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- Feed Preview Ask Dr. Joel: Questions about HIV and AIDS
So long, farewell
They say all good things must come to an end. I’m sad to announce that I’m shutting down the HIV Forum. In October I’ll be taking a new position as a senior director in Medical Affairs at...
Dr.Joel I have a question about Milk Thistle I have had no luck finding a answer to. Can you take it while taking genvoya?
You can’t find an answer because the interaction has never been studied. There is the potential for interactions with drugs that use the liver’s cytochrome p450 enzyme system, which includes ...
Can you you share some news from Paris conference you find exciting?
I can do better than that: I can refer you to Paul Sax’s blog. He was clearly paying more attention than I was! http://blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-observations/index.php/really-rapid-review-paris...
So my boyfriend is HIV-positive, we’ve been dating for ab...rmally recommend for serodiscordant couples in this situation?
I’ve answered this question many times in the past, but it’s been a while. Most experts consider PrEP “overkill” when an HIV+ partner has an undetectable viral load on ART, since there h...
Can you recommend some good web resources for educated news...ons are a little thin on substance. What’s out there for me?
Here are just a few to get you started: Positively Aware: https://www.positivelyaware.com/ HIV Insight at UCSF: http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/ Project Inform: https://www.projectinform.or...
Hello chief, I read somewhere that because HIV patients inf...s that can take years. What is “back-mutation”? Thank you!
This means that the virus mutates “backwards,” from the transmitted mutant form to the “wild-type,” non-mutant version that circulates in the community. However, even with back-mutation...
I was switched from Truvada/Ticicay to Triumeq bc of low gf...is to you: Can the multivitamins have been causing my low gfr?
Multivitamins, taken at normal doses, would not affect kidney function or eGFR.
Dr G, my triglycerides are high and good/bad cholesterol ou... feeling about an HIV specialist managing more than the virus?
Some HIV specialists provide primary care for their patients, in which case this would be something they would do. Others provide only HIV care and leave primary care issues to the PCP. or GP. ...
Hi Joel, does being + increase the risk of having a UTI? I ... of antibiotics I’ve not been able to shift it. Thanks Mike.
Mike, HIV doesn’t increase your risk of UTI, but UTIs are unusual in men. Maybe you’re treating the wrong condition. The more common infectious causes of urinary symptoms in men are urethriti...
You kindly ans’d my last ? on 6/30. I am the one the Doc ...have any language I can give my doc? DX 2013, well documented.
See link below: http://nccc.ucsf.edu/2016/06/24/case-of-the-month-false-positive-hiv-viral-loads/
Thanks for your time! I was diagnosed in December 2016, hav...entress. Am I ok with drinking that? My Dr did not really know
This has obviously never been specifically studied, but what you’re describing is food. There aren’t many foods you can’t eat while taking antiretroviral therapy.
Hello Dr, i recently switched from atripla to genvoya. I am...d then start taking it daily at 8 pm. please advise, thank you
You can just make the change. Antiretroviral agents today aren’t so fragile as they were in the 90′s. It doesn’t matter when you take them, as long as you take them.
Hi Dr. Gallant. It won’t be long until my fall allergies ...o significant interactions? No rotten side effects? Thank you.
I wouldn’t take both Zyrtec and Benadryl at the same time. Pick one or the other: either a sedating antihistamine (Benadryl) or a less sedating one (Zyrtec). Otherwise the combination is OK.
I have been HIV+ over one year and on Triumeq. UD and lowes...diet has not changed. Any suggestions on how to approach this?
I doubt that your gas has anything to do with the HIV-related intestinal issues you mention. It’s possible that it’s medication related, or it could be a diet issue. You could try taking a si...
I hear a lot people saying that the cure wasn’t found yet...ld improve in the current ART - other than their cost? Thanks.
“A lot of people” are wacko conspiracy theorists. Here’s what I have to say about that absurd notion in my book: Isn’t it true that drugcompanies are withholding the cure to make mo...
Hello Dr Joel. I am on Complera for 3 years. My labs 6 mont...aken. Any thoughts? Are there any decent options to switch to?
It sounds like you’re doing everything right, which means this viral load is probably a false alarm. If it turns out to be real, you should get a genotype. There should be plenty of good opti...
Hi dear Dr. Joel. My boyfriend who is positive UD cheated o...ancy without condons again. Thank you very much for your help.
The risk to you from your boyfriend’s infidelity is not HIV infection. In people with undetectable viral loads on ART, superinfection with a resistant virus resulting in virologic failure--if i...
Dr. Joel, based on your professional opinion, Do you think ...ing within the next 10/15 yrs. I was curious on your thoughts?
“The brink”? No way. “10-15 years”? Maybe
Hey Dr. Joel, I love your forum and read it daily. It is al... think about it? Could that research lead to a cure? Thank you
I’d never heard of this–or him–until you asked. Google provides several links to his own videos and websites, but most of the links about this effort are at least 8 years old.
Hi from Mexico Dr. I’ve been reading about this new gonor... three cases. Can you tell us something about it? Thanks a lot
The gonococcus has always been clever, eventually developing resistance to any antibiotic we use to treat it. Three cases (two from Europe and one from Japan) were recently reported in which th...