POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: bmancanfly on August 28, 2014, 09:09:13 am
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I'm about to change meds. Currently on Viramune/Truvada. Drug company dropped the co-pay assistance for the Viramune, and with a $150 a month co-pay for a 20 year old (non-preferred) drug I decided to switch to Tivicay. Had no problems with Viramune and would prefer not to switch but it is what it is.
I was curious what happens when you stop one of the three meds in your combo and replace it with a new one. I would assume it takes a while for the new drug to reach the proper levels. So isn't the person on a two drug treatment for a while until the new drug reaches a therapeutic level?
More curious than worried. I want to make sure I have an undetectable VL at all times for mine and the safety of others.
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I would assume it takes a while for the new drug to reach the proper levels. So isn't the person on a two drug treatment for a while until the new drug reaches a therapeutic level?
No, it doesn't work like that. Nothing should happen to you.
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You are undetectable on your current combo so you should be able to remain undetectable when you change combos .
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Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to make sure there was no potential risk to my partner.
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Thanks for the feedback. I wanted to make sure there was no potential risk to my partner.
Are you implying that you are having sex without condom use or PrEP? In that case I suppose theoretically there is a risk, as you will not know with 100% certainty that the new medication is working -- that is just plain common sense. In that case you might wish to alter how you have sex until you have your first post-switch lab work performed.
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I agree with Miss P 100 % . Use condoms for anal sex until you have no doubt you are consistently undetectable .
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I only have sex with my partner who is poz and on meds. I just feel more comfortable knowing my VL is undetectable.
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I read somewhere that Tivicay needs 5 days to reach a constant therapeutic level.
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Of all arvs viramune is the slowest to wash out. Sometime measurable as far as 1 month after cessation
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I read somewhere that Tivicay needs 5 days to reach a constant therapeutic level.
So to be on the safe side tell your partner you have to only have blowjobs for a week...
Long and slow... Doctors orders!...
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Luckily, the BF rarely needs much in the way of coercion in that regard. ;)
However, this Tivicay experiment may be short lived. The most common side effect is insomnia. And I haven't been able to get a decent nights sleep for nearly a week. I was worried about this since I don't sleep well under the best of circumstances but this is by far much worse than normal.
I woke up at 2am and was wide awake, as has been the case since the second dose of Tivicay. I took a Xanax which usually is like a baseball bat to the side of my head (lights out). But it had no effect. Waited an hour and was still wide awake so I took an Ambien. After another hour I finally dozed off. But pretty much every night has been like this since I started Tivicay. Very disappointed, especially since I had no sides with Viramune.
I'll give it a while longer and see what happens, but not sleeping is a real drag.
Unless I can get some sleep on Tivicay, paying a $150 copay for Viramune doesn't seem like such a burden anymore.