Reyataz - Twice Daily

[Guest guest]

Does 200 mg Reyataz twice a day dosing provide a higher drug trough level than 400 mg Reyataz once a day?

(The drug trough level is the drug level in your blood just before taking your next dose)

People have asked this question a number of times and I have not known the answer. Apparantly, my Doctor has used 200 mg twice daily dosing in significant number of patients and relates the following results.

200 mg Reyataz twice a day dosing (without Norvir) provides a drug trough level which is:

1.) always higher than 400 mg Reyataz once a day dosing (without Norvir) - interesting;

2.) always lower than 300 mg Reyataz twice a day dosing (without Norvir) - not surprising;

3.) sometimes higher, and sometimes lower, than 300 mg or 400 mg Reyataz once a day dosing with 100 mg Norvir;

4.) The drug trough level ALWAYS needs to be checked by blood test, because . . .

.. . . Reyataz, with or without Norvir, results in a much greater variation in drug trough level than most antivirals (when comparing the experience of one person to another). Another comment was that, there is a greater variation in trough drug levels than is commonly assumed for many antivirals .

The local lab which performs my gas chromatography drug levels (currently Specialty Labs in Santa ), charges $75 retail for this test, on which my insurer pays their negotiated price of $14.77 which is slightly less expensive and a far faster turn-around time than the lab he previously used.

The blood draw for the drug trough level should always be done after two weeks on the new therapy. This is the time required to stabilize on a new drug level, given the interplay between CYP enzymes and the medications used.