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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Switching from Epzicom to Truvada
May 13, 2008
I'm positive and have hepatitis B. I've been on Kaletra/Epzicom for 1.5 years. My hepatitis B is at the same level as where it was 6 months ago. Due to this, my doctor suggests that I switch from Epzicom to Truvada. How will this switch affect me?
Response from Dr. DeJesus
If you have hepatitis B and HIV Truvada may be a better option for you than Epzicom. Truvada is a combination of two HIV medications: tenofovir (Viread) and emtricitabine (Emtriva). Both of those drugs have been found to be quite effective at treating both HIV and hepatitis B, especially when given together. Epzicom is also a combination of two HIV medications: abacavir (Ziagen) and lamivudine (Epivir); but only lamivudine can be used to treat hepatitis B. I cannot comment on whether Truvada would be the best treatment for your hepatitis, but with the information that you are providing, it appears to me that Truvada may be a better options for you than Epzicom.
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