Hi everyone…
I think I have been taking medicine ten years ago. The drug is called vemlidy ( Tenofovir Disoproxil ).
Recently I had some issues with my leg ( numbness ) . Had 3 mmr as it was suspected to be siatica but it wasnt. After further check, xrays… it was Osteoporosis which affected my hips ( friction)…and I read somewhere that this drug causes Osteoporosis. My question is can I replace the drug with an alternative one and I will be ok again ? No Osteoporosis??
Thanks in advance and.
Hi @Zuhair_Janbi,
Sorry to hear that you have been dealing with osteoporosis. I think you meant Viread not Vemlidy (TAF). Vemlidy has been in existence for about 8 years now. It is the improved version of Tenofivor Disoproxil or Viread. You are correct, Viread can cause bone loss in some patients. And yes, you can ask your doctor to switch to either Entecavir or Vemlidy whichever is easy to access. Some patients on here have switched their medications from Viread to either Entecavir (Baraclude) or Vemlidy (TAF). I hope this helps. Keep us posted. Bansah1
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This is what I meant. I used to have entecavir before. But as I suffered from skin itching , it was replaced by Vemlidy.
So now if I switched back to entecavir,
1- will I be relieved from osteoporosis?
2- Should I continue on entacavir even with skin issues like itching ?? Ot that is a condition associated with something else??
Thanks
I see. You had written Vemlidy as Tenofovir Disoproxil which is Viread (TDF). Vemlidy is Tenofovir Alafenamide (TAF). Vemlidy should not be causing bone lose. It’s the improved version of Viread which has the potential to cause kidney and bone lose in some patients. I have been on Vemlidy until recently and have not experienced any bone problems.
Certainly, switching to Entecavir should help but it will depend on how bad the condition is. Switching antivirals can provide some help. I don’t have the itching experience so it is hard to say whether it is from Entecavir or not. I recently went back on Entecavir after being on Vemlidy for some years. The switch happened because of high cholesterol issues that have occurred since I went on Vemlidy.
You can get some medical opinion from your doctor about itching to see whether something else is causing it and not the antiviral. We need these antivirals so stopping won’t be an option. Hopefully, you can find some answers to this itching issue. Have you tried calamine lotion? It is an over the counter medication used for itching. Try it if you can get one and see if it helps.
Please talk to your doctor and discuss this issue further to see what exactly is the cause. You can switch antivirals. Best, Bansah1.
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Hi @Zuhair_Janbi,
Sorry to hear about your issues. While TDF (Viread) has been associated with an increased risk of bone density loss, TAF (Vemlidy) has not. As such it is unclear whether changing medications will affect your osteoporosis at all.
It is worth following up with your doctor on how best to approach your osteoporosis.
Thomas