Question
Are these side effects from Atroiza?
13 December 2013. Related: All topics, Life expectancy, Newly diagnosed, Pregnancy, Side effects.
Am a 19 yr old girl I just foundout that am HIV+ and am pregnant.
I started taking Atroiza but since I started I hardly sleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have a bad headache when I ask nurse she say its part of treatment. Is it Atroiza doing this or what?
I know HIV can’t be cured and I doing this for my unborn baby because if I die who wil raised her/him?
Answer
Hello,
I’m very sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. Finding out you are HIV positive is never easy but finding out in pregnancy can be especially hard. Do you have any support to help you deal with this?
Atroiza is a generic version of Atripla.
Atroiza contains a drug called efavirenz which has side effects that include sleep disturbance, mood changes and headaches. Usually these will improve over the first few weeks of treatment. However, some people change to a different drug because of these side effects.
It’s important to understand that these are related to your treatment, and to discuss them with your clinic if you are finding them difficult or they don’t improve. This link has more about these side effects.
You are right that we don’t have a cure for HIV. ARVs are very effective at treating HIV though and can allow you to have a long and healthy life.
With ARVs, HIV positive people have almost the same life expectancy as HIV negative people. Living with HIV isn’t something that is easy and you do need to take it seriously, but it shouldn’t stop you from doing anything in life you would have done before your diagnosis.
You may find the following links useful for more information. Do get back in touch if you have any questions.
Hi,
Atroiza will not affect your partner in any way. Are you able to cope with the dizziness? IF not you can talk to your doctor or clinic. They can let you know if there are alternatives available.
Hi! I am a 37 year old woman who is HIV+ and am living full time with an HIV- man. My man does NOT want to use a condom. I have spoken to him about it because I feel I should keep him safe, he refused and gets very angry. But when nurses advice him so he ”agrees”. I am on Atroiza now and it makes me dizzy every after 2hrs. Is it good for him?
Hi,
Please see here for an answer to a similar question:
http://i-base.info/qa/9002
Is Tribuss and Atroiza same?
Hi,
Atroiza and Tenarenz are both generic versions (copies) of a pill called Atripla. They all contain the same medications and work the same way. Because of this it is unlikely that the change in medication is causing your diarrhea. YOu could talk to a doctor of clinic about your symptoms. They could help you work out what is causing it.
Hi I was on atroiza for six months now and my dr changed my pills to tenarenz and I am having diarrhoea. I just started tenarenz abt a month. Plz advize. Thanks
Atroiza is used by both women and men.
Hi,I’m a 35 year old man from eastern cape and I’ve been on ART since 2009. I was taking lamivudine, stavudine and efavirenz.Last month I was changed to Atroiza and I’ve seen it being used by my partner.Is it the right ART for a man?
Hi,
It is great that you are thinking about having a child. Many couples where one partner is negative and the other positive safely have HIV negative children.
You can find information about how to do this here:
http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy/what-to-do-when-one-partner-is-hiv-positive-and-the-other-is-hiv-negative
You can find a list of frequently asked questions about having a baby here:
http://i-base.info/qa/faqs-on-having-a-baby
Hey i am a girl who is 18 years old and am HIV positive. My CD4 is 313 and my partener is negative so we are planning to have children aftre 5years. I want to know that what we should do so that we can have a baby. Should we not use condoms when we make love and when my CD4 is high? Please help me we don’t know what we should do.