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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Side effects Stocrin & Kivexa
May 12, 2008
Hi,
What are the side effects with Stocrin and Kivexa? Any loss of weight in face or body ? Is there a danger changing medical treatment often ?
Response from Dr. Pierone
Stocrin (Sustiva, efavirenz) and Kixeva (Epzicom, Epivir + Ziagen) is not known as a high-risk regimen for producing facial lipoatrophy. In fact, some studies have shown improvement in lipoatrophy when either d4T or AZT is changed to Ziagen. However, Ziagen has been linked to a hypersensitivity syndrome that can produce severe side effects, and occasionally is fatal. Hypersensitivity tends to occur early in the course of therapy, so this is not generally an issue for people who have been on this for more than a few months.
The main danger of changing an antiretroviral cocktail would be development of an unanticipated side effect from the new program. Switching one or multiple components of a regimen in the setting of an undetectable viral load typically does not lead to drug resistance.
Thanks for posting and best of luck!
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