blood viens in legs are getting huge!!!!!

[guynsotulsa]

Hey

Does anyone know what is causing the veins in my legs to grow(appear)... I am on Kaletra, Viread, and Retrovir!!!! If i change my Cocktail will this go away or is this something i am stuck with... does anyone know which one of the listed drugs might be causing this? Please help looks nasty...LOL

Thanks a Ton!!!

[Miss Philicia]

Sounds like the beginnings of lipoatrophy where one loses the thin layer of fat directly under the skin -- are you seeing veins in your forearms yet as well?  The NRTI class of drugs, which includes Retrovir (AZT) and Viread, could be the cause.  Some patients are just more prone to this side effect for genetic reasons than others, and most HIV drug regimens are going to contain an NRTI so in the long run it's difficult to avoid this entire class of medication.

[guynsotulsa]

i am noticing the viens in my arms as well... so is there nothing i can do?

[Miss Philicia]

It's basically a metabolic dysfunction in your cells which is effecting how fat is dispersed in your body.  It's not particularly reversible, though since you're catching it when it first starts perhaps switching to something else might keep it from getting worse.  I assume that you're not noticing fat loss in your face, specifically your cheeks?  If you're like me, I got it in my limbs like you before it appeared in my face, but I also believe that this process involves a bit of "lag time" but I'm not sure how much as it would surely vary from one person to another.

I see that you were only diagnosed 2 years ago but that this current regimen is already your second one?  Is that correct?  Depending on how willing your doctor is to work with you it's certainly within reason to request that he consider and present other options to you, but like I said most med regimens are going to have an NRTI, and of course any mutation issues complicate regimen switches.

The one thing I will advise, certainly having experienced all of this over the course of the past 10 years (and indeed I was your exact age at that time) is that this can effect your mental state way out of proportion to what other people notice in your physical changes, depending on how much lipo there is.  I seriously doubt that at this point anyone is noticing anything, so I only say this to hopefully keep your mind a bit level. 

[Inchlingblue]

While it's true that NRTI's in general have been implicated with lipoatrophy, some NRTIs have been implicated more than others, namely the ones categorized as "thymidine analogs," (AZT and Zerit).  In your case Retrovir (AZT), being a thymidine analog, would be of more concern than the Viread. If you have a good doctor, he/she should be familiar with these findings and, depending on your resistance profile, should be able to prescribe something more "fat friendly" to replace the Retrovir.

[pozniceguy]

As a sort of amusing side issue, I have had this condition for some time..( diagnosed in 1994) but recently  had a new "trainer" and the gym ask  how I got my body fat down so low.....he couldn't use his calipers to measure me.....not enough fat there...  I just told him I had a genetic condition that kept my fat very low...He sort of admired the "ripped look"...I just ignore that  since I am sort of a skinny guy  with minimum "gym body"   so look on the good side   the gym guys will think you are doing something special...keep your "secret"  and let them wonder...

Nick