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 Disco,
Its unlikely that the problems that you’re having aren’t due to the Atrozia. Therefore, you should see a doctor about this.
Sometimes after talking my pill I feel pain at the back of my spinal cord and I sometimes get muscle ache. Is that a side effect of Atrozia?
Hi Masterpiece,
To know if the meds are working or not you’ll need to have your CD4 count and viral load tested. These test will be able to let you know how your body is reacting to the medication that you’re on.
I’ve a CD4 of 577. I’ve been on meds since May. Apart from some side effects at the beginning, I’ve been fine. How will I know if the meds are working?
Hi Gomolemo,
Though Atrozia is known to cause problems with sleep, sleep disturbance can also be due to other things, for example stress. If it is the Atrozia that is causing this, if you’re new to treatment it should go within a few weeks.
Hi I started Atroiza and have experience that my sleeping pattern have changed,I get tired early in the evening and at dawn I am awake.Initially I sleep for three or four hours
Hi Jacqualene,
Yes it is common to feel tiered when you start Atrozia. This should however go quit soon. That is if it is a reaction to the Atrozia. Feeling out of breath however isn’t a known side effect, so you should talk to your doctor about this.
For more about Atrozia, please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
And what to expect when you start meds, and how to deal with side effects:
http://i-base.info/guides/starting
Hi, I started Atrozia 11 days ago, is it normal to be out of breath and tiered to the point where you can’t get out of bed? My blood test have not come back yet therefore I don’t know what they entail.
Hi Keitumetsi,
Atenef isn’t known to cause problems with women’s periods. For what could be a possible cause please see here:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Periods-absent/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Feeling tired, is however a known side effect. That said, feeling tired can be attributed to many things. How long have you been taking Atenef for?
Since taking this Atenef, my periods have stopped and I’m always tired. What could be the problem because I’m not pregnant.