i'm currently taking viracept, d4t and 3tc, and the combination's working great--good numbers, feel great, no side effex EXCEPT neuropathy, which is increasing slowly. i'm willing to stick it out if the neuropathy will go away when i stop taking the d-drugs (which is what my doctor thinks) i'm pretty certain it's the d4t, as i'm taking b-6, a multi b, and b-12 injections (which do help). i'm also taking small doses of nortyptaline (sp?) my questions are: 1) does d4t neuropathy go away once you stop taking it, and 2) if i stop taking d4t because of neuropathy, do the other d-drugs' neurapathy start at the same "pain level" or less i was "very" sick before starting the combo, so the neuropathy bothers me less than it might, but i'd still like to know what my options are (okay, a second opinion of what my options are!) thanx much

Neuropathy usually goes away after stopping the d-drug (provided that was the cause). However, it can take a long time, and if the neuropathy is bad enough, it may never go away completely.

Using one of the other d-drugs as a substitute wouldn't be a very good idea. In fact, ddC is more likely to cause neuropathy than either ddI or d4T.

Have you talked to your doctor about lowering the d4T dose? A dose of 20 mg twice daily appears to be effective and is less likely to cause neuropathy or to make it worse.