Certain drugs should not be used together because of the way they interact. For example, idovudine and stavudine should not be used together, and zalcitabine should not be combined with didanosine, stavudine, or lamivudine. Drug studies are a very active area of HIV-AIDS research, and information is updated continually. So, patients should find a doctor or other health care worker who specializes in HIV-AIDS medicine and knows about current clinical studies. Everyone on antiretroviral therapy must be followed closely by a health care professional for treatment related side effects.
Lactic acidosis causes fatigue, belly pain, and shortness of breath.
It occurs more commonly in women. Nucleosides should be used with caution in patients at risk for liver disease, and treatment should be stopped if there is any indication of lactic acidosis or destroyed liver cells. Obesity also puts a patient at risk for this side effect. The six nucleosides described below are listed in order of their FDA approval. Usually, a nucleoside is combined with one other nucleoside plus either a non-nucleoside or protease inhibitor.