Question
Can I take Tribuss with food?
5 July 2012. Related: All topics, Side effects, South Africa, Starting treatment.
Hi! I am 35 years and started taking my tribuss pill in February 2012. My problem is that I cant take the pill on an empty stomach. Can this make the pill to disfunction?
Answer
Hi,
Thank-you for your question.
Tribuss is a generic combination treatment which contains three HIV drugs. These are efavirenz, FTC and tenofovir. In the UK, this combination in a single pill is called Atripla.
Tribuss is usually recommended to be taken on an empty stomach is to reduce side effects. This is up to 60% more efavirenz is absorbed if it is taken with a high fat meal.
This would mean there is more efavirenz than you need and you may be more likely to get side effects. Side effects from efavirenz include dizziness, mood changes and sleep disturbance. Please follow this link for more information about efavirenz side effects.
However, the increased levels of efavirenz are connected to a high fat meal.
If you prefer to take Tribuss with some food this is fine, just not with fatty foods.
Please let me know if you have any more questions!
Hi,
Once you start taking ARVs you should not stop taking them unless your doctor recommends this. ARVs are a life-long treatment. If you stop taking Tribuss your viral load (the amount of HIV in your body) will increase very quickly and your CD4 count is likely to drop. Please see this page for more info.
I would like to know if my cd4 counts its back to more than 500 can i still go on with tribuss
Hi Mhlali,
I’m very sorry to hear about these shape changes you have experienced. This can be a very difficult side effect to cope with. If you would like to access support in South Africa you can contact the Treatment Action Campaign.
These type of side effects are called Lipodystrophy. Changing treatment should stop this getting worse and may reverse some of the fat loss but is unlikely to help with the areas where you have gained fat. There are some other treatments that can help with this and it’s important to talk to your doctor about what is available where you are. Please see our side effects guide for more information, and let me know if I can help any further.
will i regain my shape i was using other treatment that changed my shape, my legs became slim, i have a big thing at the back of my neck, my breast became big and my stomach became very big, now i changed to tribuss. do you think this tribute will help me to regain my shape? i use to have big legs and big hips but now that is history… i have very small legs, big stomach and no bums at all.
Hi, please see this previous question and let me know if I can help further.
Am three months pregnant and postive is it Tribuss safe to be used by pregnant person?
Hi Tee-Tee,
If you have been prescribed Tribuss and you are not sure why please discuss this with your doctor. If you are asking about somebody else’s medication please speak to them directly if you wish to know what this is being used to treat.
cn tribuss for any other reasons either than dat of Hiv,pls help
Hi Zama, these three drugs are the same as are used in one pill in Tribuss. If Tribuss is available at your clinic you should be able to change to the single pill so long as your doctor agrees that there are no medical reasons not to do this. This will depend on drug availability where you live though.
I am taking Lamivudine,Tenofovir and Efavirenz do I quilify to take one tablet a day the Tribuss ?13 years on AVRS