Started using atripla for 3 weeks now after using trizivir for a long time? Why the change?

Hi. Thanks for your question. I have been taking HIV meds now for over 13 years. In the beginning, the earlier meds were horrible, with serious or debilitating side effects. I continued taking various meds over the years that simply would not work after several months or years, because the virus is smart and knows how to mutate to get around some. Also, when genome assays were performed showed that the STRAIN (not all strains of the virus are the same) of viris was resistant to some if not all of the meds I had to take in the past. I was overjoyed when I found out about Atripla . . . . once a day beats the heck out of 6- 12 pills a day. The Atripla did make my life easier - wow once a day! What a relief. My viral load was completely undetectable & T-cells rose rapidly in a relatively short time. Then after one year with zero detection the virus came back after blood tests it was then around 800, then 2800, then . . .

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More genome test showed the virus again mutated and resisted the Atripla. I never missed a dose, so you can imagine how devastated I was. Then I was placed on 3 meds, 2 worked & then the virus mutated again and then none worked at all. I was completely taken off all meds. A complete Genome assay was done on all the meds that are available on the chart (which took over a month at a terrible expense) to determine what meds would work and those that would not. So in March sometime ago I was placed on some relatively new meds. A huge coctail to be taken every day (11 pills a day to be exact) for one month to see if the viral load is wiped out. The first 3 weeks I was deathly ill from the meds & they kept telling me that my body would get used to it in a couple of weeks & eventually I did . . . . but not without injury to my system. I had developed a serious UT, bladder, kidney infection & was put on 2 antibiotics one being Dapsone to prevent PCP, even thought I had not been sick in years with anything. It was for preventive measure. Then I developed a yeast infection & took Fluconsonole to fix that. I quit the antibiotics. Shortly thereafter, I woke up one morning & was covered with rash & hives over my entire body. MY nose was bleeding, my eyes were bleeding, I had a butterfly type rosesacia across my nose & cheeks (blood red) my lips were swollen with blood blister inside my mouth, my throat was swollen, neck, ears. I did not itch but had a lot of heat & burning. To top it off I had difficutly seeing, blurred vision, and floaters in my left eyes. I never had eye problems before & don't wear glasses. The light caused my eyes to burn excruciatingly. Off I go to the ER, I was allergic to Dapsone, the Optomotrist said I had dry eyes caused by the meds & she tryed to attribute the black spots, circles & lines I now permantly see in my left eyes due to getting older (BULL SHIT) the problem did not exist before I took Dapsone and no one in the history of my entire family had ever had this problem. Even my grandmother lived to be 99 yrs old & had no problem. They all try to lay the blame on something else other than themselves or the meds. What a joke. I am an artist/restore antiques paintings & now I can't see like I used too. Another blow! Next I am put on antihistamines and for 2 days exactly I started to feel better with some relief and then bang I broke out again hives/rash all over my entire body w/similar systems only this time horrific stinging sensation on my face, neck, arms, legs, just every where. Off to the ER again. This time I had to be placed on 2 separate IVS & more blood tests. After six hours, they discovered that I was also allergic to 2 of the antiviral drugs I was given. The doctor took me off of them immediately. She said they were booster drugs to attack the virus with full force. Which it did. The IV gave me relief within 30 minutes. The next day no itching, stinging, burning. I was given prednizone to take after a meal & the very first one I took caused me to throw up within 5 minutes. THAT's it I have had it. I now only take 3 viral meds (am/pm) instead of 11. I feel like my old self again. The truth of the matter is they are playing a guessing game by bombarding my body with too many drugs. By body responded accordingly! Too much TOXINS. I have cried and cried myself to sleep over this. I can't take much more. I am on thin ice now. Blood tests were taken yesterday for viral load, the Doctor believes it will show zero detection. I pray to God that it will. I had just rather die than go through the hell I just told you about. I just had one episode after another. I am so dibilitated I have difficulty doing any kind of work aroud the house or things I used to enjoy. Hopefully, I will regain my strength. You know I will be 60 years old soon, and I still have dreams, and hope & want to live my last years with some decent quality as most people do. I can only pray that this will be the last of the pill episodes. Sorry I gave you my lifes history & rattled on about this, but I felt it would help you understand by giving you the full picture of living with HIV for 13 plus years. By the way I contracted this disease from my former husband who became an alcoholic/drug user. He died nine years ago. He had liver & renal failure. Hope my long winded answer helps. Ava Marie.