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 Fikile,
Many congratulations on the news that you’re going to have a baby.
And it’s great that you’ve started HIV treatment (ART) because that’s the best way to protect your health and also your baby’s health.
But please talk to the doctor about vomiting. You can ask if morning sickness during pregnancy can happen in the night too. However, it’s important to check with your doctor that the sickness and nausea are not due to your HIV meds.
Here’s the guide to HIV pregnancy and women’s health.
Hi I’m Fikile
I’m 28 years 18 weeks pregnant found out I’m HIV+ started treatment my problem is that I vomit around midnight and in the morning. Is it normal or the is something wrong.
Hi Precious,
I’m sorry to hear that you’re so unwell. But it’s important to see your doctor urgently if you think you have meningitis.
Please let us know how you get on. If you have access to your CD4 count and viral load please tell us the results too.
Iv been takin atrioza for a month now then suddenly i started to have headache;stiff neck;backpains that comes and go..i go 2 de clinic dey keep giving me medication but still nothing changes.nw a frnd of mine think its meningitis ..is it possible to have meningitis while im on atrioza
Hi Kelly,
Modern day ARVs don’t cause lipodystrophy, so I’m not sure why this is stated on the packet. Yes, there may be some weight gain, but this is very different to lipodystrophy. The meds that you’ve been given are new, please see here for more info: http://i-base.info/guides/14379
Please help which Arvs are the best, I just applied for chronic medication and my doctor prescribed Kovatrax tables. I started taking them yesterday before I actually read the enclosed packet which stated that one of the side effects it’s Lipodystrophy which is transfer of fat from legs to belly and buffalo neck. I’ve also set an appointment to see my doctor because I can’t take medication that will deform my body structure and shoe the whole world I’m taking ARVs. I rather die seriously. Please advise which meds can I take that doesn’t have those side effects
Hi Bulelwa,
It’s common to feel fatigued and also to feel nauseous when someone first starts Atrozia. These possible side effects usually go within a few weeks of starting them. How are you taking them, so at what time,before, with food etc.
Hi m 42 started roused atrioza in 2 weeks bt after tht i feel nausea nd fatigue is it normal or maybe m sick
Hi Zaza,
There is no likely interaction between the meds in Atroiza and paracetamol. However, there is a potential interaction between ibuprofen in Betagesic and the meds in Atroiza.
But please talk to the nurse about your pain and what is causing it. They should also be able to tell you if there are other meds you can take with Atroiza that will be okay. Please see this HIV drug interactions website:
https://www.hiv-druginteractions.org
It’s a good idea to talk to the nurse about any other tablets you are planning to take.
I started feeling pain during the day before I took Atroiza on Friday night for the first time and I was told by the nurse who was responsible for checking my HIV status that I should not take Atroiza with other tablets. So now I went back to the clinic to request some pain killers and I was given Austell Paracetamol for Pain and Fever and Betagesic and was told to take them whenever I feel pain but it has to be 3 times a day. I took it in the afternoon after returning from the clinic because I was already feeling the pain and now I just took Atroiza and am feeling the pain that I was feeling during the day and I am not sure whether to take those painkillers after taking Atroiza 43 minutes ago.
My question is”can I take the painkillers I was given or maybe this is gonna clash with the Atroiza as the nurse said Atroiza should not be taken with other tablets?”