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 Lucy, These can be side effects from Atroiza. But it’s recommended to take these meds at bedtime. You can try taking the meds after you’ve finished studying and just before bedtime.
Hi. I take my meds at 23:00 everyday but I feel drunk, numb and feel like vomiting! It hasn’t stopped since I started in 2015. I like studying until 1am but on this condition I can’t.
Hi Pertunia, It’s good that your CD4 count is strong at 750. But have you told the doctor about these symptoms? A side effect of Atroiza can be bad sleep. But it’s important that you ask the doctor about your headache. Especially if you’ve had it for a long time. Can you ask your doctor what’s causing your headache?
HI Im a girl of the age of 25 and im hiv positive.im on treatment(taking atroiza and atenef pills . my cd4 was 532 at first then after 3 months increase to 750 .The problem is that im sleeping too much and have a headache
Hi Rato, Thousands of women have taken these drugs all over the world without any complications. This has resulted in many healthy HIV negative babies. There’s more about this here. It looks like your CD4 count is strong and VL is low. Getting undetectable – having a VL below 50 – can help protect your baby. You can talk to your doctor about getting undetectable quickly and before your baby is born.
I’m 5 months pregnant, due in June. Recently found out i’m HIV positive. The doctor prescribed Atroiza as the medication for me. I’m still waiting for the medication to be delivered. Now i’m frightened by these side effects i’m reading about. My cd4 is 960 nd VL is 1600. Since its already so late in pregnancy, is my baby going to be ok if i start with the medication this late.
Hi Lucas, It’s important that you see the doctor and ask them to look at your spots. If you have just started treatment it can mean that you are reacting to the ARVs. But in any case, it’s a good idea to ask at the clinic about what’s causing them. We are not doctors and any symptoms such as a rash should be checked at the clinic.
Itchy body n spots all over my body what is the cause n Will the spots fade ?I can’t even wear shorts bcoz of these spots caused by arv’s
Hi Recal,
Because you’re pregnant its very possible that the nausea could be morning sickness as this is common during pregnancies. It could however also be the Atrozia. Hope long have you been taking it for?
I am HIV positive and pregnant. I started to taken Atroiza, but i feel nausea in the morning, what can I do?