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 Lethabo,
It’s good to hear you’re starting ART today.
Nucotrim is an antibiotic. It’s used to prevent or treat other infections such as pneumonia. Sometimes people who are starting ART also need antibiotics to help stop other infections. And this is usually if the CD4 count is low to begin with. But it can be stopped once the CD4 count recovers.
Please talk to you doctor about how long you might need to take Nucotrim.
Not everyone gets the side effects that are listed for HIV meds. But you can ask the doctor about what headache meds would be okay for you.
What are your CD4 count and viral load results. Do you have access to them?
Hello
I’m starting my treatment today (Atroiza ) can I use headache painkillers as I see the side effects include headaches I’m also taking Nucotrim was given by the doctor after I tested HIV positive should I continue taking them (Nucotrim )
Hi Henry,
Atroiza is used to treat HIV. So a person taking Atroiza knows they are HIV positive and they are on antiretroviral treatment – which is called ART.
ART is used to reduce the amount of HIV in the blood to such tiny amounts that it can’t be detected in a blood test. Having undetectable HIV means that HIV cannot be transmitted to a sexual partner even if you’re not using condoms.
You can read more about Undetectable = Untransmittable here.
I’m a young man of 36. What happens to a person who sleeps with a person who is on Atroiza treatment? That’s if you having unprotected sex.
Hi Romeo,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re getting a bad service from the clinic. We are based in the UK, but you could contact the Treatment Action Campaign for support in getting access to your meds. They have a contact page so you can email a question to them.
Hi, I’m a 25yr old from Durban. I’m a very shy person, I’ve recently found out that m HIV positive but the clinic i attend has a very bad service. Wondering where could i get a doctor who sells medication at a good price please advice.
Hi Matthew,
If you mean can your CD4 count rise, then yes it can, and it will. Its the meds that will do this. What time are you currently taking your meds?
I have recently started taking atroiza with supplements since my cd4 is at 178..
I would like to know how much danger am I in and if it can be reversed and the time window of taking treatment..
Hi Yandisa,
You could contact the Treatment Action Campaign. They’ve been working in South Africa for access to healthcare for HIV for many years.
Im 25 years old starting my med march untill july……..igot a crisis wth my step mother n my mum ask me to come at Rustenburg(marikana) before collecting date that was on the 23 july ……now when igo to clinic they ask transfer and my nurse or clinic in in rural area there is no computer to email me transfer n iwill be back there end of september now they finished…….plz help about doctor sells them with price around Rusteburg