Question
Will a bloated stomach on saquinavir/ritonavir improve?
22 February 2008. Related: All topics, Side effects, Starting treatment.
I started treatment five weeks ago and been through lots of different side effects which have passed. My treatment was altered this week because of spasms in my hands and I was dropping things. That seems to be getting better but anal leakage has returned and constantly bloated tummy is driving me mad. I’m taking saquinivir and ritinovir. I’ve changed to Viread and tenofovir since Monday.
Maybe I’m just being silly and vain but I train hard with weights 5 days a week and do a 20 minute cardio workout 5 days a week as well and people are staring at my belly growing so big! I’m eating really healthy and I know some of it is wind. Literally from leaving the gym floor where my belly is fine and getting out of the changing room shower my belly has bloated.
Will this too pass or am I stuck with pregnant belly forever?
Answer
Hi
Two thing could be going on here. One is that you are having an unusually back reaction in terms of wind and bloating to your combination. If this is the case, and it doesn’t settle down, then talking to your doctor about alternative to using saquinavir/ritonanvir may be the best option.
There is a slight chance that the change in the size of your stomach could be realted to lipodystrophy. This is a side effect that increase fat deposits in some parts of your body, but this usually only develops slowly over several years and rarely in such a short time.
Even so, it may be worth talking to your doctor about, as switching from saquinavir/ritonavir may also help this.
Hi Tiffany
None of the side effects associated with the two drugs you are taking in this study are likely to cause any long-term or permanent problems. The information that studies in HIV-negative volunteers generates provides very valuable insights into the ways these drugs work, including the mechanisms for side effects. I appreciate your interest and willingness to help in this research.
Lipodystrophy (body fat changes) usually takes many months or years to accumulate, and this is not something you will experience in five weeks.
This impact on this class of drugs on sugar metabolism and insulin resistance can be picked up in these very short studies, but also is unlikely to impact on your health in the long-term. If any marker was seen for this in the intense monitoring you will have as part of the study, then the researchers would stop you taking these drugs early.
As to the general side effects that you might experience – nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea and bloating etc, then the advice given to HIV-positive people would be similar for you.
See the relevant sections from the i-Base guide to managing side effects, from the links on this contents page.
http://i-base.info/guides/side
Best wishes
Hi I`m doing a medical trial study with saquinavir and ritonavir in healthy volunteers that will go on for 5 weeks.
I read that ritonavir can cause hypeglycemia,could I get this disease?
Also as you said it deposits fat in certain parts of the body, once I stop taking it will I be able to get rid of the fat easily or harder,will it effect me long term?
Also what foods can i stay clear of and eat to help with the bloating and wind and fat depositing.
Thank you