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!
Most people prefer to take Tribuss in the evening around bedtime as this can make side effects easier to deal with. Please see this previous question for more info (Atripla is the name used for Tribuss in the UK)
What time can i take in the morning or night
Hi
Once you start treatment, your viral load results are more important than your CD4 count. As your viral load is undetectable, this shows the drugs are working really well.
The different CD4 results may not show any real difference in your immune system. When you have another CD4 count it is very likely the result will be higher again without needing to do anything. CD4 counts vary a lot and are only a general guide or marker.
It is great that you are being very careful in remembering to take your meds. Once you get into a good routine this will make it much easier for the future. It will mean you can use the same meds for many years.
Hello, I started using tribuss for the first time 3 months ago. My CD4 count was 294 and viral load was very high. I tested again and my viral load is now undetactable but my CD4 count dropped and is now 198. What can be the cause of my CD4 count dropping? I take my tribuss faithfully everday at 8pm.
Hi. I normall take my meals at 18:00 and take Tribuss at 20:00 or a few minutes after that. I try as much as I can to eat a non-fatty dinner . Immediately after taking Tribuss I get a terrible heartburn. My doctor put me on Nexium. I used to take Nexiam an hour before I take Tribuss and on such days I would not get the heartburn, but the longer I continued taking Nexiam the more I realized that I had pain in my oesophagus as I suffer from Gastric Reflux, so I decided ( on my own) to stop taking Nexiam. I now take two tablespoons of Olive Oil an hour before I take the Tribuss.
This does help but I am not sure about the side effects of the Olive Oil, but anything is better than the pain of the heartburn! Please help, I am in dire straits here. I forgot to mention that before I changed to Tribuss I was on Atripla for a month and I don’t remember having any heartburn, but my Medical Aid changed me to Tribuss which they said is a generic of Atripla.
What can I do to take away the heartburn ?
Hi Athi,
First off- Tribuss and Atripla are the same treatments, your medical aid are right to say that Tribuss is just a generic version.
Olive oil doesn’t have any side effects and is generally good for your health. If this is controlling the heartburn that’s great and you can continue to do this without worrying.
If you are continuing to have heartburn go back to your doctor about this. Explain the problems you were having with Nexiam and ask your doctor for alternative treatment options.
Hi
One of the meds in Tribuss is a drug called efavirenz. Loosing interest in sex is not reported as a side effect, but mood changes are. If the efavirenz is making you more anxious or depressed, this might one reason that you are less interested in sex.
Best person to talk to is your doctor. Your sexual health is an important part of your health. Your doctor can talk in detail to find out what might be going on and then look at different options.
Here is a link to more info on sexual health and HIV.
http://i-base.info/guides/side/sexual-health
Hi
I started taking Tribuss 6 months ago but lately I’ve lost interest in sex. Is this one of the side effects of the medication and if it is how can I get help?
Hi again Anele, it’s good to hear from you.
Loss of fat from the face can be linked to a side effect called lipoatrophy. Although this is rare with Tribuss there is a possible link with efavirenz- one of the drugs in Tribuss. Have a look at this page in our side effects guide to see if you think this might be what you are experiencing. It’s important to talk to your doctor about this. If you and your doctor think this is related to Tribuss you may need to change to a different treatment to stop this getting worse.
Hello Rebecc,long time I hope You are well. My question is what is muscular wasting? And my skin in my face is becoming tiner,I used to have a fuller skin its like I dont have fat’s on my skin especially on my face. Is it becouse of Tribuss? And how to prevent this muscular wasting? Anele