Living with HIV in the Philippines: Email 439: Questions About ARV's

hello pozzie, i am in my trial period for efav.

i take my lami zido at 8am and 8pm then later on take efav 9pm

i feel so dizzy waking up until afternoon or even until dinner time. im on my third week of taking the efav

i can describe the feeling like being tipsy after a couple of drinks,.and it does not go away,. does it mean the meds dont wont for me or just bec my cd4 count is low 74,. it is really taking time to adjust?

i am willing to undergo medication pozzie, i need ur help,. has someone advised u of the sme situation? prolonged dizziness?

i tried taking it on an empty tummy and full but same results., i feel groggy/dizz/tipsy all day,. i am afraid that if i am going to change meds, i will be on the second level,.

just to share,. when i had rashes with nevirapine,. i stopped for three weeks and did not come back to ritm, but i continued my lami zido and i was very adherent, does it affect the three week time frame i am without any other arv? i feel paranoid that my arvs are not working for me,.

how ill i know they are working by the way?

has someone experienced this type of feeling or is it just me? i need our help,. badly need your help,.

POZZIEPINOY’S RESPONSE

Hi there.

Thank you for your email. Thank you for sharing your concerns with me and my readers.

Let me address your questions in the order that you asked them.

1. With regards to the effects of efavirenz, if the dizziness doesn't subside even after taking it on an empty stomach, then you just need to just relax and just allow your body to adjust to it. Some PLHIV's even for months or years still have dizziness and they just tolerate it or not mind it as long as they still can function at home, in school and at work. However, if the dizziness is too strong for you to do your day to day activities, perhaps efavirenz may not be suited for you and your doctor may prescribe another one for you. Of course this may open the possibility of you jumping to the second line of ARVs.

2. Stopping the ARV's for 3 weeks is pretty long. Usually if there are side effects, the doctors stop them for a maximum of seven days only to flush out the residues of the medicines. My question is if you have shared this with your HIV doctor or not. If you didn't not, you need to go back to he HIV Treatment Hub and tell your doctor about this matter immediately. It is better for you to get it straight from your HIV doctor so that all efforts are well recorded.

I hope I was able to answer your concerns. Feel free to email me again if you have other questions.

Stay healthy,

Pozziepinoy

"WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

NO PLHIV is alone with his or her struggle with HIV!"

-Pozziepinoy-

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