A friend of mine was put in a medical experiment and he is now only taking Kaletra (2 tablets/twice a day). His previous regimen was kaletra with another drug which I can't recall. Anyway, he agreed to do that change because he wanted to be taking less pills (he is also taking antidepressants and anxiolytics) but I worry about his decision which actually came after his doctor's proposal.
What do you know about this experiment and what's your opinion about it?
Of course, I'm not sure wheather this experiment is legitimate, but it's a definitely dangerous way. It has been proved multiple times that one drug regimen is only creates the viral resistance. Kaletra is not designed for this and should be taken along with at least two another drugs. I guess, your friend may want to change the health provider unless he is absolutely sure that the experiment is officialy claimed. Has he signed the contract or any kind of agreement regarding his participation in this weird experiment? I would also would pay attention to his anxiety or depression- they would be a part of Kaletra's adverse effects or the sign of increasing of the viral load.
Hi Yperoxos,
It would be really helpful to know the name of the clinical trial. There is one going on at the moment called SMILE which is looking at once a day or twice a day dosing of Kaletra which is run by and organisation called PENTA, but this is a very new trial and PENTA usually do paediatric studies.
In the past there have also been a number of clinical trials that have been looking at reducing the number of medications used to effectively treat HIV. This is called "simplification".
I would also like to add some clarity to Vitvit's comment. He is absolutely correct in pointing out that Mono Therapy is generally not a good idea when using older medications, although there are now exceptions to this with some of the newer protease inhibitor's.
However, Kaletra is a combination of a protease inhibitor lopinavir (200 mg) plus a booster dose (50 mg) of ritonavir in the same pill.
If you can come back to us with some more details about the clinical trial your friend is on I will see what more information I can find.
As always,
Kind Regards,
Paul.
Hi Paul am very new to this group you have a lot of information and I was hoping you would help I started my drugs on 29th Feb 2016 am on tff+3tc +efv once a day but am also on anti- TB meds . Is this the same kind of treatment some people will get in the UK am in Africa Kenya to be specific and sometimes getting the right answers is very hard please inform me.
I really like Pauldecle's advice about the trial. I would only add that if he is simply looking for less pills he should ask his doctor about Triumeq which is three drugs,abacavir,dolutegravir and lamivudine in one pill. Triumeq is not the only 3 in 1 on the market either, there are at least three different manufacturers making a 3 in 1 HIV treatment now and I have had good results with them for the past few years so if it's just a matter of convience there are safe options for easy dose treatments that don't put him at risk of having his virus mutate any farther than has already happened. Just a note, most private infectious disease doctors here in the US only prescribe the once a day because adherence is more plausible but some of the Government funded facilities are still using the multi-script formulary because of the cost difference.
Unfortunately that is all I know about this experiment. I asked my own doctor about it and he said: Don't bother, that's fine!
He called this experiment "protocol" and he said that it is an international thing that's going on right now...one of different protocols actually.
I didn't like his reply. I want my friend to be safe.
My doctor said that they ask the participants to sign something but my friend can't recall himself signing anything. Good thing is that he gets tested every 3 months and that his viral load results come out fast which is not the case with all the rest in my country nowadays (I am still waiting for mine 4 months now!)
Bad thing is that he hasn't actually seen the paper with his cd4 count and viral load. He is just been told.
I have my eye on this. I care about him, he is my new boyfriend.
I forgot to mention that he is on this experiment for 1 year now.
What country is he having this trial in? The kaletra monotherapy trials were done about ten years ago so I can't imagine anyone is repeating them.
What I am most excited about in this thread now is that Yperoxos now has a boyfriend!!!
Congratulations and I hope you have a good time together and it builds into a long and happy relationship.
I have been with my, now, husband for 26 years. We both agree one of the secrets of our longevity is that we only listen to half of what each other says 
Lots of love to you both.
Paul
Thank you Paul, you are so kind!!
Unfortunately, Mr Gorgeous (he was indeed gorgeous) never truly loved me. He was a user and a manipulator no matter how much I cared for him. It's been a hellish month for me trying to live again on my own (how do you call that syndrome when a drug user tries to to cut off his drug addiction?) and it's not over yet.
I guess I should have known better. Looking for a professional, goodlooking and honest gay person in Greece, is like looking for a needle in haystack.
Here, everyone plays games or....is painfully ugly.
FOR HOW LONG CAN HIV HIDE BEFORE DETECTION BY TESTS
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