Anyone else having medication side effects?
Just starting taking bicktary 3 months ago and now I'm having joint,tendon and muscle pain. I already have a sprained finger?
Is this happening to anyone else. I was on Crizaxvan,epivir and zidovindine for 27 years with hardly any side effects. They discontinued crixavan so I had to go on another medication.
Does anyone know a better drug than bicktary? Thanks!
I'm so sorry to hear you're dealing with these symptoms - here's another discussion on Biktarvy and side effects some have experienced: https://h-i-v.net/forums/biktarvy-bloating
Regarding new medications, we are not medical professionals so could not recommend what might work for you but can provide information. It looks like Crixavan was a protease inhibitor? More on those and some examples here: https://h-i-v.net/treatment/protease-inhibitors that you might ask your doctor about. You can also find more on Biktarvy here: https://h-i-v.net/treatment/biktarvy .
Please let us know how you're doing and if there's any more information we can provide. - Liz (Team Member)Alafia (Peace) That sounds so unfortunate that you are experiencing those side effects from taking bicktary. I suggest you speak to your provider immediately so that with their assistance you can make a decision on your next course of care and treatment. Please let us know how things turn out. We really want to support you. Khafre (H-I-V.net Team Member) I take biktarvy and have had my vision change quite a bit each year and yes joint pain as well . It feels like it speeds up arthritis or swelling in some joints. But all in all i took care of my joint pain by cortisone shots and other than that no other reaction . It's better than some others that can make u sick . Give it time . Or maybe ask for davato if that available it's similar I think to biktarvy . I hope this helps .
just wanted to connect you to here who posted a response. I hope it's helpful. Thanks lilmelissa83 for responding - Liz (Team Member)
I have been on Biktarvy for over two years now and after the first couple of months my joins and muscles are stiff and hurting. My specialist didn't have a clue what to do with it and basically said that it will be something i have to live with if i want to remain on medications. I just don't want to accept that but i now see here on this forum more people have this side-effect from the Biktarvy. I see someone took cortisone injections but did it take care of the side-effect or do you have to take an injection every now and then ?? I hope more people can tell me what they did if they had these side-effects.
Thanks for your reply and sharing the links. I forgot for the second time to properly introduce myself hahaha my name is Quint and i live in The Netherlands. Also i have been hiv positive since 2011 but due to having a very difficult body which reacts almost always in one way or another to medications i have been on and off hiv meds ever since. The only reason i have held on to taking Biktarvy for over two years now is simply because my cd4 dropped to 180 in April 2024 so i had no choice but to start and keep on meds.
Also a little side note , i had Guillain-Barre in 2009 and my body really took a big hit from that disease ! i still have no leg reflexes and my eyes can't stand bright lights from that experience.
Anyway I will carefully read that article and maybe talk to the doctor about it. My quality of life is just barely acceptable but i would like it to be better so any help is appreciated.Hello Quint
, and welcome. I don't have much to add to what Richard has already shared with you here, but I just wanted to comment and welcome you to the community and tell you how sorry I am to hear that you're dealing with such challenging joint pain, not to mention the complications from Guillain-Barre and HIV positive status. You really are managing a lot, especially as someone who (it sounds like) has a body that is very sensitive to medications and potential side effects of those medications. I do hope that some of the information Richard shared can be helpful, and that your doctor continues to search for answers and a way for you to get some relief. I can hear how challenging this has been for your quality of life. Please know this community is here for you! Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
