Epivir (lamivudine)

How can this medicine affect other medicines?

You should tell your doctor or pharmacist what medicines you are using, particularly those listed below, before you start treatment with this medicine. This includes those bought without a prescription and herbal medicines. Likewise, check with your doctor or pharmacist before starting any new medicines while you are taking this medicine, so they can check that the combination is safe.

Trimethoprim may increase the blood level of lamivudine. This should not require a dose adjustment unless you have kidney problems, however you should be well monitored by your doctor if you are prescribed trimethoprim or co-trimoxazole (which contains trimethoprim) while taking this medicine. The manufacturer recommends that high doses of co-trimoxazole for the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and toxoplasmosis should be avoided in people taking this medicine.

The manufacturer recommends that this medicine is not used in combination with the following medicines:

foscarnet

ganciclovir

zalcitabine.

There have been reports of a high rate of virological failure and the emergence of resistance at early stage when lamivudine was combined with tenofovir plus abacavir as triple therapy. This problem has also occured when lamivudine was combined with tenofovir plus didanosine as triple therapy.

Other medicines containing the same active ingredient

Zeffix contains a lower dose of lamivudine than Epivir and is used to treat hepatitis B infection, not HIV.

Kivexa contains lamivudine in combination with another anti-HIV medicine called abacavir.

Combivir contains lamivudine in combination with another anti-HIV medicine called zidovudine.

Trizivir contains lamivudine in combination with both abacavir and zidovudine.

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