I am HIV for 4 years already. I am 46 years old. My doctor and I decided to take a drug holiday in March of 2002 since my VL was undetectable and cd4 were 700. I was taking then Sustiva, Epivir and Zerit. Now... Nov. 2003 my VL is 100,000 and cd4 of 570. Should i start meds again. I am experiencing very bad itch in my hands and feet, dont know what is causing it. My Dr. gave me that test that shows what you are inmune to, and it shows a few choices.We discussed the choices and since I want minimal side effects and fuller life we got to the conclusion of taking Viramune, epivir and Ziagen. knowing that Ziagen might give me a reaction but we just have to see. Is it time for me to start again and with that regimen??? Please help me. Can i wait longer??And thank you for all your hard work in educating and simplifying our understanding to what we are going thru. God Bless you.

A therapeutic trial to see if your skin symptoms gets better is reasonable with a viral load > 100,000. I prefer to treat patients with some past therapy and possibly some mild resistance with a regimen with a high barrier to resistance at least initially (such as a ritonavir boosted PI regimen). Once the virus is suppressed again I often work to simplify the regimen if good options are available. KH