Didanosina para HIV

About didanosine

Didanosine is an antiretroviral medicine. It is used for infecção pelo vírus da imunodeficiência humana (HIV). It slows the progress of HIV infection, but it is not a cure. HIV destroys cells in the body, called CD4 T cells. These cells are a type of white blood cell and are important because they are involved in protecting your body from infection. If left untreated, the HIV infection weakens your immune system so that your body cannot defend itself against bacteria, viruses and other germs. Didanosine slows down the progress of HIV infection by reducing the amount of virus in your body. It does this by stopping the virus from copying (replicating) itself.

Didanosine will be prescribed for you by a doctor who is a specialist. It belongs to a group of antiretroviral medicines known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). It is given alongside a number of other antiretroviral medicines, as part of a combination therapy. Taking three or more antiretroviral medicines at the same time is more effective than taking one alone. Taking a combination of different medicines also reduces the risk that the virus will become resistant to any individual medicine. It is vital to take your antiretroviral medicines exactly as prescribed to maintain success and to help to prevent the virus from becoming resistant to the medicines. These medicines are usually taken for life.

Some medicines are not suitable for people with certain conditions, and sometimes a medicine can only be used if extra care is taken. For these reasons, before you start taking didanosine it is important that your doctor knows:

• Se você está grávida, tentando ter um bebê ou amamentando.

• Se você tiver algum problema com o funcionamento do seu fígado, ou se tiver problemas com o funcionamento dos seus rins.

• Se você beber muito álcool.

• Se você já teve inflamação do pâncreas, chamada pancreatite.

• If you feel any tingling or pain in your arms or legs, or if you have any numbness in these areas.

• Se você estiver tomando outros medicamentos. Isso inclui quaisquer medicamentos que estejam disponíveis para compra sem receita médica, bem como medicamentos fitoterápicos e complementares.

• Se você já teve uma reação alérgica a um medicamento.

• Before you start the treatment, read the manufacturer's printed information leaflet from inside your pack. It will give you more information about didanosine, and it will also provide you with a full list of the side-effects which you could experience from taking it.

• Take didanosine exactly as your doctor tells you to. You will be asked to take one or two doses each day. If you are taking two doses a day, take them 12 hours apart, so in the morning and the evening.

• Try to take didanosine at the same times each day, as this will help you to remember to take it regularly. You should take your doses 'on an empty stomach'. This means that you should take them two hours before a meal, or you should wait until two hours after you have eaten. This is because your body absorbs less didanosine when there is food in your stomach, which means that the medicine is less effective.

• Swallow the capsules whole with a large glassful of water. Do not open up the capsules, as this may reduce how much of the medicine your body absorbs.

• If you forget to take a dose, take it as soon as you remember (keeping in mind that it should be taken without food). If it is time to take your next dose when you remember, leave out the missed dose and just take the dose that is due. Do not take two doses together to make up for a forgotten dose.

• Mantenha suas consultas regulares com seu médico para que seu progresso possa ser monitorado. Você precisará fazer exames de sangue regulares para verificar como seus medicamentos estão funcionando.

• It is important that you continue to take didanosine and your other antiretroviral treatment regularly. This will help to prevent the HIV from becoming resistant to the medicines you are taking. Even if you miss only a small number of doses, the virus can become resistant to treatment.

• If you develop an infection soon after you start the treatment, let your doctor know. As a result of taking didanosine, your immune system may start fighting an infection which was present before you started the treatment, but which you may not have been aware of.

• Siga cuidadosamente qualquer conselho que seu médico lhe der sobre fazer mudanças no estilo de vida para reduzir qualquer risco de danos ao seu coração e vasos sanguíneos. Isso pode incluir parar de fumar, comer de forma saudável e fazer exercícios regularmente.

• Didanosine has been associated with serious side-effects in some people who have taken it. These include inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), and a problem where there is too much lactic acid in the blood, known as lactic acidosis. The symptoms associated with these side-effects are listed in the next section 'Can didanosine cause problems?'. If you develop any of the symptoms listed below, you must let your doctor know imediatamente, pois podem piorar e até se tornar uma ameaça à vida.

• Algumas pessoas que tomam medicamentos antirretrovirais desenvolvem alterações na forma como a gordura corporal é distribuída no corpo. Isso pode resultar em mudanças na imagem corporal. Seu médico discutirá a possibilidade disso com você.

• Embora o tratamento com medicamentos antirretrovirais possa reduzir o risco de você transmitir o HIV a outras pessoas através do contato sexual, ele não o elimina. É importante que você use preservativos.

• Não é incomum que pessoas com HIV se sintam desanimadas ou até deprimidas, especialmente logo após o diagnóstico ter sido feito e o tratamento ter começado. Se você tiver qualquer sentimento de depressão, ou pensamentos angustiantes sobre se machucar, você deve falar com seu médico imediatamente.

• Your doctor is likely to recommend that your eyesight be checked every year. If you notice any problems with your eyesight in between these checks, you should let your doctor know about this.

• Algumas pessoas que tomaram medicamentos antirretrovirais (particularmente por um longo período) desenvolveram uma condição chamada osteonecrose. Esta é uma doença óssea em que o tecido ósseo morre devido à redução do suprimento de sangue. Isso leva a dores nas articulações e rigidez, e pode causar dificuldades de movimento. Se você notar algum desses sintomas, fale com seu médico.

• If you buy any medicines, supplements or herbal remedies 'over the counter', check with a pharmacist that they are suitable to take with didanosine and your other medicines. This is because some medicines interfere with antiretrovirals and can stop them from working properly.

• Se você for se submeter a uma operação ou tratamento dentário, informe à pessoa que está realizando o tratamento quais medicamentos você está tomando.

• Treatment for HIV is usually lifelong. Continue to take didanosine regularly, even if you feel well. This is to keep your immune system healthy.

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the most common ones associated with didanosine. You will find a full list in the manufacturer's information leaflet supplied with your medicine. The unwanted effects often improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

Your doctor will discuss with you the possibility of less common but more serious side-effects occurring, such as inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis) or lactic acidosis. Let your doctor know straightaway if you develop any of the following symptoms.

• The most common signs of pancreatite are abdominal pain, feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting), fever, and feeling generally unwell.

• The most common signs of acidose láctica are feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting), tummy pain, loss of appetite, loss of weight, feeling weak or dizzy, and fast or gasping breathing.

Se você sentir quaisquer outros sintomas que acha que podem ser devido ao medicamento, fale com seu médico ou farmacêutico para mais conselhos.

• Mantenha todos os medicamentos fora do alcance e da vista das crianças.

• Armazene em local fresco e seco, longe de calor e luz diretos.