Hi Nelson. i am on atripla for two years. CD4 count 500, viral load undetectable for the past two years. the problem which i had was with diarrhea, until i started taking a probiotic pill each day and one spoonfull of glutamine powder each day after gym. the diarrhea has stopped like a miracle. it is almost three months since i started taking a probiotic and glutamine and the diarrhea has vanished. clearly if my diarrea has stopped could it mean that the atripla which i am taking is now fully absorbed into my system. i don't have any side effects at all from atripla, actually i love atripla and the sweet dreams i get. i am full of energy, i sometimes forget that i am HIV positive.

I am so glad the glutamine+ friendly bacteria combo helped you so that you kept taking your Atripla. Some people get off their meds without trying complementary therapies that may help them stay on their meds.

There are conflicting reports about diarrhea's effects on HIV medication blood levels, but the logical thought is that once your gut function improves, everything tends to improve with it.

I wish we had a research on the use of glutamine with or without pre (polysaccharides that feed the friendly bugs) and probiotics (a blend of friendly bacteria that help metabolize food and generate B vitamins) on diarrhea and immune activation. Some researches think that a "leaky gut" may be one of the contributing factors for immune activation and immune dysfunction. Glutamine and probiotics may improve a leaky gut, but more data is needed.

Nelson