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TRUVADA Is Taken Just Once a Day in Combination Therapy
This section of TRUVADA.com provides information for people who are taking, or who will be taking, TRUVADA as part of their combination HIV therapy. TRUVADA combines two anti-HIV-1 medications, EMTRIVA® (emtricitabine 200 mg) and VIREAD® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), into one pill that is taken once a day with or without food. People who have kidney problems may need to take TRUVADA less often.
TRUVADA is an anti-HIV-1 drug in the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI or "nuke") family and is always given in combination with other anti-HIV-1 drugs. To learn more about how this once a day HIV-1 treatment is used, click here.
It is important for anyone taking TRUVADA to note that TRUVADA:
- Does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS
- Does not lower your chance of passing HIV-1 to others
- Should always be taken in combination with other drugs for HIV-1
USE OF TRUVADA
TRUVADA is a type of medicine called an HIV-1 (human immunodeficiency virus) nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitor and combines EMTRIVA® (emtricitabine) and VIREAD® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate [DF]) in one pill. TRUVADA is always used with other anti-HIV-1 medicines to treat adults with HIV-1 infection.
Do not take TRUVADA if you are already taking ATRIPLA® (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir DF 300 mg), VIREAD, EMTRIVA, Combivir® (lamivudine/zidovudine), Epivir® or Epivir-HBV® (lamivudine), Epzicom® (abacavir sulfate/lamivudine), or Trizivir® (abacavir sulfate/lamivudine/zidovudine) because these medicines contain the same or similar active ingredients. Do not take TRUVADA with HEPSERA® (adefovir dipivoxil).
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Contact your healthcare provider right away if you experience any of the following side effects or conditions while taking TRUVADA:
- Nausea, vomiting, unusual muscle pain, and/or weakness. These may be signs of a buildup of acid in the blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical condition
- Light colored stools, dark colored urine, and/or if your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow. These may be signs of serious liver problems (hepatotoxicity), with liver enlargement (hepatomegaly), and fat in the liver (steatosis)
- If you have HIV-1 and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and stop taking TRUVADA, your liver disease may suddenly get worse. Your healthcare provider will monitor your condition for several months
- If you have had kidney problems or take other medicines that can cause kidney problems, your healthcare provider should do regular blood tests to check your kidneys
- Lab tests show changes in the bones of patients treated with VIREAD, a medicine in TRUVADA. Some HIV patients treated with VIREAD developed thinning of the bones (osteopenia) which could lead to fractures. If you have had bone problems in the past, talk to your healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA. Also, bone pain and softening of the bone (which may contribute to fractures) may occur as a consequence of kidney problems
- Changes in body fat have been seen in some people taking TRUVADA and other anti-HIV-1 medicines.
- In some patients with advanced HIV-1 infection (AIDS), signs and symptoms of inflammation from previous infections may occur soon after anti-HIV treatment is started. If you notice any symptoms of infection soon after you start HIV treatment, talk to your doctor right away.
Discuss all medicines you take with your healthcare provider and be aware: Your healthcare provider may need to follow you more closely or adjust your therapy if you are taking Videx® or Videx® EC (didanosine), Reyataz® (atazanavir sulfate), or Kaletra® (lopinavir/ritonavir) with TRUVADA.
The most common side effects of the medicines in TRUVADA when taken with other anti-HIV-1 medicines are diarrhea, dizziness, nausea, headache, fatigue, abnormal dreams, sleeping problems, rash, depression, and vomiting. Additional side effects are kidney problems (including decline or failure of kidney function), inflammation of the pancreas, inflammation of the liver, allergic reaction (including swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat), shortness of breath, pain, fatty liver, stomach pain, weakness, indigestion, and intestinal gas. High volume of urine and thirst, muscle pain and muscle weakness due to kidney problems have been reported. Skin discoloration (spots and freckles) may also happen with TRUVADA.
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