Author Topic: Atripla to Complera (Read 10103 times)

Mindless · « **on:** February 17, 2018, 05:45:42 am »

Hi Expat1 and All,

after 1 year on Atripla and being UD for more than 6 months, I eventually decided to the same switch (I live in Thailand too) just to see if the mental issues are really linked (at least partially) to the Atripla.

I have some serious concerns though:

1) After the first 6 months on Atripla I seemed to be kind of "adjusted" both to my new condition and to the awful side effects. I just want to see if I can improve my mental condition but on the other hand really worried to put in danger the precarious balance I seem to have reached after so long time

2) The Complera (Edurant+Ricovir) food requirement is maybe the most worrying thing on the practical level: I have an active working life and quite often need to travel abroad, so I figured out the most steady meal schedule may be breakfast. Working and traveling I can't count on steady lunch/dinner time schedules, whereas I guess I will more or less always wake up somewhere where food is at reach.
I understand it may sound trivial but for almost 1 year now I got used to take Atripla at night before going to bed and that's quite easy to stick at even when traveling. Besides, I'm not a big fan of "huge" breakfasts, most of the times I quickly grab a some fruits, a coffee and little else. So I'm worried having to change all those well established habits may be difficult and that could put at risk my meds adherence.

What do you think guys? How do you cope with all that? Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot

M

Quote from: Expat1 on April 09, 2016, 02:41:51 pm

Another logical switch is the one I made. From Atripla to Truvada/Edurant (2 pills) (also same as COMPLERA® only 1 pill.)

I think that the copay cards are the same as Atripla. (I dont know for certain as I get my meds in Thailand).

I had issues (mental) with the Atripla. Strage thoughts, moodyness. And since the switch to edurant, that's all over.

Good luck.

daveR · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2018, 07:33:28 am »

I am taking the same regime as you are switching to. The food requirement is the only real pain for me. I have no side effects I can see. The meal is recommended to be at least 400 calorie with 12 g of fat, your fruit breakfast would not hit the requirement. I take mine with lunch at home and when travelling and working I try to take them at the usual time. Currently I am at work which is in a country with a 6 hour time difference so I take them with breakfast here.
I usually try to plan flights around the pill taking time so I am in transit when I am supposed to take them. If I will be mid flight and travelling economy class I will take a sandwich to eat whilst flying, in business I just ask for my meal. In the end if you are early or late every now and then I don't think it matters.
I am going to discuss a change with my specialist though on my next visit to try and get away from a regime with a food requirement, this may mean taking Atripla.

Mindless · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2018, 03:20:22 am »

Quote from: daveR on February 17, 2018, 07:33:28 am

I am taking the same regime as you are switching to. The food requirement is the only real pain for me. I have no side effects I can see. The meal is recommended to be at least 400 calorie with 12 g of fat, your fruit breakfast would not hit the requirement. I take mine with lunch at home and when travelling and working I try to take them at the usual time. Currently I am at work which is in a country with a 6 hour time difference so I take them with breakfast here.
I usually try to plan flights around the pill taking time so I am in transit when I am supposed to take them. If I will be mid flight and travelling economy class I will take a sandwich to eat whilst flying, in business I just ask for my meal. In the end if you are early or late every now and then I don't think it matters.
I am going to discuss a change with my specialist though on my next visit to try and get away from a regime with a food requirement, this may mean taking Atripla.

Hi Dave,

thanks a lot for your feedback! I made the switch today and I've gone from Atripla at bedtime to Complera (Edurant+Truvada) at breakfast but for now the outcome seems not for the best: after a couple of hours I was totally sleepy and ended up sleping most of the morning through lunchtime.

I really do hope this will settle in a few days cause I can't afford to feel like this at work... Otherwise I may consider to switch the med swallow time to evening. As I said, I picked breakfast time cause I thought it'd help taking Rilpivirine with food at quite steady time schedule but after this morning I'm really reconsidering...

By the way, do you know how long is the swallow window time with Complera?

Thanks

M

daveR · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2018, 05:00:35 am »

Quote from: Mindless on February 18, 2018, 03:20:22 am

By the way, do you know how long is the swallow window time with Complera?

Thanks

M

Hi Mindless,

If by swallow window time you mean how soon after the food you must take the pills, I believe it is straight away. I actually almost finish my meal and then take the pills with a couple of mouth fulls of food afterwards to ensure the stomach conditions, I think it is the ph, are right for absorbing the Rilpivirine.
I have no sleepy side effects from them.

Regards
Dave

Mindless · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2018, 05:43:29 am »

Quote from: daveR on February 18, 2018, 05:00:35 am

Hi Mindless,

If by swallow window time you mean how soon after the food you must take the pills, I believe it is straight away. I actually almost finish my meal and then take the pills with a couple of mouth fulls of food afterwards to ensure the stomach conditions, I think it is the ph, are right for absorbing the Rilpivirine.
I have no sleepy side effects from them.

Regards
Dave

Sorry Dave,

I didn't explain myself clearly

I meant how long before/after the supposed scheduled med taking time you're allowed to go: eg., if I take my pills every day at for example 12 o'clock, how long can I delay it without putting at risk my adherence?

If that "time window" was, for ex., +/- 2 hours I may consider to change my schedule time at dinner time

M

daveR · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2018, 05:48:15 am »

Sorry Mindless

I have no idea. I take mine at roughly 24 hrs intervals plus or minus 30 minutes. I take no chances.

bocker3 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2018, 11:23:20 am »

You can/should check with your doctor or pharmacist about timing questions. I don't know the specifics for your new meds, but generally, today's HIV meds are pretty forgiving on time variations of a few hours.

For me -- I started out being very regimented about time -- I didn't want to vary by anything but a few minutes. However, that gets very tough when one travels and, honestly, when one simply lives their life. Over the years I have changed my stance significantly.
To me -- the most important thing is to try not to miss doses, thus I have turned swallowing my pills (Reyataz in the morning and Atripla in the evening) into habits. What does this mean? It means I take them based off an activity that falls into a relatively standard time, rather than looking at the clock.
I take my Reyataz after breakfast -- which I can eat as early as 6:00 am or as late as 10:00 am.
I take my Atripla (actually, Sustiva and Descovy now) before I go to bed, which is usually somewhere between 10:00pm and 1:00 am.
When I travel between time zones, I don't do anything differently. I still take them after breakfast and before bed. This means that depending on which way I travel, I may take doses much sooner than 24 hrs after the last or much later than 24 hrs.

Why? because i think there is a greater risk of missing doses if I change up my routine, the meds do have half-lives that are pretty forgiving of these differences and most of all -- I want to live my life and not continue to let HIV control it. Don't get me wrong, if the meds required strict adherence to time, I would do it, but they really don't.

I've been doing it like this since about 2007 and have never had any issues. I remain UD and my CD4's fluctuate between 750-1,000. AND -- I get to live my life without trying to plan where I will be at a certain time.

Good luck with your new meds - talk with your pharmacist about variations in time and hopefully you can learn to live without the obsessing of when to take the meds (which we all go through, so not a knock on you).

Mike

Mindless · « **Reply #7 on:** February 18, 2018, 10:49:49 pm »

Quote from: bocker3 on February 18, 2018, 11:23:20 am

You can/should check with your doctor or pharmacist about timing questions. I don't know the specifics for your new meds, but generally, today's HIV meds are pretty forgiving on time variations of a few hours.

For me -- I started out being very regimented about time -- I didn't want to vary by anything but a few minutes. However, that gets very tough when one travels and, honestly, when one simply lives their life. Over the years I have changed my stance significantly.
To me -- the most important thing is to try not to miss doses, thus I have turned swallowing my pills (Reyataz in the morning and Atripla in the evening) into habits. What does this mean? It means I take them based off an activity that falls into a relatively standard time, rather than looking at the clock.
I take my Reyataz after breakfast -- which I can eat as early as 6:00 am or as late as 10:00 am.
I take my Atripla (actually, Sustiva and Descovy now) before I go to bed, which is usually somewhere between 10:00pm and 1:00 am.
When I travel between time zones, I don't do anything differently. I still take them after breakfast and before bed. This means that depending on which way I travel, I may take doses much sooner than 24 hrs after the last or much later than 24 hrs.

Why? because i think there is a greater risk of missing doses if I change up my routine, the meds do have half-lives that are pretty forgiving of these differences and most of all -- I want to live my life and not continue to let HIV control it. Don't get me wrong, if the meds required strict adherence to time, I would do it, but they really don't.

I've been doing it like this since about 2007 and have never had any issues. I remain UD and my CD4's fluctuate between 750-1,000. AND -- I get to live my life without trying to plan where I will be at a certain time.

Good luck with your new meds - talk with your pharmacist about variations in time and hopefully you can learn to live without the obsessing of when to take the meds (which we all go through, so not a knock on you).

Mike

Thanks Mike,

really appreciate your wise advices. Apparently switching medication has flared up my anxiety again: tonight, the first on my new regimen (Complera), I had one of the worst nightmares ever since I started taking HIV meds (Atripla) 1 year ago. I really hope this is only temporary and due to axiety and possibly some interactions between old and new meds.

Me too I used to be very strict about my meds timing, which is easier to do with a medication that doesn't have the food requirement. Over time and getting good feedbacks from my lab tests I became a little bit more "flexible" and learnt no to worry too much. Now, as I said, this change seems to bringing back all the old fears and worries, "what if" etc.

I'd be interested in hearing more from people who're taking Complera and are compelled to travel through time zones/have busy life schedules.

Thanks a lot again!
M

Mindless · « **Reply #8 on:** February 20, 2018, 04:29:56 am »

Quote from: Mindless on February 17, 2018, 05:45:42 am

Hi Expat1 and All,

after 1 year on Atripla and being UD for more than 6 months, I eventually decided to the same switch (I live in Thailand too) just to see if the mental issues are really linked (at least partially) to the Atripla.

I have some serious concerns though:

1) After the first 6 months on Atripla I seemed to be kind of "adjusted" both to my new condition and to the awful side effects. I just want to see if I can improve my mental condition but on the other hand really worried to put in danger the precarious balance I seem to have reached after so long time

2) The Complera (Edurant+Ricovir) food requirement is maybe the most worrying thing on the practical level: I have an active working life and quite often need to travel abroad, so I figured out the most steady meal schedule may be breakfast. Working and traveling I can't count on steady lunch/dinner time schedules, whereas I guess I will more or less always wake up somewhere where food is at reach.
I understand it may sound trivial but for almost 1 year now I got used to take Atripla at night before going to bed and that's quite easy to stick at even when traveling. Besides, I'm not a big fan of "huge" breakfasts, most of the times I quickly grab a some fruits, a coffee and little else. So I'm worried having to change all those well established habits may be difficult and that could put at risk my meds adherence.

What do you think guys? How do you cope with all that? Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot

M

Sorry everybody for opening a new thread about this after having already posted in the “The Sustiva/Atripla Thread” but I could really help some feedback from anybody that went through the same switch I did (ref. subject).

I did the switch 2 days ago, so I took just only 3 doses so far, but I really feel like a shit.

Ever since the switch I feel generally “sick” and, tired and even more “depressed” and “low energy” than before. I decided to change exactly in the hope to get the opposite result but I don’t want to get to too quick conclusions though. That’s why I’m asking if anyone else had similar “transition” bad side effects.

Thanks

M

Jim Allen · « **Reply #9 on:** February 20, 2018, 08:52:15 am »

Hi Mindless.

I've merged this all into one single thread for you.

Good luck with the switch and the days ahead and I hope things settle down soon, take plenty of water and meet the food requirements. If things don't improve do see your doctor and also check for other interactions/underlying problems.

Jim

Mindless · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2018, 09:10:56 am »

Thank Jim,

much appreciated, both the editing job and the advices! Starting to track down calories/fats count in my meals it’s a real challenge to me

M

daveR · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2018, 09:26:48 am »

Hi Mindless

You will be surprised how easy it is to hit the food requirements target. I use to over compensate and when I worked it out I was actually eating close to a thousand calories for lunch, when I take me meds, when I thought I was eating half that. You soon get an idea of what is needed.

Regards
Dave

terrymoore · « **Reply #12 on:** February 21, 2018, 12:54:01 pm »

Hi Mindless,
i also made the same switch as you did and my mind-fog completely disappeared.
The food requirement is a small inconvenience. I try to eat BF at around 9. However sometimes it is at 7 and sometimes at 10. Sometimes i eat and take the pill 20-30min later. i too travel quite often for work, different time zones, etc.
As long as you take your pills on time (+-) and eat something - cereal, eggs, whatever - u will be fine. besides, it is good to hv a breakfast each day.

Mindless · « **Reply #13 on:** February 21, 2018, 08:18:52 pm »

Hi Dave and Terry,

thanks for your feedbacks. On dose 3 I switched to dinner time as I thought easier than changing my breakfast habits and maybe also helping with some bad side effects I’m having since the switch (above). Unfortunately, little to nothing changed so far. Really hope these are some sort of “transition” adjustment. Dr. is surprised as am I and suggested to hold on a little longer before considering a back switch.

I do really hope this settles down quickly cause I feel “sick” (as when one is about to get flu), dizzy and low-mood/energy.

M

harleymc · « **Reply #14 on:** February 22, 2018, 07:22:49 am »

I never tried atripla, I was on Complera for 5 or 6 years, had one bout of depression triggered by a bad dose of flu putting me behind in my studies. I'm now on Odefsey which is like complera but TDF swapped out for TAF.

I wasn't a breakfast person before I started on Complera but I found trying to juggle Complera around evening meals was too difficult as dinner time and location varied so much for me.

So now I eat breakfast, the very fact I'm eating breakfast reminds me to take my pill. Your sleepiness and not feeling well could be totally unrelated to your medication. Taking ARVs doesn't rule out other illnesses.

Mindless · « **Reply #15 on:** February 22, 2018, 09:33:59 am »

Quote from: harleymc on February 22, 2018, 07:22:49 am

I never tried atripla, I was on Complera for 5 or 6 years, had one bout of depression triggered by a bad dose of flu putting me behind in my studies. I'm now on Odefsey which is like complera but TDF swapped out for TAF.

I wasn't a breakfast person before I started on Complera but I found trying to juggle Complera around evening meals was too difficult as dinner time and location varied so much for me.

So now I eat breakfast, the very fact I'm eating breakfast reminds me to take my pill. Your sleepiness and not feeling well could be totally unrelated to your medication. Taking ARVs doesn't rule out other illnesses.

Thanks for your advice Harley. I’d like to have switched to Odefsey too, unfortunately that’s not available here in Thailand.

I first had chosen breakfast for the same reasons you did but after checking with my Dr that a few hours variation shouldn’t really affect the efficacy of the meds, I decided to swap to dinner at least for the “transition phase”. Actually it doesn’t seem to have changed the situation so far.

I don’t know if my bad side effects could possibly be Atripla withdrawn effects but my Dr was astonished as I am.

You’re right (unfortunately) med switch may be not the only cause of my symptoms but strangely the onset was exactly at the same time. That’s why I was curious about others experiences.

I’ll try to hold on for the moment as agreed with my doc, anyways I feel really anxious and “sick”. Let’s hope everything will settle down soon.

M

Mindless · « **Reply #16 on:** February 28, 2018, 10:45:42 pm »

Update

“Ill feeling” seems to be fading away over time (almost 2 weeks now). On the other hand I’m struggling with bowel irregularities and, most of all, I gained 3.5 kg on my body weight in less than 2 weeks!! I’m in constant contact with my doc of course but: anyone with similar experiences?

Since being dx 1 year ago I’ve being loosing almost 15 kg of weight (which after all was not so bad considering my overweight). But now this sudden increase is worrying me...

F

daveR · « **Reply #17 on:** March 01, 2018, 01:08:58 am »

Hi Mindless,

I had bowel irregularities for about 5 weeks then everything went back to normal. I also gained a few pounds but put that down to being over cautious with my calorie intake when taking the meds. Once I worked out I need eat only half what I actually was eating to make 400 calories I started to go back to my normal weight. A bit of gym work helped also.

Dave

Mindless · « **Reply #18 on:** March 01, 2018, 03:44:53 am »

Quote from: daveR on March 01, 2018, 01:08:58 am

Hi Mindless,

I had bowel irregularities for about 5 weeks then everything went back to normal. I also gained a few pounds but put that down to being over cautious with my calorie intake when taking the meds. Once I worked out I need eat only half what I actually was eating to make 400 calories I started to go back to my normal weight. A bit of gym work helped also.

Dave

Hi Dave,

thanks for the feedback! BTW, how do you manage calories counts? Me too I'm afraid I'm overeating. I also feel more hungry which is a strange side effect according to the literature I found around.
During my 11 months on Atripla I lost almost 15 kg... 17% of my previous body weight

daveR · « **Reply #19 on:** March 01, 2018, 04:06:56 am »

Quote from: Mindless on March 01, 2018, 03:44:53 am

Hi Dave,

thanks for the feedback! BTW, how do you manage calories counts? Me too I'm afraid I'm overeating. I also feel more hungry which is a strange side effect according to the literature I found around.
During my 11 months on Atripla I lost almost 15 kg... 17% of my previous body weight

I was paranoid about the calorie count at the beginning. I did a lot of google searches for how many calories there were in certain foods. I then got a general idea of what was roughly in a meal. You can find the calorie count for just about everything from an individual egg or banana up to fast food meals. You will be surprised at how easy it is to hit 400 calories.

Here is a link to a PDF examples of some recommended meals http://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/services/hiv-sexual-health/links/drug/rilpivirine.pdf

It becomes second nature in the end. To be honest I think the most important thing to do is just eat a normal meal, even sandwiches can easily hit over 400 calories, just don't take it on an empty stomach or with just a snickers bar everyday.

tallguy82 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 01, 2018, 06:15:04 am »

I have been on Atripla at least for 6 years and I used to take it with or without food before sleeping...it could be 1 am, 2 am or even 5 am if I went to the disco! Always stayed undetectable! I passed to Odefsey (the new Complera) because I wanted something lighter for my kidneys and bones. The bad thing is that you have to take the meds with you if you have dinner outside with your friends...however, reading the nutritional labels on the food, I noticed that 400 kcal are easy to reach, naturally a coffee with 2 biscuits are not enough eheheh

Mindless · « **Reply #21 on:** March 02, 2018, 10:52:43 am »

Quote from: daveR on March 01, 2018, 04:06:56 am

Here is a link to a PDF examples of some recommended meals http://www.chelwest.nhs.uk/services/hiv-sexual-health/links/drug/rilpivirine.pdf

Hi Dave,

this is awesome, thanks! Example of breakfast (533 kcal) from the pdf:

• Yoghurt, banana, plain bagel, cream cheese (2 tbsp), or

• Croissant, medium glass of juice, coffee

I think I’ve been eating at least 3 times more those quantities during the last 2 weeks

Mindless · « **Reply #22 on:** March 02, 2018, 10:59:06 am »

Quote from: tallguy82 on March 01, 2018, 06:15:04 am

I have been on Atripla at least for 6 years and I used to take it with or without food before sleeping...it could be 1 am, 2 am or even 5 am if I went to the disco! Always stayed undetectable! I passed to Odefsey (the new Complera) because I wanted something lighter for my kidneys and bones. The bad thing is that you have to take the meds with you if you have dinner outside with your friends...however, reading the nutritional labels on the food, I noticed that 400 kcal are easy to reach, naturally a coffee with 2 biscuits are not enough eheheh

Hi tallguy,

many thanks for your feedback! I agree with you even though I had to reconsider after reading the doc at the above link (from aidsmap): according to it apparently “a coffee, a glass of juice and a croissant” would be more than enough

terrymoore · « **Reply #23 on:** March 04, 2018, 12:16:11 pm »

Hi,
I would not worry so much about the calorie count. I was guilty of the same thing for a while. Then my doc (i think we have the same one) told me to chill and just eat normal. A bowl of cereal, an egg, porridge, yoghurt - whatever.
FOr me, usually it is an egg and a coffee and fish oil pills and a a few dates. Other times a bowl of all bran, and a banana, coffee. Sometimes just a tuna sandwich,
Sometimes jus a yogurt and i have even had pills on just a few cookies and coffee. Guess what? still UD! :-)
My point - don`t pver think it.

BKKKevin · « **Reply #24 on:** March 04, 2018, 09:15:40 pm »

A SlimJim and two TallBoys fulfills the requirements too...

Just sayin...

Mindless · « **Reply #25 on:** March 05, 2018, 10:05:36 am »

Quote from: terrymoore on March 04, 2018, 12:16:11 pm

Then my doc (i think we have the same one)

Yes, we do, thanks to you btw! I’m still adjusting to the new meds and habits but after a couple of weeks it seems to getting better.

Thanks for all your support and advises.

M

Mindless · « **Reply #26 on:** March 05, 2018, 10:41:10 am »

Quote from: BKKKevin on March 04, 2018, 09:15:40 pm

A SlimJim and two TallBoys fulfills the requirements too...

Just sayin...

Thanks for the input Kevin! Besides now I know what a SlimJim is

... As for the TallBoy, is that a beer or what? Sorry for my ignorance

, not an English mother tongue.

Cheers

robby319 · « **Reply #27 on:** March 15, 2018, 06:17:24 am »

I was taking Atripla for a couple of years before I switched to Odefsey this past year. I don’t mind having to take food with my meds now— I, too, take it at dinner time. No problems with Odefsey for me except for weight gain which I never experienced with Atripla. I gained over 20 lbs in less than a year. Lost about 10 lbs when I had the flu last month. Trying to watch what I eat and go for longer walks with my dogs and see if I can control the weight gain. I don’t miss the vivid nightmares, the profuse sweating, buzz feeling and occasional diarrhea from Atripla. I also like the fact that Odefsey is a small pill. It’s mainly the weight gain that concerns me.

Mindless · « **Reply #28 on:** May 06, 2018, 04:56:33 am »

Update

I got my first blood check after almost 2.5 months from the meds switch: still UD and CD4 increased once again (now 668 and 32%!!!). Really happy with that

Only value out of range is the “eosinophil” (what’s that?): I have 6.9% when normal range is 1.0-6.0. Not sure what that means, I’ll check with the doc at next appointment.

The side effects of the 1st month after the switch (ill feeling) have faded away too. I gained a lot of body weight: I think because of the calories requirement of Rilpivirine that worries me a lot, so I tend to eat more. But also because I got my appetite increased. Actually I reached a minimum in my body weight about 6 months after being DX (I lost 15/16 kg) and from there I then gradually started to increase again and now I recovered 6/7 kg of what I had lost.
Not sure if this is linked to stress reduction, better immune system condition or just side effects of the meds.

But of course I always “need” to have some kind of problem, so about 1.5 months ago (1 month after switching meds) I started to have a bad cold (running nose, sneezing and after that cough and mucus started) that never left me ever since.
At the beginning I thought it was a normal cold but then I realized it was actually very similar a the hay fever I knew very well from my childhood. I used to suffer from very strong hay fever and asthma until my early 20s (I needed strong medications to keep it under control) then it gradually decreased till it basically disappeared almost 100%.

Since I moved to Thailand years ago I never suffered from hay fever before, so I wonder if this could be linked to the Rilpivirine. Last year in this period of the year I was taking Atripla and I didn’t experience any hay fever symptoms.

As I said I will talk to the Doc but I wondered if anyone of you had similar experiences.

Take care
M

daveR · « **Reply #29 on:** May 06, 2018, 08:36:53 am »

Glad the switch went ok and your numbers are still good. I always had sinus issues before I started on meds but they do seem worse now. My ID specialist tells me it is nothing to do with the meds though. I did some googling on it and could not find anything in particular.

Dave

terrymoore · « **Reply #30 on:** May 07, 2018, 05:04:19 am »

Quote from: Mindless on May 06, 2018, 04:56:33 am

Update

I got my first blood check after almost 2.5 months from the meds switch: still UD and CD4 increased once again (now 668 and 32%!!!). Really happy with that
Only value out of range is the “eosinophil” (what’s that?): I have 6.9% when normal range is 1.0-6.0. Not sure what that means, I’ll check with the doc at next appointment.

The side effects of the 1st month after the switch (ill feeling) have faded away too. I gained a lot of body weight: I think because of the calories requirement of Rilpivirine that worries me a lot, so I tend to eat more. But also because I got my appetite increased. Actually I reached a minimum in my body weight about 6 months after being DX (I lost 15/16 kg) and from there I then gradually started to increase again and now I recovered 6/7 kg of what I had lost.
Not sure if this is linked to stress reduction, better immune system condition or just side effects of the meds.

But of course I always “need” to have some kind of problem, so about 1.5 months ago (1 month after switching meds) I started to have a bad cold (running nose, sneezing and after that cough and mucus started) that never left me ever since.
At the beginning I thought it was a normal cold but then I realized it was actually very similar a the hay fever I knew very well from my childhood. I used to suffer from very strong hay fever and asthma until my early 20s (I needed strong medications to keep it under control) then it gradually decreased till it basically disappeared almost 100%.

Since I moved to Thailand years ago I never suffered from hay fever before, so I wonder if this could be linked to the Rilpivirine. Last year in this period of the year I was taking Atripla and I didn’t experience any hay fever symptoms.

As I said I will talk to the Doc but I wondered if anyone of you had similar experiences.

Take care
M

Glad to hear the numbers are good and the side effects are wearing off. In the past few months, the air quality has significantly dropped in Thailand - especially in Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Many people are feeling the affects. This could be the "allergies" you are feeling.

bocker3 · « **Reply #31 on:** May 08, 2018, 06:51:54 am »

Quote from: Mindless on May 06, 2018, 04:56:33 am

Update

I got my first blood check after almost 2.5 months from the meds switch: still UD and CD4 increased once again (now 668 and 32%!!!). Really happy with that
Only value out of range is the “eosinophil” (what’s that?): I have 6.9% when normal range is 1.0-6.0. Not sure what that means, I’ll check with the doc at next appointment.

The side effects of the 1st month after the switch (ill feeling) have faded away too. I gained a lot of body weight: I think because of the calories requirement of Rilpivirine that worries me a lot, so I tend to eat more. But also because I got my appetite increased. Actually I reached a minimum in my body weight about 6 months after being DX (I lost 15/16 kg) and from there I then gradually started to increase again and now I recovered 6/7 kg of what I had lost.
Not sure if this is linked to stress reduction, better immune system condition or just side effects of the meds.

But of course I always “need” to have some kind of problem, so about 1.5 months ago (1 month after switching meds) I started to have a bad cold (running nose, sneezing and after that cough and mucus started) that never left me ever since.
At the beginning I thought it was a normal cold but then I realized it was actually very similar a the hay fever I knew very well from my childhood. I used to suffer from very strong hay fever and asthma until my early 20s (I needed strong medications to keep it under control) then it gradually decreased till it basically disappeared almost 100%.

Since I moved to Thailand years ago I never suffered from hay fever before, so I wonder if this could be linked to the Rilpivirine. Last year in this period of the year I was taking Atripla and I didn’t experience any hay fever symptoms.

As I said I will talk to the Doc but I wondered if anyone of you had similar experiences.

Take care
M

Eosinophils are a type of White Blood Cell. If you are suffering from allergies (Hay Fever), that is likely why you are seeing an increase in Eos. They generally increase due to allergies -- also, some parasitic infections will cause them to increase.

Since I moved a bit more south back in 2000, my "seasonal" allergies run pretty much all year -- pollen, mold, etc.

Mike

Mindless · « **Reply #32 on:** May 08, 2018, 10:37:43 am »

Thank you guys,

excellent feedback as usual! Dave, Terry, me too I had heard of very bad conditions of the air in Bkk but I didn’t care much since I spend most of my time indoor (office or home) and I don’t live in the city center. Anyways, I started to check air quality data on the internet and now I’m pretty worried

Seems like we live in a big exhaust pipe basically (at least in big cities and their surroundings).

Mike, thanks so much for your information, actually yes, from my long experience with allergies I’m quite sure these are their symptoms. Who knows, maybe triggered by bad air quality. Strange thing is it’s been raining almost every day for the last couple of weeks but that doesn’t seem to affectmuch the sympoms. I also travel abroad usually a few times a month and even then that doesnt change much the result.

I will talk to my Doc very soon.

Take care
M

Mindless · « **Reply #33 on:** November 10, 2018, 09:48:32 am »

Got my last lab done 2 weeks ago, numbers are stable: still UD, cd in the 500+ range, 32%.

Last August I gave Stribild a 1 month try (a massive price difference to generic Complera here in Thailand). The goal was to check if the hay fever which is hunting me ever since a month after switching to generic Complera from Atripla (February this year) was Rilpivirine related. Turned out the hay fever stayed the same so Rilpivirine shouldn’t be the culprit.

Then about 2 months ago I started to notice regular red spots under my armpits (both sides) and small ulcers under my glans: dermatologist thinks it’s a fungus and prescribed Itraconazole for 1 week. I will see if it’s working in a few days.

Hay fever is very strange, doesn’t seem to increase or decrease when raining or traveling abroad, which was a hallmark of my well known youth hay fever. Mild signs of asthma also have added in the last month: I think at this point I’ll see an allergist to investigate.

M

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