i was recently diagnosed with MAC while in the hospital. At that time i started standard MAC drugs to fight off the problem. I have now been on the regimen for about 4 months and i expect my cd4 counts are going up as well because i've been on HAART for over 6 months now. I have been improving but all of a sudden new symptoms have occurred. my belly has gotten very bloated and tight feeling. This makes it difficult to eat and hinders my deep breathing. i am also having random liver and kidney pain, low fevers, and edema in my feet and calves. eventhough i feel better than i did 2 months ago these symptoms are beginning to worry me. I feel like i'm going backward after doing so much better. could it be the meds reacting differently? any advice is appreciated. meds i take: Kalertra, truvada, rifabutin, dapsone, clarithromycin, ethambutol

The gut often gets hammered when taking MAC drugs along with HIV drugs (Kaletra often causes bloating/gas/ other gut complaints). Immune reconstitution can be seen which can cause a flare up of symptoms even when some things are getting better. Getting a good GI evaluation (assessinging for liver, pancreas, gall bladder, lymph nodes, abdominal fluid (ascites)related problems) is often helpful. Hopefully if your CD4 rebounds > 200 then the MAC treatment would not have to be continued much longer and that might help settle things down. KH