Hello doctor, I am an asymptomatic HIV positive male with a CD4 count of 320. I started on Atroiza and Cotrimoxazole two days back. But yesterday I drunk and could not sleep and sat outside at night because I could not breathe properly. My problem is, I am in holiday now. My night shift job starting is starting soon. I do not think I can cope with these new side effects on this job. I really need this job, but I am afraid to stop the treatment after two days and for the duration of the holidays, as it may make the virus resistant. Please help.
Hello. Atroiza is a combination of three drugs (Efavirenz, Tenofovir DF, Emtricitabine) for the treatment of HIV. Among which, Efavirenz is the drug known to cause such side effects. These side effects of insomnia, vivid thinking, night time issues are temporary and would last for the first two weeks after starting the therapy. It would be advisable not to stop ART (antiretroviral therapy) as there are high chances of developing resistance. You can instead consider replacing Efavirenz with another drug called Nevirapine, which does not have these side effects. Kindly mention your HBsAg, Anti HCV (hepatitis C antibody test), VDRL (venereal disease research laboratory test), and tuberculosis status as they may affect the treatment too. Consider replacing Efavirenz with Nevirapine after discussing it with the physician.