Mark, Thanks for your shares. I had a spontaneous fracture of my left femur last year but my doctors would never say that it was med related. Prior to this I had been on Atripla/Truvada for years. Likewise your doctor is hesitant to affirm a fibromyalgia diagnosis because neither he/she or the drug company want to be sued. And what about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? I know a lot of HIV'ers who have some form of it. Most of the time I'm content laying around like a damp dishrag. But it's frustrating never getting a pat on the back from our providers. I'm not faking it. I really feel less than par most of the time. Some of the responses to your post don't make a lot of sense to me. I am a retired RN and enjoy the feedback on this site. If you want to email me directly it's = (Email address can only be seen by the question and answer creators) Thanks again for bringing this subject up. Too often Fibromyalgia & CFS & PTSD & OCD, etc. are just kind of lumped together as symptoms of hypochondria or an umbrella diagnosis which include everything but the kitchen sink. My Kaiser physician has exactly 15 minutes budgeted for my patient visit. There is no way he can sort thru an array of symptoms in such a short time in a responsible way. So thank God for this venue, so we can at least discuss these matters with our peers. Thanks for reading! Aloysius

Yeah, I've been working my way off as many pills as possible. Of course I'll always have to take my HIV meds, but I'm down to only Crestor with them now. I like cannabis for everything else, all natural and usually helps. I have also been working on cleaning up my diet for some time now. Just recently completed the Whole30 and am still being amazed from the benefits of clean eating. So yeh, I have learned to do what's best for me, but I still struggle with not being able to function at a normal level, but even that's been easier to deal with since I changed my diet. I appreciate all you guys reaching out. It is really hard to connect with people in my area and this helps.

Mark

Yeah...theres that...of couse we ask for More pills to fix side effects...n the Meantime..the Liver is experiencing something it has no idea how to cope and The Renal System is living on borrowed time...only to name 2..not to Mention bones thin and snap!...and of course..the hump on your back and the pop belly and skinny Arms and legs!...all of which there are no extra Pills for!and if you mention your looks have changed....well your just Vain and dont appreciate undetectable!😲😲😲😲And this is whats real....after 26 years...u learn alot!

Wow guy I definitely feel ya and I know exactly what you're saying! Drs don't want to hear about the med side effects because they're afraid you won't take the meds and that could put you in a place where you're on rescue meds because you're now resistant to the other classes of meds you were taking! Figure out for yourself what works for you and let me tell you something, sometimes you just have to suck it up and demand your Dr listen to you and help you to be the best you can be whether that means adding something for muscle pain, something to help you sleep better or increase your appetite! It's your life, so take control!

I took Zerit also. They were calling it neuropathy and when I kept complaining abythe pain and other problems it became Fibro.