Question
Can I used Lamzid (AZT/3TC) to reduce the risk of infection?
28 June 2011. Related: All topics, HIV reinfection (superinfection), HIV transmission.
I’m dating a person who is HIV positive and I’m HIV negative. Is it good for me to use Aspen’s Lamzid when we have sex?
Will it cause a problem as time goes on.
Answer
Please do NOT use Lamzid in this way.
Firstly, there is no evidence that it will protect you from catching HIV.
Secondly, there are risks from you taking these meds. If you have hepatitis B or catch hepatitis B taking the 3TC in Lamzid could cause liver problems if you are stopping and starting the drug. If you were unlucky enough to catch HIV, your use of Lamzid is likely to make you resistant to 3TC which could then affect both you and your partners future treatment options (if you passed that resistance back to your partner).
Is your partner on treatment? If and when this happens, this reduce the risk of transmitting HIV.
Using a condom is still the most effective way to do this though.
Hi Lona,
Please see our pregnancy guide for information about conceiving when you are both HIV+.
It’s important to get your urinary tract infection treated. So long as this is treated it is very unlikely to have any impact on your ability to conceive.
Please note that advocates at i-Base are not doctors and we have no formal medical qualifications. Information is intended to support discussions with your doctor and other healthcare professionals.
Hi Dr I’m hiv + and on lamzid and neviropine I’m 26yrs I’m engaged to be married with my fiance and we want a baby now.how possible is this with the both of us being+ and I’ve been having severe abdominal pain the Dr said I have urinary tract infection.I’m worried that I might not concieve!plz help
Hi
Without more details about the changes and your medical history I can only comment briefly. There are two drugs in Lamzid. One is called AZT and the other is 3TC. The AZT can cause fat loss from your legs and bottom, and sometimes muscle loss too. Please talk to your doctor about this as in the UK someone would switch from AZT to an alternative like tenofovir or abacavir.
This may reverse the fat loss but only very slowly – sometimes taking several year to notice a change.
If there are other body changes talk to your doctor about this to. These symptoms are often referred to by the medical name lipodystrophy. For more information see this link.
It is important to continue taking your meds until you speak with your doctor though.
Are there side effects of the drugs lamzid and nevirapine? My legs are getting small. what can cause that? my body is a full size I’m even scared to wear short things bcs of this. pls help.
i have being using nevirapine and Lamzid for a very long time, my body is starting to change shape. My legs and arm are getting smaller and thin. what can the problem be in this case. i started using them 2007 until now.
Hi Don, I’m very sorry to hear that you were assaulted. For information about PEP please see our testing and transmission guide.
Hi,I was assaulted by a person whose status I don’t know and within 48hrs I got Lamzid.I want to know if there are some who used Lamzid before and not get infected with HIV
Hi Pretty,
PEP should be a combination of three drugs used for 28 days. This may be a ‘starter pack’ from the pharmacy. It’s important to check this with your doctor. 5 days of PEP with lamzid (which contains 2 drugs) is unlikely to be effective as PEP.
Hi my partner is hiv+ & i’m neg,the condom burst while we were having sex.i was so scared in e morning i went to the pharmacy i told them wat happened they gave me aspen lamzid.they only gave me 10 to take for 5 days,2 per day wat i’m asking is are they effective as the 28 days one.
Hi Mercy,
If you are having problems accessing medication please contact the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa. They campaign to make sure people have access to good quality HIV treatment in South Africa.