For any kind of stomach problem, including "gacid" indigestion and bloat in HIV+ (and in HIV neg people with unresolved Zantac, Axid, Prilosec, etc.), I suggest a starting dose of glutamine at 5 grams twice a day, 15 minutes before breakfast and dinner, just taken with 2-3 oz of water. This resolves many people's bloat within 4-5 days.

I also suggest they take a probiotic (Lactobacillus blend pill) twice a day for 15 days. I am pushing Jarrodophilus or Culturelle--two products-- these days.

Then I also recommend a softer, more cooked diet (not salads, more limp cooked vegies, soft or canned fruits, no brans, white rice, boiled potatoes) for a few days to reduce symptoms while everything else resolves itself.

Sometimes people also find that taking some of their pills a little more spread out, like doing the 3TC an hour after their D4T for example, can reduce GI discomfort. It depends on the timing of their particular pill regimen too, though.

(Administrator's Note: For related issues on gastrointestinal dysfunction, see Jennifer's articles Hurl Not, Shit (Still) Happens, and Gut Ecology.)

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