Hello!

My 28-year-old bf has been hiv-positive for 20 months.His VL is at about 10,000 and his cd4 at less than 400.His platelets have also been dropping to 50,000 last month.So he was given the combination of Reyataz/Norvir/Epzicom(Kivexa in Greece) as first line regimen.

But from what i have read this combination is "alternative", while Reyataz/Norvir/Truvada is considered the "prefered" one... What would you have to say about the choice his doctors made?Is it common to suggest an alternative combination instead of a preferred one to a treatment naive patient?What reasons could the doctors have for such a choice?

Any suggestions regarding the time of day he should take his medicines in order to minimize the impact of any side-effects?

Thank you so much in advance, you are a real treasure!

Hi,

I agree Norvir-boosted Reyataz plus Truvada is the "preferred" regimen. The most common reasons for recommending an alternative regimen are: (1) resistance to one or more components in the preferred regimen, (2) intolerance or side effects, (3) drug-drug interactions and (4) cost or availability of the preferred medications.

Dosing time would not be expected to alter side effects of this regimen. You can read much more about various HIV medications on this Web site. Also, your boyfriend should discuss any concerns he may have regarding his therapy with his HIV specialist physician.

Good luck.

Dr. Bob