POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: jaace24 on April 22, 2013, 07:53:57 pm
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Hey everyone I'm on Prezista, Norvir & Truvada. They are doing wonders for my numbers but however last month I had slightly elevated kidneys. I was told by my Dr to drink lots of fluids and come in and get retested in 24 hours. I did that and everything came out okay. Well however I am having some burning sensation in my left side of stomach area. Do you think its a warning from my kidneys? Or is it just possible digestion problem with the antibiotics I'm on? If so what would I probably switch to for meds?
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Hi Jaace,
No, it's doubtful the burning is from Kidneys. However if it continues or gets worse I would call the doc.
Your doctor will monitor you kidneys very closely while on Truvada. I was on Truvada for about a year and my Kidneys function started to decline and I was switched to Prezista/Norvir/Epzicom. It was a very gradual thing and didnt happen over night, and there was no burning.
That being said, it is fairly rare to have to switch off Truvada due to kidney issues, I just happened to be one of the unlucky ones. Just listen to what your doctor says, drink water, etc.. and you will be fine.
-Will
;)
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WillyWump thank you for replying. I am still on Bactrim and it could possibly be from that. It is just a weird feeling and lasts all day.
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Hi Jaace ,
I am on Prezista, Norvir & Truvada for ? Nine months ?
Not sure when they changed my MEDS from Reyetaz to Prezista .
I feel good , No major GI issues , no inner organ pains :)
I have other pain , But after all these years that is expected .
I hope you are doing well ,
Weasel
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I am doing good. I just had my latest lab draw today. So we will see what my kidney panels says. Its still early enough that if they are still elevated they will be fine. It would be caught early enough that dialysis wouldn't be needed
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Labs came back and show kidneys and liver in normal range! Yay!
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:( I was on the same combo and it did wonders until the doctor checked my bone density. Have you had a base line bone density check? Unfortunately, after taking 2 years of Actonel my problem worsened to a point where I'm classified as high risk for bone fracture. Truvada was dropped due to it's possible link to lowering bone density. I have taken two treatments of Reclast and have improved slightly. Relcast is a once a year IV treatment. Moral of the story...if you are take Truvada....check you bone density asap and keep track of it .
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I have been reading the posts on here to get a little more information. I was diagnosed positive in March, and today is my 1st day taking the meds. I am on this combo: Truvada, novir, & Prezista.
I didn't feel any side effects until about 3 hours after I took the pills. First, I started feeling very bloated. I thought it was from me drinking so much water, but I spent the next hours on the toilet with diarrhea; all I ate came right out of me.
Have anybody experience this with this combo? How long does it last? It was awful, and I am even afraid to take them tomorrow. I thought about calling the doctor, but I thought about giving it another day or two for my body to get adjusted to the pills, and if there's no change, go back to see the doctor. I couldn't get any work done, I fell weak all afternoon at work.
Just a little scared :o
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I have been reading the posts on here to get a little more information. I was diagnosed positive in March, and today is my 1st day taking the meds. I am on this combo: Truvada, novir, & Prezista.
I didn't feel any side effects until about 3 hours after I took the pills. First, I started feeling very bloated. I thought it was from me drinking so much water, but I spent the next hours on the toilet with diarrhea; all I ate came right out of me.
Have anybody experience this with this combo? How long does it last? It was awful, and I am even afraid to take them tomorrow. I thought about calling the doctor, but I thought about giving it another day or two for my body to get adjusted to the pills, and if there's no change, go back to see the doctor. I couldn't get any work done, I fell weak all afternoon at work.
Just a little scared :o
Hi Edgardo , don't be afraid to take loperamide or Imodium after ever trip to the toilet , it wont hurt to take it that much .
Your body may take a short time to get used to the meds but you will adjust . The norvir part of the combo did that to me before it got better .
Try not to be too upset , if things don't work out there are other combos , just give this one a couple of weeks and see what happens .
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Hi Edgardo , don't be afraid to take loperamide or Imodium after ever trip to the toilet , it wont hurt to take it that much .
Your body may take a short time to get used to the meds but you will adjust . The norvir part of the combo did that to me before it got better .
Try not to be too upset , if things don't work out there are other combos , just give this one a couple of weeks and see what happens .
Thank you Jeff, I will give it a try and see if things get better in the couple of weeks. It is almost time for my 2nd dose :o Hope, I feel less pain today.
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I've taken large doses of loperamide twice daily for a period of over 15 years. It's safe to do this according to the four HIV doctors I have had over that time period. They've never concluded whether or not it's from HIV infection itself, or from the protease class of medication. I've been on a lot of HIV regimens during that time period, all with various protease inhibitors because I have a lack of options unlike most patients, but even before PI's came out in 1997 I would have diarrhea, just not bad enough to take loperamide. So I think for me it's a combination of the two, but mostly from PI's.
Hopefully for you since you are new to this regimen it will be a side effect that will fade away after 4-6 weeks, which is typically what occurs. In the meantime I would take loperamide (prescription, 2mg) or over-the-counter imodium (only comes as 1mg I believe) and don't wait until you have diarrhea to take it, just add it in with your daily dosing of prezista, etc. and adjust the dosing until your stools are firm. Then maybe after 4-6 weeks begin to taper off taking the loperamide/imodium and see what happens without any.
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Thank you guys! I wanted to give you an update. The diarrhea only happened on the first day I took the pills. I was afraid, so I only ate small portions of food before taking the pills, and drunk a lot. Now, I only eat small portions throughout the day as recommended by the doctor. So far, I haven't experienced anymore diarrhea after 5 days of taking the pills. No other side effects, except the bloated feeling. Again, that might be due to me drinking so much water throughout the day. I've also added more time to my cardio at the gym and hope that help eleiminate some of the bad deposits from the pills in my system. 8)
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"bad deposits from the pills"? What's that mean?
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Hi Edgardo , the bloating is probably from both the truvada and norvir . If you can use anti gas pills or fiber products it can help with these symptoms .
I on Intelence / Truvada and I have the bloat from the Truvada ... I call it tootvada because of the gas . Personally I can deal with the bloating if its the price to pay for a workable combo .
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Hi Edgardo , the bloating is probably from both the truvada and norvir . If you can use anti gas pills or fiber products it can help with these symptoms .
I on Intelence / Truvada and I have the bloat from the Truvada ... I call it tootvada because of the gas . Personally I can deal with the bloating if its the price to pay for a workable combo .
Thank you Jeff, I agree, I can deal with the bloating. I will try the fiber, I don't want to add anymore pill to what I have right now lol
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"bad deposits from the pills"? What's that mean?
Not sure that's was the right expression, but again English is a 3rd language, and it is sometimes challenging to find the right words to express my thoughts. I read about the possible side effects for this combo, which include gaining weight, hair loss, decrease in bone density, just to name a few. So, I meant may be exercising/ eating healthy/ drinking more water would help minimize some of these side effects. :o 8)
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You wouldn't need a script for gas pills , they are over the counter and the only side effect is it gets rid of excess gas , so don't be afraid to try them if need need be .
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I am thinking about ditching Atripla in favor of Prezista, Norvir, Truvada. I've never been on a PI regimen before, is this any easy combo to take. Ms. Ann has said it's VERY easily tolerated and I'm hoping if I do choose this combo my anxiety/insomnia will improve. But I'd hate to sell the devil I know for one I don't. It's always a bit nerve racking when starting a new regimen, particularly a one in a different class. Also a bit worried about swapping out one pill for three, due to the cost. I've been lucky enough that Ryan White has enabled me to get my atripla free up to now but hope I can work something out if I change regimens.
But sounds like many tolerate P/N/T very well! What is the dosage for it? All at once, etc? And is there any tangible benefit/risk to a PI verses a NNRTI? I am also considering Stribild or a couple other combos before I decide on one.
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But sounds like many tolerate P/N/T very well! What is the dosage for it? All at once, etc? And is there any tangible benefit/risk to a PI verses a NNRTI? I am also considering Stribild or a couple other combos before I decide on one.
It's a very easy to tolerate, but yes the downside to moving from Atripla to Prez/Nor/Tru is the amount of pills..I forget what my exact doasge was but I was taking a total of 5 pills a day...Prez/norvir in the A.M., and then Prez/Nor/Tru at PM.
*of course talk to your doctor about the pros/cons of switching in your particular case.
-Will
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If you have no PI resistance, the dosing is 1 x day, 800mg Prezista, 100mg Norvir and 1 Truvada. There is a new 800mg Prezista tablet so this means it's 3 pills, usually taken in one go. You need food, but only a little, glass of milk etc will do in a pinch.
It's generally easy to take, but the Norvir upsets some people's stomach and a small proportion of people get a rash from the Prezista << true of nearly all meds
An advantage to this combo over some others is that it's very forgiving on timing/adherence.
The main disadvantage is Prezista/Norvir may raise your cholesterol slightly << true of many other meds
I personally do not consider 1 vs 2-3 pills important. It's 1 x day that is important for me. In the UK we will soon not have single combined pills like Atripla if the component drugs are cheaper for the National Health Service.
All modern combos work as well as each other. The only way to see if one suits you is to take it and see. If side effects happen and are intolerable, it's easy to switch to something else.
- matt