Hi Dr Keith,

you have changed so many lives with your work, please keep up the great work you do to keep us HIV people healthy,

my cd4 count is 375 at the moment and viral load is 85,000,

l am getting ready to start meds, l have told the doctor l want a morning once daily meds to take, he has come back with Kivexa and Nevirapine,

and l have also been told l can take Truvada and Atazanavir and Ritonavir in the morning.... Dr Keith can you please tell me what compination of meds would be less toxic with less side effects for me,

Dr Keith would you know of a better compo once daily than the two l mentioned ???

thank you so much for your time

Brian

There is no one best HIV regimen that can be universally recommended. Both options you mention are reasonable. Nevirapine is used twice daily in most instances though some clinicians and modest data support once daily use. Kivexa contains abacavir which is often used after results of a HLA B5701 test are back (negative) though can be used without the test with careful observation during first weeks of use. The ritonavir/atazanavir option is usually well tolerated with a high barrier to resistance so has been a favorite in our clinic. Other options for initial therapy include efavirenz or darunavir or raltegravir based regimens-all good with choice depending upon availability and individual factors. KH