I have been taking acyclovir for about 2 years. I have been taking trizivir for about 10 months now. In the begining I had nausea and diarrhea. That passed after a few weeks. Through out the past 10 months I have had occasional and brief pains in my fingers. Over the past week I have developed severe muscle soreness in my shoulders, neck and lower back. It is generalized over most of my back however, the skin from shoulder to lower back is particularly sensitive to the touch.

I have also over the past month become increasingly constipated despite regular fiber and water intake. My stool, when finally passed is soft and in rather small pieces. I took an Alieve for the muscle soreness which surprisingly aslo aleviated the constipation.

My doctor is on vacation for another week and I'm wondering if you can give me an idea of what maybe going on.

The timing of your symptoms would make it seem unusual for one of the compoments of Trizivir +/- acyclovir to be directly involved. I assume your kidney function is OK and that you have no evidence of myopathy (such as muscle tenderness or elevated CK levels). I would advise a thorough evaluation by your HIV doc looking for other possible causes (anything from thyroid disorders to changes in stress levels or diet/exercise issues). Aleve is usually OK short-term unless there is a history of stomach problems or kidney dysfunction. KH