Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. When a person starts taking a combination of 2 tharapies, how can a person can minimize the pains of the side effects within the first 2 or 3 weeks of starting? Even though I know the different side effects that are going to appear, I have confusion on how to minimize the pains.
The two types of drugs that I am going to start taking are the following:
Thank you so much for your useful assistance which enables me to get a longer time of living.
Mark H. Katz, M.D.
Regional HIV/AIDS Physician Coordinator
Kaiser Permanente of Southern California
You are starting a very common regimen, one of the most widespread ones in use. You can find out specific issues regarding the meds by going to www.aidsmeds.com.
The US equivalents of your medications are Combivir (which is AZT + 3TC) instead of Duovir, and Sustiva instead of Stocrin. For the AZT, you might experience nausea or headache, either of which typically (but not always) gets better within a couple of weeks. 3TC is remarkably free from side effects. And the major one with Sustiva is some central nervous system effect--could be fatigue, anxiety, bad dreams, even (rarely) hallucinations. These are most likely to occur, if they do at all, within the first month.
By all means, do not let this list deter you--you have a doctor you can speak to if anything feels "wrong"--but here's to hoping it will go just fine!
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