Atripla side effects - any experiences

[laurent30]

Hi there, I was diagnosed 3 years ago and went on to Atripla 6 months after. For the first 18 months I felt great; well normal anyway. I have noticed a real change of mood  over the last year and especially over the last 6 months.

For no real reason at all I keep having sporadic periods of, say, 3 or 4 days where I feel really, really down and this has never happened to me before starting meds. They are few and far between but just happen out of nowhere at all.

I am sorry if this is a reoccurring thread but I wanted to see what experiences you good folks had with Atripla and if you had any advice?

Cheers - Laurent

[Ann]

Hi Laurent, welcome to the forums.

I've moved your thread into the Questions About Treatment & Side Effects as it is the more appropriate place for your questions.

What you describe is a common side-effect of the Sustiva in the Atripla you are taking. If it gets to be too much, you can easily switch the Sustiva portion out of your combo (keeping the two other meds, which are often prescribed in one pill called Truvada).

Many people have had to switch the Sustiva portion of this combo, so don't feel bad if you need to do it. Your quality of life is important.

You can read more about the various meds in our Treatments pages.

Speak to your doctor about a switch.

Good luck!

Ann

[sshortguy1]

ann not true i'm in that condition

[Ann]

ann not true i'm in that condition

Well good for you if you don't have any side-effects from Atripla or the Sustiva in Atripla, but many others aren't so fortunate.

The problems Laurent is having are very often caused by Sustiva for many people. He needs to discuss the possibility with his doctor.



edited to add a missing gerund

[jonesy]

Hi and welcome.  Shy of a few headaches in the first few weeks i have come through relatively unscathed.  No problems what so ever. 

Let us know how you get on.

[Alan_B]

@ sshortguy1 - the sustiva component of atripla does have these side effects in some people. I came off atripla myself as it was making me extremely tired and I do know it was effecting my mood also.

@ OP - my doc switched my to truvada, norvir and darunavir. There is lots of options out these so speak to your doctor. Don't wait until your next appointment, if it effects your quality of life etc get it sorted sooner rather than later.

[friskyguy]

Side effects on Atripla......yes for some people.

The EACS guidelines (European AIDS Clinical Society guidelines-Prevention and Management of Non-Infectious Co-Morbidities) has a really good section on what to look out for/screen re potential Truvada toxicity.

Keep your eye for potential damage to kidneys seen via increase in your blood creatinine levels and progressive decrease in eGFR over time.......Viread part of Atripla

Potential decline in kidney tubular function over time observed via increase in spot Urine Protein/Creatinine ratio, (not the urine protein dipstick)......Viread part of Atripla

Potential reduction in bone density over time observed via DEXA scan......Viread part of Atripla

Potential reduction in VitD3 levels over time via 25(OH) vitamin D......Sustiva part of Atripla

Potential adverse CNS reactions........Sustiva part of Atripla

These are the main ones to watch but there are a few others too.

best of luck