my husband started arvs 2weeks ago,his cd4 count is 31,they put him on efavirenz and lamzid wit pur-bac d.s,the side effects re terrible,he hardly eats anything,if he does he vomits it all out,he has terrible stomach aches every night we dnt sleep cos of vomit n stomach pains,just today he refused to take his meds,another thing s lamzid he has to take one tablet 12hourly does dat mean 1 at night&1in de morning cos thats how he s taking it?wat does his stopping meds means,i hv heard dat once u start treatment u cant stop or u will die earlier than u wud if didnt start treatment does dat mean i have to start planning his funeral or prepare myself to be a widow?i feel sorry for him with them side effects but to stop treatment its like the worst betrayal,is there a treatment he can gt that dnt hv vomiting n stomach aches effects?how do we know if its efavirenz or lamzid causing this?pls help i hvnt slept in 2wks i jus want him 2get sth better so i can sleep even if its just for 1night besides i wasnt there wen he was busy prostituting himself.thanks for reply.anonymousf

He needs to talk with his HIV doc immediately to see if relief can be provided for his stomach complaints or whether his meds need to be changed. Most patients do well on that regimen (tolerating it) but the first 1-4 weeks can be rough-in about 5-10% of cases the drugs need to be changed due to the side effects. Since other factors can contribute to the symptoms you describe he needs to be seen by his HIV clinic to assess what can be done to get him through the start of treatment which ultimately is aimed at protecting his life, healthy, and being well tolerated by the patient. KH