hiv meds and hyperpigmentation

[Guest guest]

has anyone heard of this?

hello, vergeli met you at the stronger than hiv presentation yougave last week at the gay and lesbian center in new york.i wanted to thank you for all the great informationyou shared, and have done so over your career.i am the african american male who was asking youabout hiv meds and their affect on african americanskin; it tends to make us darker, particularly theface tends to become several shades darker than therest of the body; and it's very noticablei have gotten to the point where i can even recognizeit in others.in doing my research, i have seen postings by otherswith the same problem, including this guy who istaking the same kaletra/epivir/viread combo that i amon:http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SideEffects/Archive/Ear/Q157516.htmland others:http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SideEffects/Archive/Ear/Q167454.htmlhttp://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SideEffects/Archive/Ear/Q176234.htmland many others:http://search3.thebody.com/search?access=p & output=xml_no_dtd & sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1 & ie=UTF-8 & client=thebody1 & q=hyperpigmentation & seek.y=7 & site=side & seek=seek & oe=UTF-8 & proxystylesheet=thebody1 & ip=151.196.181.228 & proxyreload=1 & seek.x=10 & filter=0here's anotherhttp://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Meds/Current/Q175694.htmli started taking meds in february of this year; myviral load became undetectable in one month, and mytcells have climbed from 34 to the 200'sbut i watched my skin start to change about a monthafter that; had always had flawless skin before that.do you have any insight into this? i know their aremany others who'd be interested in resolving this; itseems that no one knows what to do about it, as i'veseen 4 dermatologists; for people with brown skin,it's as big a problem as wasting, and something thatwe are forced to live with, but affects our selfesteem and self image; we might as well wear a sign onour foreheads.it seems to me that this is an important side effectwhich has gone under-explored, as much as it affectspeople of color; anyway, any info you might have wouldbe appreciated.thank you

Regards, Vergelpowerusa dot org"What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do." - Ruskin