Hi Doc. I have a cd4 of 142 VL around 10k. I was taking atripla at the beginning of 2008 but fell off greatly due to the side effects, I did a ton of nights sweats, lost about ten pounds and it just wouldn't stay down the next day for the first few hours so i sorta tapered off the pill and now have become resistance to all of the drugs in the Atripla pill or maybe two. My doctor says i have to take about five pills a day now. Is there any combo out there that is a once a day with fewer pills? Also if this helps I have never had an OI Im currently taken Bactrim once a day and a multivitamin. highest cd4 has been was 360 VL 145k

One of the preferred options for boosted PIs - atazanavir + ritonavir - requires only two pills daily, which with a co-forumlated NRTI might allow your doctor to use a regimen containing 3 pills daily (vs 5), but your doctor may have had other reasons based on your resistance profile for choosing the regimen containing 5 pills.

My advice is to ask your doctor this same question, but I would strongly urge to worry LESS about the number of pills, and more about how to ensure that you can take this regimen, with whatever number of pills, on time every day without any lapses, in order to prevent a recurrence of drug resistance, and a reliance on a third line regimen, which may well require still more pills, and may require twice daily dosing.