Atripla side effect of being turned off by starting sex?

[iamboku]

I am dating someone who is on Atripla and one of the side effects is his almost revulsion-like feelings at starting sex.  If i initiate it and he ignores his feelings, he will become horny and enjoy it.  He describes the feelings as similar to the feelings he sometimes gets about food.  i.e. he can be hungry but the thought of eating makes him feel sick or uneasy.  Has anyone else heard of or suffered this side effect? 

[ARMANDO]

WOW,thats a new one for me!!!THE only time that i have ever used an excuse similiar to this  was just simply i wasn't into the guy sexually!!!

[weasel]

hullo Iamboku 

                         Well  I can relate to this .

                   Even after all these years  I prefer  Not to have sex .   none .

                 Just fine with me ....................   

                   If I am  attacked in the night I go along ,and usually enjoy it .

                  But I do not start it 

                 I am sure my shrink would have a word or two about this , but it works for me

                   most of the time ,
                 
                     Honey still don't get it , But he don't got HIV  either after  28  years !

                  I do believe the stigma of the  meds  changed my attitude ?

               I   should look into it , I know your not alone , It has come up at MY  group

                   HIV  meetings more than once .


                                                       be good , have fun ,be safe .

                                                                  Carl


   p.s.  If your guy goes along for the ride , then i say you are doing something  right and I
          wish you a wonderful relationship 

[Rev. Moon]

It may not be so far-fetched, although I did not see it listed anywhere as a side effect.  I have been on Atripla for almost two months and have (virtually) no interest in sex at all, but I am sure that in my case it is just some subconscious reaction to knowing that HIV is here with me.    Other people on these boards will testify to the contrary however; some stating that their sex-drive has increased once on this medication. 

[Miss Philicia]

There have been other posts where people claim Atripla makes them really horny.  Frankly I think it's all bullshit, but whatever.  If you're suddenly disinterested in sex and recently diagnosed perhaps the more logical thing would be to get professionally screened for depression, and if necessary avail yourself of some one-on-one cognitive behavioral therapy.

It's a lot of fun to blame every little metaphorical paper cut on our HIV medications but often it's not that simple.

[iamboku]

Just to clarify further, my partner describes his aversion to starting any kind of sexual contact in the same terms as he does when he talks about how hard it is to eat sometimes, even when he knows he is hungry.  To the post saying it might be he just is not into me, I am pretty sure that is not the case:).   We have great sex once it gets started and his aversion to sex started before me and included his previous bf's.  We have been trying different combinations (taking pill earlier, on emptier stomach, with gym or without, etc) and on nights where side effects are minimal or non existant his aversion to starting sex seems to go away.
Since discussion of sexual side effects is hard find, I am searching for any others who might be experiencing this or be dating someone who is.

Thanks to those who have replied to date 

[Rev. Moon]

Miss P. I must say that I agree with your general assessment.  In my case however I would not say that depression is what's making me less interested in sex (I have suffered from it in the past and I honestly can't say that I feel particularly down these days).  Then again, I've had HIV for only a couple of months; maybe I will hit a "valley" at some point in the (hopefully not near) future.  For now I prefer to stay focused on my job, my folks, my animals, my new place, and things that make me happy.  No time to waste on tricks or the pursuit of love at this immediate stage of my life.

Iamboku, do you think that depression could be affecting your boyfriend?  Miss Philicia's point is one that you may want to consider for him.  Was he diagnosed recently?

[iamboku]

He was diagnosed more than 2 years ago and does not suffer from depression.  Of course he has the stress of living with HIV and taking a horse pill every night but I would say he is amazingly adjusted to the fight he is in.  For him, it really is a side effect that he suffers from.  Just as the other effects, it does not always happen and he can identify the when it is there and when it is not.   It is just such a strange one.   It is also a hard one to deal with unless you are able to openly talk about such things with the one you are dating.  In our case, it did cause confusion at first.  That is another reason i posted it.  It has been my experience that some of the side effects are hard to even identify as such.   Talking is always good but not always easy to do:).

[Ann]

iam,

Unlike some other posters, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the possibility of the meds causing this behaviour change in your partner. After all, Sustiva (one of the components of Atripla) is well-known to have behavioural side-effects. Among the most common pysch-sides are depression and mood-swings, and it's quite possible that this is your partner's own individual manifestation of Sustiva induced mood-swings. The psych side-effects with Sustiva are never black-and-white and will vary from person to person.

If this is becoming a big issue between you two and he's in danger of missing the odd dose here and there to get "that loving feeling" (whoa-whoa-oh*) he's lost, then maybe it's time to consider a switch to other meds.

Ann


* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTvU3BELZEo

[iamboku]

Hello Ann,
Thank you for the reply.  My partner def suffers from mood swings from atripla.  However, we are getting better and better at finding the right combination of when to take pill,  after how many hours of no food,  with exercise ,etc to get rid of his side effects.   There are days when he does initiate sex and when he does not want it, i am ok with that:).   Atripla is working very well doing what it is supposed to do for him.  i.e keep him healthy.  Just hope others who might be dealing with this particular side effect will be able to talk about it.  It was really difficult not understanding what was going on before we talked about what my partner was feeling and going though

[midnightchatter]

I have to admit i have exactly the same issues as mentioned in this post.

I'm on atripla and have been for 2 years before that it was separate truvada ad sustiva, I was very sexually active with my partner right up until i started meds.

Within 4 months my libido had gone.

After continually bringing this up with my doctor he has finally agreed to get my testosterone levels checked. ( I'm in the UK and as far as i know this isn't something that's readily available over here. )

Its amazing to hear someone else has the same feeling about the almost revulsion-like feelings at starting sex.

Of course i want to stay healthy by taking my meds routinely but i would also like to have a healthy sex life too.

Here's hoping the future holds some answers.