Newbie

[Madrettor]

Just got my VL score: 200.000

[Madrettor]

And on top of that they also found Syfilis and Gonorrhea. This guy gave me the entire STD-alphabet :-S

[titik]

Time for some butt injections. No judgement here (I was diagnosed with Syphillis when I got disgnosed with AIDS too) but use this as a learning experience to use protection regardless of HIV status.

Those butt injections were not pleasant, but you will be fine after taking them. You'll be sore as few days afterwards though. Think about them the next time you're thinking of doing anything risky :p

[Madrettor]

Time for some butt injections. No judgement here (I was diagnosed with Syphillis when I got disgnosed with AIDS too) but use this as a learning experience to use protection regardless of HIV status.

Those butt injections were not pleasant, but you will be fine after taking them. You'll be sore as few days afterwards though. Think about them the next time you're thinking of doing anything risky :p

When you said butt injections you scared me and made me realize I made a mistake with my copy-pasting. They diagnosed me with Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. No Syphillis. In the butt?! Honestly? Wow..

But, yeah, I almost have them all now. Herpes Type 1, HIV, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. I don't even think I'll be able to think about sex for another 5 years or so, my God..

[Joe K]

When you said butt injections you scared me and made me realize I made a mistake with my copy-pasting. They diagnosed me with Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. No Syphillis. In the butt?! Honestly? Wow..

But, yeah, I almost have them all now. Herpes Type 1, HIV, Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. I don't even think I'll be able to think about sex for another 5 years or so, my God..

Hey Mad,

I'm sorry to hear you got a couple of STIs, but they are treatable and then they will be gone.  The important thing is you are getting treated for everything and things should get better fairly soon.

I'm also sorry that you need to be here... but glad you found us.

Welcome to the Forums.

Joe

[Madrettor]

Hey Mad,

I'm sorry to hear you got a couple of STIs, but they are treatable and then they will be gone.  The important thing is you are getting treated for everything and things should get better fairly soon.

I'm also sorry that you need to be here... but glad you found us.

Welcome to the Forums.

Joe

Thanks, man

[Madrettor]

OMG, you were right. It went into my butt! Never again. Holy Moly..

[devon1124]

Hi Madrettor,
I also got my test result recently in Netherlands.(But i do not speak dutch ,sorry lol)
I hope you're doing fine!

[Madrettor]

Hi Madrettor,
I also got my test result recently in Netherlands.(But i do not speak dutch ,sorry lol)
I hope you're doing fine!

I am!

[Madrettor]

OK, so a quick update (I sort of see this thread as a diary in a way) - I hope it'll help others who unfortunately have to follow the same path.

I've had a meeting with my doctor who introduced me to the different meds. I've made a decision to go for Atripla. Tomorrow I'll have another meeting. I'm not sure whether I'll get a recipe for the meds already then because they want to make sure that I'm absolutely ready to start treatment. They really emphasize adherence as once I've started it'll be something I have to do for the rest of my life (unless science does us an amazing favor). This is something I'm sort of worried about for now.. I really want to obey to this treatment.

I've stopped overthinking me being HIV+. The first few weeks it crossed my mind all the time, whereas now I seem to be cool about it. What's done is done, the focus should be towards the future. I read a quote of a doctor somewhere that said: ''You are young. You are positive. Let's start planning the rest of your life''. I thought it was really inspiring

[leatherman]

I've made a decision to go for Atripla.

where do you live? I ask because Atripla is NOT recommended as a first-line treatment any longer in America. The side effects have always been too troublesome. There are plenty of newer 1-a-day regimens that you should consider if you're living in the states.

it'll be something I have to do for the rest of my life (unless science does us an amazing favor). This is something I'm sort of worried about for now

don't overthink this! You'll be eating the rest of your life to stay alive too!  Matter of fact, you'll need to eat 2 or 3 times a day intaking hundreds and hundreds of calories for decades if you live into your 80s or 90s.  taking meds is taking meds and only has a negative power over you if you let it.

[Madrettor]

where do you live? I ask because Atripla is NOT recommended as a first-line treatment any longer in America. The side effects have always been too troublesome. There are plenty of newer 1-a-day regimens that you should consider if you're living in the states.
don't overthink this! You'll be eating the rest of your life to stay alive too!  Matter of fact, you'll need to eat 2 or 3 times a day intaking hundreds and hundreds of calories for decades if you live into your 80s or 90s.  taking meds is taking meds and only has a negative power over you if you let it.

I live in the Netherlands. I really don't think they'd give it to me if it weren't effective or too troublesome. I could choose Triumeq or something as well, but I didn't feel like going through another test to find out whether I'm allergic to it or not.

[leatherman]

if it weren't effective or too troublesome

effective? yes atripla is effective; but on the other hand, it's not "as effective" as some newer regimes. "not too troublesome"? that's debatable. Quite a lot of people have had very terrible cognitive problems with Sustiva (for disclosure purposes, I am one of those people) Too be honest, the reason Atripla is no longer a front-line treatment is because of the amount of CNS issues patients have had.

Of course, I'm old school. I've been down the road with over 18 hiv meds now. So give Atripla a whirl, if that is what you want  - but watch for the side effects and, if necessary, don't hesitate to change if you find Atripla is not nice to you

[Madrettor]

effective? yes atripla is effective; but on the other hand, it's not "as effective" as some newer regimes. "not too troublesome"? that's debatable. Quite a lot of people have had very terrible cognitive problems with Sustiva (for disclosure purposes, I am one of those people) Too be honest, the reason Atripla is no longer a front-line treatment is because of the amount of CNS issues patients have had.

Of course, I'm old school. I've been down the road with over 18 hiv meds now. So give Atripla a whirl, if that is what you want  - but watch for the side effects and, if necessary, don't hesitate to change if you find Atripla is not nice to you

It's not like I'm thrilled to take Atripla. They gave me the option to take Atripla or Triumeq and since the side-effects were sort of similar - and I needed another test to make sure I'm not allergic to something in Triumeq - I figured Atripla would be best. Fingers crossed the side effects will be minimal, because I'm about to pick the meds up from the pharmacy. This will be my first day!

[leatherman]

This will be my first day!

congrats! and even though crossing my fingers makes typing really really hard , I'm thinking positive thoughts for you about NO side effects.

[Madrettor]

congrats! and even though crossing my fingers makes typing really really hard , I'm thinking positive thoughts for you about NO side effects.

Haha, thank you! 

[leatherman]

yeah! now you're on your way to becoming Undetectable, reducing long term inflammation from HIV, and living the rest of your life to it's fullest. WooHoo! 

[Madrettor]

yeah! now you're on your way to becoming Undetectable, reducing long term inflammation from HIV, and living the rest of your life to it's fullest. WooHoo! 

Took my first pill 10 minutes ago! Let's hope I don't get high. You'd say I wouldn't worry about something like that as a Dutchy, but I can assure you I've never tried such thing! Fingers crossed! :p

[titik]

A member, I think it was zach, made a great post about this in the other forum: If you just picked it up today and you are on a 30 day refill schedule, wait a few days before starting so you can stockpile! Then pick it up a week early each time so you have can have at least a few weeks supply after a couple of months.

I almost had a heart attack when the two pills I stowed away disappeared (I probably misplaced it somewhere) and now I only have two pills left. Thankfully, my pharmacy called today and my next refill is ready. Whew. Wish I had a bigger stockpile.

edit: Ah too late. Oh well, good luck! And try to call a week early each time you refill so you get extra pills. Another tip is to take your stockpile everytime you get a new refill and set aside the new pills for your stockpile. That way, you don;t risk getting expired pills in your stockpile.

Most of the side effects you will feel will happen in the first two weeks.  I started Complera almost a month ago and these eventually went away. Now I only have some very minor GI issues but most of the bloatedness and some diarrhea happened in the first ten days. That feeling of highness and being spacey happened in the first five days. I hardly notice them now.

[Madrettor]

A member, I think it was zach, made a great post about this in the other forum: If you just picked it up today and you are on a 30 day refill schedule, wait a few days before starting so you can stockpile! Then pick it up a week early each time so you have can have at least a few weeks supply after a couple of months.

I almost had a heart attack when the two pills I stowed away disappeared (I probably misplaced it somewhere) and now I only have two pills left. Thankfully, my pharmacy called today and my next refill is ready. Whew. Wish I had a bigger stockpile.

edit: Ah too late. Oh well, good luck! And try to call a week early each time you refill so you get extra pills. Another tip is to take your stockpile everytime you get a new refill and set aside the new pills for your stockpile. That way, you don;t risk getting expired pills in your stockpile.

Most of the side effects you will feel will happen in the first two weeks.  I started Complera almost a month ago and these eventually went away. Now I only have some very minor GI issues but most of the bloatedness and some diarrhea happened in the first ten days. That feeling of highness and being spacey happened in the first five days. I hardly notice them now.

I'm not worried about my stockpile. I have 30 pills now and I'll get for two months each time after this. Btw, I'm feeling a little dizzy. Nothing too bad, but I do notice the effect. I'll take it the pill works :p

[titik]

The point of a stockpile is in the event of unforeseen circumstances like say, your pharmacy being closed for a four day weekend on the day of your refill, or a delay of shipment of your Atripla from warehouse to the pharmacy. It's also handy for emergency situations like traveling or if for any reasons you can't go to the pharmacy that week (if you were sick withthe flu, for instance and noone is available to pick it up for you).

The most intense time for the dizziness is probably the first few days. I kinda enjoyed it, haha.

[leatherman]

Most of the side effects you will feel will happen in the first two weeks.

this is always good advice. I tell people you gotta give the meds a month. Your body is adjusting to these chemicals and Your HIV is adjusting to not be able to reproduce itself. Viral loads are changing, cd4s are climbing, inflammation is lessening. There's a lot going on so it's not surprising that headaches, dizziness, barfing, insomnia  etc happen for a short time for a lot of people.

[Grasshopper]

I'm not worried about my stockpile. I have 30 pills now and I'll get for two months each time after this. Btw, I'm feeling a little dizzy. Nothing too bad, but I do notice the effect. I'll take it the pill works :p

Because this is your first Atripla prescription, the pharmacy will dispense for ONE month. If all goes well and you have no issues with Atripla, then in the future the pharmacy will dispense fore max 3 months.

So no need here in Holland to "stockpile". I make it a point to hand in a repeat prescription the day I open my last bottle of meds....allows  30 days for unforeseen circumstances. If I hand in my hiv meds prescriptions before 12 noon, I usually can pick them up the next day after 10 am

[Madrettor]

The point of a stockpile is in the event of unforeseen circumstances like say, your pharmacy being closed for a four day weekend on the day of your refill, or a delay of shipment of your Atripla from warehouse to the pharmacy. It's also handy for emergency situations like traveling or if for any reasons you can't go to the pharmacy that week (if you were sick withthe flu, for instance and noone is available to pick it up for you).

The most intense time for the dizziness is probably the first few days. I kinda enjoyed it, haha.

Haha, OMG! I know right! I think I enjoyed it as well! I was kind of giggling and having fun.. oh dear :p

[Madrettor]

this is always good advice. I tell people you gotta give the meds a month. Your body is adjusting to these chemicals and Your HIV is adjusting to not be able to reproduce itself. Viral loads are changing, cd4s are climbing, inflammation is lessening. There's a lot going on so it's not surprising that headaches, dizziness, barfing, insomnia  etc happen for a short time for a lot of people.

Yes. Makes total sense. Should I expect something else besides the dizziness though? I read something about vivid dreams.. I did dream about flying a spaceship and raying up people above a river tonight, so I guess I can check that box as well. I kinda liked that too though

[Madrettor]

Because this is your first Atripla prescription, the pharmacy will dispense for ONE month. If all goes well and you have no issues with Atripla, then in the future the pharmacy will dispense fore max 3 months.

So no need here in Holland to "stockpile". I make it a point to hand in a repeat prescription the day I open my last bottle of meds....allows  30 days for unforeseen circumstances. If I hand in my hiv meds prescriptions before 12 noon, I usually can pick them up the next day after 10 am

Yes, same here. I'll get for 2 or 3 months after this. She gave me 30 pills the first time. I can pick them up the next day after 14.00 and if the pharmacy is closed or whatsoever I can go to another one.

[Almost2late]

Hi Madrettor, sorry bout your diagnoses and hope Atripla works for you as it has worked for many people but not for me.. Just know that there's many meds and if side effects are bad you can try a different one with your doctors blessing that is.. I'm on Triumeq with no issues from the med whats so ever.. Hope Atripla works for you, good luck.

[titik]

Re: other side effects

I experienced the insomnia on Complera about two to three weeks in. I'm on my fourth week and it is somewhat subsiding. Some headaches sometimes here or there but the nausea is noticeably gone. I still experience them from time to time though.

Im also not sure if these are side effects or a side perk, but I started eating like a big cow a couple of days after starting HAART. Probably because my appetite is back while the meds are working. I should get my lab results this week. I'm excited and anxious!

[Madrettor]

Hi Madrettor, sorry bout your diagnoses and hope Atripla works for you as it has worked for many people but not for me.. Just know that there's many meds and if side effects are bad you can try a different one with your doctors blessing that is.. I'm on Triumeq with no issues from the med whats so ever.. Hope Atripla works for you, good luck.

I suppose the side effects don't show after 1 day? So far I've only been dizzy about half an hour after taking it. I got a bit sleepy, fell asleep and felt perfectly normal when I woke up.

[titik]

Yeah, some side effects only show up once enough drug is in your system. But that's a big IF. Alot of people don't even experience them at all.

[Madrettor]

Yeah, some side effects only show up once enough drug is in your system. But that's a big IF. Alot of people don't even experience them at all.

Hm, but isn't the point of taking a pill a day to keep the amount of drug in my system constant? So, basically, the 2nd pill only refuels instead of increasing the amount, no? Or is this very simple thinking? Just took my 2nd pill. Let's see how light in the head I'll get this time.

[Madrettor]

45 minutes after I took the 2nd pill and I'm not dizzy yet. Yesterday I was dizzy after half an hour. I want my money back, tsk!

[titik]

Hm, but isn't the point of taking a pill a day to keep the amount of drug in my system constant? So, basically, the 2nd pill only refuels instead of increasing the amount, no? Or is this very simple thinking? Just took my 2nd pill. Let's see how light in the head I'll get this time.

You are correct. But from what I understand, the NNRTI component, the efivarenz, has a long half life so they tend to build up over the initial couple of days. You won't see the 'high point' in your body until after about 3 days to a week.

[Madrettor]

You are correct. But from what I understand, the NNRTI component, the efivarenz, has a long half life so they tend to build up over the initial couple of days. You won't see the 'high point' in your body until after about 3 days to a week.

Ah, OK, well.. fingers crossed. Still not feeling dizzy. So that's quite an improvement with yesterday already.

[Madrettor]

Went out for dinner (sushi, nom nom nom) with my best friend and told her about my status. She had to cry a little and was worried that bad stuff would happen to me, but after she calmed down and I had the chance to tell her what living with HIV is like these days she was really supportive and her lovely self. She trully is my best friend! Now keep your fingers crossed for me the side-effects won't spoil my fun! (5th day now and so far so good)

Btw, hoping to put on some weight. I've really lost quite a lot of weight and people (incl. those really close to me) have started to express their concerns. Not sure if the meds will help me with that though, hm.

[Jim Allen]

Well glad to hear your doing okay and it's nice your friend was supportive.

I gained a total of 10 KG+ (22lb) in just under 6.5 months after reaching UD, then again I had also lost 7 KG (15lb) in the 2,5 months beforehand due to illness.

The meds directly did not have an affect, indirectly it suppressed my VL and hence I started to get better/recover and from getting better I gained weight. 
So what I think I'm saying is that if you lost it from being sick or ill, and now you not sick then i suppose you have a good chance of regaining it.

(Sorry had to edit first version did not read correctly)

[titik]

Oh you should be gaining weight soon. I have gained about 2 to 3 lbs from just four weeks of being on Complera. I've had a voracious appetite since starting and I have been more than happy to comply to my body. Plus my doctor gave me the go ahead to eat whatever I wanted in the next few weeks, including tons of ice cream lol.

Good to hear about your best friend being very supportive.

[patrickpmh]

I'm glad that the whole....can't say this, don't do this, got resolved.  Although I actually learned ALOT from the banter.

Those of you who are holding our hands are to be given lots of free Oregon microbrew.

So in my crappy dutch "Dank u vel".  I lived in Holland/Nederlands for 2 years.  My youngest is our 24 year old Dutch Girl, born in Amersfoort.  If any of you want to send me a Pannekooken...I'd be eternally grateful.

Thanks to all moderators and posters for an outstanding job of tolerating our stressed days.

Patrick of Oregon