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HIV Treatment Side Effects

 
Dr. Charles Farthing
Meet the Expert
aidshealth.org
  • What are the risks of HIV medications?
  • What are the most common side effects of HIV medications?
  • What are the most serious side effects of HIV medication?
  • What's the best way to deal with nausea and vomiting due to HIV medication?
  • What are 'body shape changes' that occur with HIV medication?
  • How can I combat body shape changes due to HIV medication?
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HIV Treatment
 HIV Treatment Basics 
  1. Dr. Charles Farthing
  2. How is HIV treated? 
  3. If I live in a small town, where can I find HIV treatment? 
  4. When can I begin treatment for HIV? 
  5. Is it ever necessary to start treatment if my CD4 count is higher than 350? 
  6. How many pills do I have to take during my HIV treatment? 
  7. Why would my HIV medication need to be changed? 
  8. Can my HIV medication bring my viral load down? 
  9. How long can I expect to live if I take HIV medication? 
  10. Are alternative treatments effective in battling HIV? 
  11. Is it safe to buy HIV medication sold without a prescription? 
  12. How much does HIV medication cost? 
 HIV Treatment And Combinations 
  1. Dr. Charles Farthing
  2. What are 'nucleosides'? 
  3. What are 'non-nucleosides'? 
  4. What are 'protease inhibitors'? 
  5. What are 'CCR5 entry inhibitors'? 
  6. What is 'HAART' or 'cocktail medications'? 
  7. How effective is HAART compared to the original HIV medication? 
  8. What is a typical combination of HAART? 
  9. How do I choose which medication to take for my HIV? 
  10. What is 'Atripla'? 
  11. Is Atripla as effective as the traditional cocktail medication? 
  12. Should I switch to Atripla if I am already on HAART? 
HIV Treatment Side Effects (Now Playing)
  1. Dr. Charles Farthing
 Adherence To HIV Treatment 
  1. Dr. Charles Farthing
  2. How can 'accepting' the fact that I have HIV help me with my medical treatment? 
  3. Why is 'adherence' important during my HIV treatment? 
  4. What can I do to help me be more adherent to my HIV medication? 
  5. Can I stop my treatment if my HIV medication makes me ill? 
  6. What are some major causes of non-adherence to HIV medication? 
  7. How can HIV doctors assist people who use crystal meth? 
 HIV Drug Resistance 
  1. Dr. Charles Farthing
  2. What is HIV 'drug resistance'? 
  3. How do doctors test for HIV drug resistance? 
  4. How do I prevent HIV drug resistance? 
 HIV Doctors 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. What type of medical specialist do I need if I am HIV positive? 
  3. What should I look for in an HIV doctor? 
  4. How do I find an HIV doctor? 
  5. When should I make my first HIV appointment? 
  6. What should I expect at the first appointment with my HIV doctor? 
  7. What questions should I ask my HIV doctor during my first appointment? 
  8. Will my HIV doctor put me on medication immediately? 
 HIV And Insurance 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. Will I lose my health insurance if I have HIV? 
  3. Are there special insurance programs for people with HIV? 
  4. Will I be able to get health insurance if I have HIV? 
  5. Who can help me get or maintain insurance if I have HIV? 
  6. Can I get life insurance if I have HIV? 
  7. Can I get disability insurance if I have HIV? 
 AIDS Drug Assistance Program 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. What is the 'AIDS Drug Assistance Program' or ADAP? 
  3. Do all states have an ADAP program? 
  4. How do I learn more about my state's ADAP program? 
 HIV Clinical Trials 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. What are HIV 'clinical trials'? 
  3. What are the benefits of joining an HIV clinical trial? 
  4. What are the disadvantages of joining an HIV clinical trial? 
  5. Where can I learn more about HIV clinical trials? 
 New HIV Medicine 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. What is the goal of taking HIV medicine? 
  3. What new HIV medicines should I ask my doctor about? 
  4. Why are the new HIV medicines better? 
  5. How will the new HIV medications help me be adherent? 
 Taking HIV Medication 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. How do I know if I can manage my HIV medication regimen? 
  3. What is a routine I can use in order to stay adherent? 
  4. Will I feel ill every time I start a new HIV medication? 
  5. Can I take HIV medication with alcohol or other drugs? 
  6. Should I tell my doctor if I skip my medicine? 
  7. What if my doctor puts me on a very difficult HIV regimen? 
 HIV Treatment Failure 
  1. Brett Grodeck
  2. How can I get sick if HIV medicine works so well? 
  3. What is a 'viral blip'? 
  4. Should I be worried if I have a viral blip? 
  5. Why would I get two or three viral blips in a row? 
  6. Is treatment failure a sign of a serious problem? 
  7. What is 'salvage therapy'? 
  8. Is it possible to be healthy again after having treatment failure? 
 HIV Vaccines 
  1. Dr. Robert Gallo, M.D.
  2. Can humans develop a resistance to HIV infection? 
  3. Why is a vaccine critical in the fight against HIV? 
  4. What are the obstacles to an HIV vaccine? 
  5. Why is HIV a difficult virus to vaccinate against? 
  6. Are there any approved vaccines for HIV in the market? 
  7. How can a successful HIV vaccine be created? 
  8. Will I be at risk for HIV if I volunteer for a vaccine clinical trial? 
  9. Is it important to test for HIV across all races and genders? 
  10. When can we expect to have an HIV vaccine? 
  11. Can HIV or AIDS be cured? 
Charles Farthing Dr. Charles Farthing
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HIV Treatment Side Effects

What are the risks of HIV medications?

What are the most common side effects of HIV medications?

Perhaps the most common side effect of HIV medications these days would be actually from Sustiva, because Sustiva is a very commonly used drug. It's part of Atripla, and it can cause weird dreams and dizziness, especially when people start therapy, and it often wears off. Sometimes this HIV medication can make patients irritable or depressed, in which case they should stop taking it. It's a common side effect, but is normally not serious and usually wears off. However, some patients will have to change drugs because they won't tolerate it. Both Sustiva and Viammune can cause rashes, just as almost any drug in the pharmacy can cause a rash, but the incidence of rash with Sustiva and Viamune is about 15%. In some patients, they can go on taking it and the rash will fade away, others will have to stop the drug because of a rash. With Protease inhibitors, the most common side effects are in the gastrointestinal tract, usually meaning loose stools, sometimes frank diarrhoea (although usually not), and maybe some bloating and some feeling of gas. That's very common, but, again, very minor, and less of a problem with the newer HIV medications.

What are the most serious side effects of HIV medication?

The most serious side effects with HIV medications is very rare, and that is lactic acidosis. I have only seen a couple of cases in my life, so it really is very rare. Lactic acidosis means that the body becomes very acidic. The patients get short of breath. The body is very intolerant of high acid levels, and that can lead to death quite quickly. But, thankfully, it's very rare. We do see it overseas a bit, in resource limited settings, where the drugs that we use mostly are indeed AZD 14 DDI, where other drugs are not available in most countries. Other serious side effects, thankfully, are rare. But, if kidney function or liver function is affected, that's bad. Very rarely, with viralkin, the liver can seriously be damaged, very rapidly. If the drug, however, is used only when C4 counts are very low, we've found that doesn't occur hardly at all. But, we do have to warn patients, if they feel sick when they go on those drugs they should let us know quickly. Tenofovir can cause renal damage, but it's very rare. In the clinical trials, they didn't even see it, but we do see it sometimes, but it's slowly developing and reverseable, we just have to watch for it. Sometimes skin rashes can be very severe. Again, it's very rare, but with the virakin and some of the other drugs, a very serious skin rash can occur which can sometimes be fatal. So there are some serious side effects, they don't occur very often, but they do exist.

What's the best way to deal with nausea and vomiting due to HIV medication?

The best way to deal with nausea due to HIV medication is probably to change the HIV medication. It may be OK to put up with nausea for a week or two to see if it wears off, but I always tell my patients nausea is an awful side effect of HIV medication, and you shouldn't have to tolerate that. It's caused by a few HIV medications, and you can switch away. Occasionally you see it with AZT; not very often with any of the other HIV medications.

What are 'body shape changes' that occur with HIV medication?

How can I combat body shape changes due to HIV medication?

If you already have lipoatrophy or fat deposition, body shape changes from nucleosides, it's probably a good idea to get off the drugs that probably caused the body shape change if you can, if you are not resistant to lots of drugs. And if you are still on them you may have already been switched off them. Apart from that, which will stop the body shape change problem from getting worse and may reverse it slightly, there are cosmetic procedures that can be done to improve appearance. There's not much you can do about the arms and legs looking skinny as a result of HIV medication, but they are various compounds that can be injected into the cheeks to fill them up and make them look normal again.

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  • What are the risks of HIV medications?
  • What are the most common side effects of HIV medications?
  • What are the most serious side effects of HIV medication?
  • What's the best way to deal with nausea and vomiting due to HIV medication?
  • What are 'body shape changes' that occur with HIV medication?
  • How can I combat body shape changes due to HIV medication?

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I find more information about it on a hiv dating and support site: http://www.stdpal.com

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