Anyone have any experience with HIV study drugs?

[mouse]

Hi all,

Was just wondering if anyone could give their opinion and experience(s) on HIV study drugs, if you have done any studies for those.

Thank you so much for your help!

[labrat1]

I once did a study for an HIV drug. It was not in a CRO but in a research department of a major hospital here in NYC.
It was to last some three weeks. It was a few years back so I may not recall everything exactly, but in general,I was to take home the study medication and dose myself every day, then I would come to the facility on a certain day afterward to spend a night while they did blood draws. I would eventually have to do three overnights throughout the entire study and each overnight was spaced apart so that there is about a week between overnight stays. For the first week I was only to take a certain medication that I think had nothing to do with HIV medication. It was to eventually determine the effect of that drug mixed with the HIV drug. I had no effect from that first medication. But later I was to take that initial medication with the HIV medication. It was a hellish experience. I suffered nausea, dizziness and an overall feeling of sickness for the entire study.
The adverse events from one pill lasted over a day and before the ill feelings faded, I was to dose myself again the following day with the HIV pill meaning I was constantly renewing the adverse events. I managed to dose myself for the majority of the study except for the final day.
It got to where the researchers told me to come over to the hospital and I walked there and almost blacked out along the way. When I got to the research facility, I was given a check of vital signs and the blood pressure monitor made a noise that I never heard before. I guess my blood pressure was low. It seemed that the researchers were acting nonchalant about my symptoms but they kept me overnight and I told them that though I only have one more dose of the HIV medication before the whole study is over, I felt so awful that I did not want to make my symptoms ue any longer and wanted to disue the dosing. When I felt a bit better the next day, the study doctor tried to encourage me to take the very final HIV drug before another hour passes and therefore, the time line for the final dosing would be over. I could not bring myself to do it. I really regretted going through 99 and 9/10s ent of the study only to refuse to take the final dose, but I really did not want to feel the pain and nausea that I had been feeling for three weeks.

The study doctor did say that HIV meds can be very strong. Of course they have to be to fight such a fierce medical condition such as HIV.

[Deleted]

I've been in one, I think maybe two, HIV drug studies. No problems. No side effects.

[ac]

I did a study that combined drugs for HIV and Hep C. I had to take a large number of pills every day but I had no side effects. That being said, those drugs are strong anti-virals and it would be a good idea not to do back to back studies with the same type of drug.