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Hitting an NRTI Wall?
Apr 17, 2003
I'm in my third week of a weight lighting class. We meet twice a week. We were told to start out easy and learn each of the 12 to 15 exercise stations, then start putting on more weight. I've suddenly found that I can only lift 20 to 30 of the weights that I was lifting in the first two weeks. My arms and legs have become rubbery.
Just before starting the class, I switched from Retrovir+Ziagen to Viread+Ziagen. I had tried weight lifting in the past but had almost immediate pain that wouldn't go away while taking AZT. I found that going off the AZT for a week or two helped get my muscles back in shape.
It seems like the Viread+Ziagen regimen does not cause as much muscle pain, and takes longer (two to three days vs an hour or so) for the effect of lifting to be felt.
It's been over twenty years since I actively exercised. Am I experiencing something that anyone who hasn't recently regularly exercised notices, or should I back-off and wait for the rubber-muscle effect to subside before picking up where I left off?
I am taking small amounts of NAC, acetyl-L-carnitine, L-glutamine, alpha lipoic acid and a multi-vitamin (all once a day).
Any suggestions would be appriciated.
Thanks
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Response from Mr. Vergel
I am not clear if you are taking Viread+Trizivir or Viread+Ziagen from your email (It makes more sense to me if your doctor put you on Viread+Trizivir since there are more than two medications in a combo usually.) AZT can cause muscle myopathy (weakness) in some patients.
I am also not clear what you mean about your muscles being "rubbery".
If you have muscle mypathy, Carnitine at 3000 mg/day has been shown to improve that problem in a small study (you say you are taking Acetyl-L-Carnitine but I do not what dose)
Keep in mind that it takes a while to get your body to get used to exercise, and that many people quit before their bodies start responding to an exercise program. At the Body Positive Wellness Clinic in Houston we have seen that it usually takes around 6-8 weeks to start seeing improvements in strength and body composition (3 times a week, one hour sessions of cardio plus resistance)
Keep me informed about your progress and that "rubbery" feeling.
Nelson
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