hiv meds and pregnancy

[kitty1]

I have two issues.  I am on atripla and am trying to get pregnant.  My doctor tried to switch me to kaletra whic is a twice a day dosage compared to what I am on right now.  I decided not to go for it .  Is there a regimen other than kaletra that I can swicth to in rediness for pregnancy?  Another thig is, I was on a depo provera shot for two years.  I have been told it takes for ever to get out of your system.  Can fertility pills help me get ack my fertility quick?

[zachysmom]

Hi Kitty,
It's really tough to give advice on this, because you should really talk it over with your ID doc and your Obgyn, and they should defintity be in communication with each other.

When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't on any meds at that time. I was told that It would be best to wait untill I was 16-20 weeks gestation to start therapy ( which I don't remember the exact meds, but one was Viracept).
The meds that have been approved for pregnancy have not shown any adverse side effects to the developing fetus or infants. My doc felt it was best to wait, since the first 3 months of pregancy are the most important in development, and didn't want any thing to interfer with it.
I haven't been on the Depo shot, though there are alot of women who have on this forum, including our very own Queen. . she might be of some help, on this.

As far as the fertilty drugs are concerned, I would wait a bit before jumping into that, because you might get more than what you bargained for, like mulitples.........but I don't know how old you are, so maybe you might need some help.


Well I hope this helps, good luck in what ever you decide to do, and in getting pregant, please keep us posted...

much love,
Nicole

[penguin]

As nicole says, your dr  is in the best position to advise you on possible options based on your health, resistance profile/treatment history etc. I would be concerned about you trying to get pregnant until you have switched to something other than sustiva, & the drug is out of your system

What was your reason(s) for not taking the kaletra? If it was just the twice a day dosing… depending on your level of treatment experience, you could discuss the option of taking it once daily, which some people do

Boosted reyataz would be a truly once a day PI option, if this the important consideration for you.

Viramune, an nnrti, is a widely used drug in pregnancy - usually dosed twice daily, but an increasing number of people are also using it as a once daily drug. There is possibility of a serious liver reaction with this drug, so regular monitoring would be essential esp in the first couple of months

Re the depo provera - most women experience at least some delay in the return of fertility. This varies a lot, but make take up to 6-12 months (it usually takes around 5-6months after the last jab for you to start ovulating normally again) <--  annoys me no end when dr's don't make people properly aware of this beforehand

You can find more info on pregnancy, including treatment options on ibase and aidsmeds

kate

[catwoman]

I'm on Kaletra and Truvada and I know both of those drugs do not interfere with pregnancy or getting pregnant.  Atripla shouldn't be taken if you are trying to get pregnant.  Definitely talk to your doctor.  I've always read that you should consider a fertility doctor if you have been trying for a year.

[msoftie]

It's been 10 yrs since I had my negative child.  So my experience may differ from yours. 

But my counsel would be, if you can abstain from ANYTHING in your first tri-mester it's worth it.  I knocked my VL down to nothing and quit everything when the pregnancy test was positive (I did a bi-weekly blood test as the results are quicker than waiting for the dipstick hormone urine results).  Then I waited until the end of the first 3 months and did AZT, 3TC and Nevirapine... I added Viracept not long after that.  I had UD VL and 300 T-cells at delivery - w/intravenous AZT during delivery.  Baby negative.  Did a vaginal delivery with an epidural.  Quick recovery, healthy child.

I talked to the Pediatric Aids unit at Children's Medical Center in Dallas to discuss the medications they saw in their babies that had problems.  Their counsel was valuable.  You might ask an HIV Specialist for Children what they recommend for pregnancy.  They would have good access to that information.  They also tested my child for the first 8 months at recommended intervals, until we were sure he was neg.  It always made me nervous to walk down those halls and see those babies in the hospital... I'm very blessed to have a healthy child.

Nevirapine wasn't available as a dose for baby at that time... but I pushed for it as hard as I could, it just couldn't happen.  So baby got AZT for 6 wks... I HATED giving him that, but was afraid to take any chances...

Hope it works out well.
msoftie

[zachysmom]

Welcome Msoftie,
Glad to see you post, your insight is most welcomed and valuable..........

Nicole