Which nucleosides/nucleotide?

HIV treatment regimens almost always include two nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

The current nucleoside/nucleotide combinations recommended for use by people who have never taken anti-HIV drugs before are:

  • Kivexa (3TC and abacavir). But you must first have a test to make sure that you are not allergic to abacavir. Kivexa might not be a good choice if you have a high viral load (above 100,000) and it isn't recommended for people with a risk of heart disease.
  • Truvada (FTC and tenofovir). 

Combivir (AZT and 3TC combined) is not recommended for most people. This is because AZT has been linked with fat loss. But Combivir might be an option if you are pregnant or are thinking about becoming pregnant. This is because AZT is very good at preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

HIV medicine is evolving very quickly. You can get regular updates on HIV treatments and the best ways to use them by visiting www.aidsmap.com/news. NAM's quarterly treatments newsletter HIV Treatment Update (HTU), is available free to people living with HIV in the UK.  Contact NAM for more information on 020 3242 0820 or email info@nam.org.uk. You can also keep up to date by subscribing to HIV Weekly , an email bulletin that provides a summary of the latest treatment news.

This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.