Hello, I am 21 yrs. old and have been HIV+ for two years. I am currently and have only been on Sustiva/Combivir. I started seeing a new doc and he made the suggestion of changing to Sustiva/Epivir/Viread. I have done my research and it seems like this combo would have less of a pill burden(as if Sustiva/Combivir wasn't simple enough already) and I would only be taking them once a day. I would like to know your comments on this switch. Is there anything I am missing? If for some reason I became resistant to Epivir or Viread would I be able to use AZT again? My last vl/cd4 in Jan was undetectable/450cd4. I am waiting for my recent lab results. Thank you.

So long as your viral load is <50 copies/mL, this is a very reasonable switch. A study that was reported (Study 903) by Gilead pharmaceuticals a few weeks ago (See report at www.gilead.com) found that the combination of Sustiva, Epivir and Viread was highly effective. That combiantion did just as well as a regimen of Sustiva, Epivir and Zerit, which has been previously shown to be one of the most highly effective and best tolerated regimens there is. And yes, if you fail this regimen, you should be able to use AZT later on.