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Am I wasting?!?!?
Apr 7, 1999
I am on viracept, ddi and zerit my t-cells are 300 and my viral load is 500. I've had diarrhea for almost a year now. My doctor says perhaps I should change medications but I have no other side effects and I have tried other
medication (epivir, norvir, invirase and azt) and my viral load went to 79,000. So I want to stick to these drugs.
My doctor checked for MAC and other possibilities for the diarrhea and it all came up negative. I have lost 20 pounds during this year (I was overweight so I'm not unhappy about this!) Can you let me know if there is any danger for having diarrhea for such a long time? Do you have any recommendations for stopping it?
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Response from Dr. Fisher
Your diarrhea is probably from the viracept and ddI. To be certain a work-up including stool cultures (and smears) as well as colonoscopy is reasonable. Yes, chronic diarrhea is not good for human beings...fluid, nutrient, mineral losses. If you absolutely cannot change antiretrovirals and if your GI work-up fails to find another cause, then certain antidiarrheal medications can be taken regularly (even daily). I expect Dr Dieterich will give additional info.
Alvan Fisher, M.D.
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