect, it is SAFE to take it as there is no interaction with these HIV drugs. I have noticed that most concerns are about kidneys and liver when taking these medicines. How toxic are these drugs?

Wish everyone a happy and healthy life, who knows maybe in the near future there will be a cure or at least improvements in treatment (maybe a vaccine)

[Jim Allen]

Cosmin.

Its not toxic, its medication not drain cleaner.

You have a fine combination, its treatment. Now your labs are checked and monitored and so you should not be stressing about it. 

You are starting treatment for the first time and we all understand your still digesting the diagnosis and with that fears perhaps. Look anecdotally speaking some people have a settling in time with any treatment as they adjust to it, but other than that you really should not be fearing or expecting anything major at all.  My only thoughts on the dolutegravir is some people tend to have a easier time adjusting if they take it in the AM.

Regarding to Viagra connect, it is SAFE to take it as there is no interaction with these HIV drugs.

If Viagra is safe for you is really a question for your doctor. If they have said there are no interaction with the HIV meds than from that point of view it should be okay but again check with your doctor about Viagra in general as nobody online is going to be able to tell you if the Viagra is safe for you to take.

Take it easy and keep us posted. 

Jim

[Jim Allen]

I admit I am a smoker and will try to quit but its so damn hard

Yeah quitting smoking, its hard man. I quit smoking a few years back so I know how hard it is and, it took me a few dozen attempts before I made it but it is worth it. I finally switched to vaping and then off all the way.

[fred2005]

Update about possible side effects

Last night I took my medication from the first time and after only few hours I felt my left but cheek burning and it went down the leg and also my testicules. Now I am back at the hospital to see if this is a side effect and if they should change my medication. From what I was reading on the internet, it seems it is neuropathy.

[Jim Allen]

HIV itself left untreated for a while has also been shown to cause nerve damage & the earlier treatments for sure contributed, also caused cases. Your not taking the easier meds, also the newer HIV meds have not shown same risks despite having in included on the label. .

Also keep in mind there are far more common causes of neuropathy that effect both the HIV positive & negative population and I would say keep working with the doctor as its not something to self-diagnose or something you can diagnose the cause of by yourself.

Hope you feel better soon.

Jim

https://www.poz.com/basics/hiv-basics/peripheral-neuropathy

[fred2005]

Hi again

So yesterday i was back to hospital to tell them about my symptoms and they got more blood from me saying it could be syphilis, although I've done the test when i tested for HIV and it was negative. Now I'm waiting for the results, but weird those symptoms are gone already. Maybe it was just my body reaction for the first time i had this treatment for HIV

[Jim Allen]

I would even more doubt PN than I already did yesterday, but glad you are feeling better regardless and sorry to hear about the suspected syphilis, wait and see what the results are is all I can say and keep working with the doc.

Jim