Question
Do I continue ARVs after my pregnancy?
22 August 2011. Related: All topics, Pregnancy, Starting treatment.
Hi guys. I am hiv + and 37 weeks pregnant. I am so scared as I don’t know what to expect. I am currently taking aspen lamzid (AZT/3TC) and Aluvia (lopinavir/r), will I be required to continue with the medication after my baby is born?
My cd4 is 480 and I only started taking medication after I found out that I was pregnant.
The med was giving me diarhea in the beginning, will this affect my baby or will the med do the same to my infant? Please help as am worried.
Answer
Hi
Great news about your pregnancy – and great that you were diagnosed in time to start treatment. The ARVs will dramaticially reduce the risk of your baby catching HIV.
All treatment is individualised. Whether ot not you continue treatment after the pregnancy will depend on many things.
This includes your CD4 count when you started treatment, how you feel about continuing treatment, and sometimes on the guidelines for the country where you live.
Diarrhoea is a common side effects of the Aluvia and other meds but will not affect the health of your baby.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy. See also this guide about HIV, women’s health and pregnancy.
Hi Bongie,
Please can you check that you have spelled the name of the tablets correctly? I haven’t heard of this drug before so I’m not sure what it is you are taking.
If you are experiencing diarrhoea it’s important to talk to the doctor about this. This shouldn’t affect your baby, unless it is very severe, but the doctor should be able to give you something to stop this.
I’m 5 months pregnant and HIV positve .I’ve started treatment ( Astreslawin tablets) while I found out at 3 months of my pregnancy .I’m experiencing diarrhea ,is this not gonna affect my unborn child or cause miscarriage.
Hi,
Thanks for your question. Have you just started treatment in the last week? It is very normal to feel nauseaus when you first start treatment, but this usually improves after the first few weeks. Your doctor or clinic should be able to give you some medication to reduce the nausea while you get used to the treatment. Have you spoken to the clinic about this?
Please help. Im trying to fall pregnant and on Alluvia and Lamzid. I cant keep anything down but its the first week. Am i going to be fine or should i worry. I also need to know am i getting medicated or is the medication ging with the vomit
Hello,
I am very sorry to hear about your miscarriages. Unfortunately miscarriage is very common- both in women with and without HIV. ARVs are not linked to higher rates of miscarriage so it’s a good idea to discuss with your doctor what could be causing this. It may be useful to see a fertility expert to find out whether there is a reason why you are having difficult carrying a baby to full term.
Hi
I had two miscarages @±6 /7 weeks I am worried. Is it medication or what .my Doctor precribete aluvia 2daily & 2 @ night with 1 Tab didivir
Hi Abigal,
I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. It’s never easy to find out that you have HIV but finding out in pregnancy can be very hard. Do you have any support to help you deal with this?
HIV doesn’t always have symptoms which is why people don’t know they have it until they get tested. HIV drugs can have some side effects but these will be different depending on which drugs you are given. Do you know the name of your treatments?
You can also see our pregnancy guide for questions about HIV and pregnancy.
Hey am 4 month pregnant I found out dat am HIV+ so I wanna know de symtoms coz am starting 2 take a treatment am confused
Hi Lily,
These symptoms might be related to your pregnancy, or to the change in your medication- usually this will improve with the course of the pregnancy or as you get used to the new meds. You should tell your doctor how you are feeling though because they should be able to give you something to help with the nausea and check make these symptoms easier to deal with.
Hi im a few wks preg. Initally before this i was on truvada & efivarenz now im on truvada and alluvia. I have terrible nausea and always feel hungry or lightheaded are these the side effects you are supposed to feel.