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medication, thinking to stop taking it:
#132566 - 01/04/05 03:12 PM
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What would happen if i decide to stop taking my medication that i am on, Combovir & Sustiva? Would i get really sick & the disease would progrest to the point that i would die?
Thanks.
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Well, YES.
If you are having problems with your meds, tell your doctor and you can change.
If I may ask, why do you want to stop?
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There are no rules. Many people do very well indeed, meds free. I even read somewhere that the majority of LTP'S (Long Term Non Progressors) are meds free.
Why not try going without meds and see how you feel. Give a little time to get over withdrawl symptoms.
Good luck.
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Why i want to stop is i am tired of taking the meds & to see if i can stop taking it for awhile. If i decided to stop , i am willing to live with the consecanses.
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Foster
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Regular
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Reged: 11/06/04
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Posts: 43
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Loc: Denver, CO
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You may get very sick from Opportunistic Infections and Diseases. your T/CD4 cells may drop and the Viral Load will rise very quickly.
Wjhat was your doctor's reason for starting you on the meds? Was it due to low cd4 count and high VL or is your Dr one of the Hit it hard and hit it fast doctors?
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ang89
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Regular
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Reged: 12/24/04
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Posts: 31
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Its very possible that it would eventually kill you. If the meds do not bother you stay on them. If they do talk to your Dr about changing meds
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The best thing to do to start with is talk to your doctor, I've been living with hiv/aids since 1988 started on meds about 5 years ago. there are a lot of medications out there if the regiment your on is not working talk to you doctor about a new one don't just stop taking itwithout his knowledge not that youwill just die but you could get sick. Iknow because I did. Sometime these meds make us feel even more sick than the disease but comming from someone whos been there DO NOT STOP without talking to your doctor first.
Pease and love
AMALA
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Its not a good i dear to stop taking your meds, its the same as stoping eating food that keeps you alive. Q, have you ever stoped eating food? our lives depends on certain things please dont take chances cure is around the corner.
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Five things ...
Whether it is safe to stop your meds depends on your lowest ever CD4 count. The lower it was the less good it is to stop. If it was below 150 it is probably not a good idea to stop at all.
If you are gonna stop - and being off meds has its benefits - then there is a right and a wrong way to stop Sustiva, beacuse it stays in the body for several days. The right way is to stop Sustiva a 5-7 days before the rest of the meds. This is important because otherwise you may get a resistance to Sustiva and other similar drugs and not be able to use them in future.
If the meds are making you feel crap, then a change may be as good as a rest. Especially if Sustiva is doing your head in or the AZT in Combivir is making you tired/nauseous.
If you do stop, it is a good idea to set a restart point in advance. Like hitting a CD4 count of X. How long this will be, depends on you and your body and your virus, could be a few weeks could be months.
It's your decision in the end whether you take the meds or not. And you if you decide to take a break, whether your doc thinks this is good or bad, it's up to you. You can always change your mind later and restart.
Respect - matt
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You ask if i stop eating food before & the answer is yes. I could be without food for weeks when i decided to go on a wild diet spree.
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i too thought the same, but the more meds i took the more side effects i got, from the hiv meds i got hep c, from the hep c meds i got anemia i am waiting to see what i get from that
I slowly eased up on my meds, when i took them faithfully
my t cells stayed around 250 my viral load around 600, i first
cut down to 5 days twice a day, told my doctor nothing,
my t cells started going up the viral load down, every other
week i took less and less never told the dr. now my t cell
are at 590 and my viral load 50. your dr will never tell u to stop, and sustiva messes with your mind more than you may
realize, i still take my labs every three months, I am now down to 2 pills 3 three times a week. i took the meds for
hep c and that is now undectable. I am not saying this is good
for you, and if it makes you feel better, try discussing this
with your dr. if she truly has your intestest at heart she should be willing to work with you, not tell you its not worth
trying. the more meds you stay hooked on the more money they keep generating. as long as you are conditioned mentally that without the meds you will die, you will never
no otherwise. it has been two years and everyonce in a while i take the hiv meds and every three months my labs
come back undetectable. and my doctor who told me it is not
wise not to take my meds comibur/viamum as prescribed to
the letter because without them i was risking to much, as no
idea that i know i was not getting better with them, my counts
got better without them.
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