Question
I’ve been on ARVs since 2005 but my legs are thin?
16 August 2021. Related: All topics, Changing treatment, Side effects.
Hi, I have been on ARVs since 2005 but my body has changed. My legs are now thin.
Answer
Hi there
Thanks for your question but without more details it is difficult to comment in detail.
The following things might help though.
First, have you talked to your doctor about this? If yes, what do they say?
Secondly, although early HIV drugs caused body changes in some people, including fat loss, this is not a problem with modern treatment. You don’t say which current drugs you are using. Also, which drugs you used in the past.
Sometimes body changes were worse in people who started treatment with a very low CD4 count. This means that advanced HIV could also be responsible.
Are the changes recent? Or did this happen slowly over many years?
Most of us find that our bodies also change as we get older. So as well as being on treatment, you are now 16 years older than when you started.
Unfortunately, whatever the cause, there is not an easy solution to make your legs larger again. Diet and exercise can help – for example, exercising with weights to build up your leg muscles. This is difficult but it might slowly help.
Exercise can also help in other ways that makes you appreciate your body. Most of us never quite look the way we want to – especially as we get older – but this shouldn’t stop us still enjoying the body that we have.
Hello Nocawe and thanks for getting in touch.
Fat loss (from the face, arms, legs and buttocks) used to be a common side effect from using combinations that include either d4T (also called stavudine or Zerit) or AZT (also called zidovudine or Retrovir).
AZT can also cause muscle loss from the buttocks and can cause darkening of the nails in Black people.
Switching the d4T or AZT to alternative drugs (which should have happened to you already) can slowly reverse some fat loss, though putting tissue back on the buttocks and face is difficult and even if it reverses it is a slow process.
Exercise to increase leg and buttock muscle takes a lot of work, but can slowly build up to balance the lost fat.
You should ensure you eat a healthy diet and exercise.
It might take some time and effort but you should see some improvement.
https://i-base.info/guides/side/diet-a-balanced-diet-and-your-health
https://i-base.info/guides/side/exercise-and-staying-active
My problem is my butt ,I have now a small butt and thin legs and I don’t know what to drink or eat I’m becoming hopeless every day don’t know what to do at the moment and people are laughing at me everyday .
Hi Marths, please talk to your doctor about this. Sometimes this can be a side effect of very early HIV meds, but should not be a problem with modern meds. What has your doctor said about this.
My body has changed after taking arvs especially my limbs and legs are so thin and muscled.