Retrovir (Zidovudine/Azidothymidine) for HIV

Overview
Retrovir is a prescription drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat HIV-1 infection in combination with other antiretroviral medications. Retrovir is also referred to by its drug names, Zidovudine or Azidothymidine, and by the abbreviations AZT or ZDV. Zidovudine is a component of the combination drugs Trizivir and Combivir. Retrovir is an antiviral medication of the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) class.

Retrovir is believed to work by preventing HIV from replicating in cells.

How do I take it?
Prescribing information states that Retrovir is taken twice daily. Retrovir comes as tablets, capsules, syrup, and single-use vials for injection.

Side effects
The FDA-approved label for Retrovir lists common side effects including headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, joint pain, loss of appetite, insomnia, and changes in the shape or location of body fat. Rare but serious side effects listed for Retrovir include lactic acidosis (a metabolic disorder), hepatomegaly (enlarged liver) with steatosis (fatty degeneration), myopathy (muscle tissue disease), and hematological toxicity (damage to blood cells).

For more details about this treatment, visit:

Retrovir – RxList

Overview of HIV Treatments – AIDS.gov