Hi, I've been on Combivir and nevirapine for almost 5 years. I'm undetectable, my CD4 is rising slowly but steadily and my percntages are very good. However i have progressive sensory(painless, mostly) neuropathy (right up to by buttocks but worse in my feet), which i feel is AZT related. One doctor has suggested I switch to abacavir. The other says leave well alone - The neuropathy probably won't reverse anyway. I'm still tempted to try, but the 2nd doctor says that if I want to go back on my present regimen becasue of sensitivuty to abacavir or something, then I may not get such a good response and could devlop other, worse side effects like lipoatrophy. What's your take on it? Is there any research on 'going back' on meds?

Thanks for your post.

The main issue about switching medications around is the risk of active (or archived) drug resistance. So long as your viral load is undetectable at the end of each treatment change, there's no reason to think that you couldn't go back to the "first regimen", or that you'd have worsened side effects.

Hope this helps, BY