Itchy skin and hair loss

[Sergio48]

Hi to everyone and thank you for a great forum.
I was only diagnosed HIV+ when I woke up in hospital with severe gastroenteritis.
This was July this year, 2015. My viral load was 1.5 million and CD count at 10. I have been on Isentress and Dumiva since then and survived all the side effects. Presently (Nov 2015) my VL is 300 and CD count 100. About a week ago, I noticed hair loss in my armpits, chest hair and pubic region. I also live constantly with itchiness all over my body. Also, my doctor wants to change my meds to Rilvipirine within two months from now. However, after research, Rilvipirine is only to be administered if you had not had any previous antiretrovirals. And lastly, with such a low CD count of 10, what are my chances of recovering my CD count to above, say 400?
Your comments would be much appreciated.

[Wade]

Hi Sergio,
Welcome to the forums , sorry for your recent DX.
I have no experience with the particular drug combo you are taking.
I do however take Isentress ,and tolerate it well.
You should make your doctor aware of your itchiness if you haven't already.

I'm sure one of our members will chime in with some advise on that combo.
Sounds like your doing well and on the rebound , and yes your
CD4 count will recover . Some take longer than others , you are going to be fine .
Look forward to hearing more from you .
Wade

[Sergio48]

Thank you Wade!

[Wade]

Your Welcome Sergio

[Tonny2]

      ojo     Hello Sergio...welcome, you are taking Isentress and ___, sorry, I{ve never heard about that med before...anyway, like Wade said to you, your solldiers )cd4= will go up for sure, nobody knows how fast, but eventually they will go up...it seems like your combo its working, you will be UD soon...just keep taking your meds as ordered...I have been taking Isentress for almost eight years, no hair loss to speak about...talk to your doctor about it your itchiness, are you on antibiotics_, if you are taking antibiotics and are out and about under the sun rays, that COULD be causing you itchiness, tho, like I said before, I do not know that other med you are taking )I forgot the name=, but check with your doctor...best of luck, welcome again Checo and keep us posted, saving on waxing eh_, lol...hugs                          ojo

[harleymc]

"Rilpivirine has been designed to remain effective against HIV which has become resistant to first generation NNRTIs like nevirapine and efavirenz."
source http://napwha.org.au/treatment/rilpivirine
So I have no idea where you got the information that it is only for treatment niaive patients.

I've used a combination including rilpivirine  and raltegravir for several years now without any problems.

There are a lot of potential drug interactions so tell your doctor everything you take, including over the counter remedies, antacids, mineral supplements etc.

[Sergio48]

Thank you Tonny2 and harleymc for your replies. I'm from Johannesburg South Africa, so the sun could be the cause for my itchy skin. I also walk 15km per week and do some moderate cycling to maintain my fitness level. I used to sweat a lot, now barely a drop.
Dumiva is manufactured in South Africa and the ingredients are Abakavir 600mg and Lamivudien 300mg.
My only concern is my CD count because people say that because I was diagnosed with such a low CD count of 10, my chances of increasing the CD count to, say above 500 are minimal. They say, the immune system could be permanently damaged. However, my doctor tells me only to worry about getting the VL undetectable. I exercise alone, stopped going to gym and public places with fear of catching opportunistic infections. I take no other medication except for Vit 6 and Vit 12 and rather eat fresh healthy food. Thank you again for a great forum, I slept better last night.

[Tonny2]

Thank you Tonny2 and harleymc for your replies. I'm from Johannesburg South Africa, so the sun could be the cause for my itchy skin. I also walk 15km per week and do some moderate cycling to maintain my fitness level. I used to sweat a lot, now barely a drop.
Dumiva is manufactured in South Africa and the ingredients are Abakavir 600mg and Lamivudien 300mg.
My only concern is my CD count because people say that because I was diagnosed with such a low CD count of 10, my chances of increasing the CD count to, say above 500 are minimal. They say, the immune system could be permanently damaged. However, my doctor tells me only to worry about getting the VL undetectable. I exercise alone, stopped going to gym and public places with fear of catching opportunistic infections. I take no other medication except for Vit 6 and Vit 12 and rather eat fresh healthy food. Thank you again for a great forum, I slept better last night.

       ojo      Thanks for the info Sergio, now I know about that drug, still have to look at your previous post, can't remember the name...I had a cd4 a zero, lived with AIDS for aalmost six years, my last cd4 was 414, before that it was 578, so, your cd4 will increase, slowly but surely, your doctor is right, as long as you VL is UD, you will be fine...are you on antibiotics yes or no?, because if your answer is no, you are suppose to be on them as prevention so you don't get OIs, and if you are taking them, try to stay away from the sun rays, thst might be the reason you are itchy...I took abacavir, for a couple of days, I'm alergic to it, I took lamivudine and Isentress, never noticed your symptoms, so, talk to your doctor, it might be stress too...best of luck and keep us posted..hugs...ah, if your combo is working, why changing it>                       ojo

[Angel-Ronnie]

Hi Sergio,

Sorry to hear about your DX and the way you found out about it. Never easy finding out and dealing with it.

When I started my meds 8 years ago I was put on Truvada and Stocrin, also when I started my meds had itchy skin and hair loss now I am just going grey as fast as a locomotive, I found that when I had the itchy skin like most do I bought Solible Oil from Dischem and that aliviated the itch, i suffered from dry skin and that was not very pleasant at times.

I started using the oil twice weekly and somehow the itch went away. Be patient as your numbers will climb sometimes not the speed we want it to but you will get there.