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Ask the Experts about Choosing Your Meds
Atripla,best first time treatment?
May 21, 2008
I've been HIV+ for 3 years. My T-cells have fluctuated from a low of 242 to a high of 340, my viral load have varied from a high of 29,000 to a low of 9,000 and my percentages have gone from a high of 25 and a low of 17. My doctor is on the fence but he is thinking putting me on Atripla. Do you think this is the best treatment out there with good results and low side-effects for first timers? I have been healthy all 3 years.
Response from Dr. DeJesus
With those CD4 counts and viral loads, you should definitively be on treatment. Despite that you may have not noticed a significant progression on your disease, you have continued to slowly and steadily loose some important nadir CD4 T-cells lymphocytes. There is no a question on the benefits of initiation of therapy at the level that you are, but it is important that you feel good about starting meds, and that you are both mentally and emotionally ready.
As to what to start with? Atripla is a good regimen, simple, potent and well tolerated. There may be some minor side effects that may occur at the very beginning of your therapy, but they are easy to overcome for the most part. Make sure you have a baseline resistant test to document that you do not have any resistant to any of the components on Atripla before you start therapy. There are also a handful of other good regimens that your doctor can consider.
So, go ahead and start soon. Protect the reminder of the T cell counts that you have. And when you start, take your meds with excellent adherence so you do not make them fail. Good luck!
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