Hi,
Just a question, is taf better than tdf for everyone ? More potent and less toxic for the body liver, kidney, bones etc, less side effects ?
If u take tdf 300mg is this equal to taf 25 mg.
Br,
Hi @hepb1,
Both are equally effective. The major difference is TAF has less kidney and bone issues compared to TDF and some people develop high cholesterol with TAF. Providers will switch from TDF to TAF if they notice such side effect. For example, I was on TDF, reached undetectable viral level; but started showing signs of kidney problems on my labs so my doctor switched to TAF. I don’t think one is better than the other. TAF is an improved version of TDF to reduce its side effect, if it make sense. I hope this helps. Thanks, Bansah1
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After how many years of using tdf ?
This will be different for different people as we know each person responds differently to medication. My system has become very sensitive over the years (due to other health issues) so I do experience side effects of medicine sooner than most. Keep that in mind, I was on for close to 2 years. Not everyone that takes TDF will experience these kidney and bone density loss issues. Thanks, Bansah1.
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That’s a good question. I’m myself asking how quickly do these side-effects of TDF develop (kidney problems and bone loss). If someone has experience, please share.
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That scary. To take medication for life that might damage your kidney and damage your bones. My father passed away years ago from bone/blood cancer. Bone and kidney has the same importance to the body as the liver.
What about ent vs off vs taf? Which one has the less side effects. I understand that taf isn’t old enough to have as much data as the other two
Dear @hepb1 ,
There is no difference in the antiviral effect of TDF versus TAF.
Bansah1 is correct, TAF is a modified form of tenofovir with improved stabiity and hepatic accumulation, which allows a lower dose (25mg) than TDF (300mg) to treat HBV (and HIV).
There is a lot of unfounded fear regarding TDF and ETV. Yes there is the possibility of mild to moderate kidney dysfuction with these compounds, however, this only occurs in a minority of patients after long term therapy. In most of these cases a mild change in kidney function does not cause problems. This toxicity is usually easily reversed by changing the dose frequency of TDF from every day to every other day without sacrificing any antiviral effect. For ETV you can switch to TDF every other day. It is important to remember that ETV and TDF are not protected by any patent (like TAF) so this medication is much cheaper than TAF and thus much more accessible and easy to afford for patients world wide, especially in more challenging jurisdictions.
We do not have similar long term data for TAF because it is newer.
The benefit from starting ETV or TDF therapy as soon as possible outweighs any long term toxicity concerns if patients do not have access to (or cannot afford) TAF.
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Is it safe to use tdf every other day ? I mean in the terms of developing drug resistance.
Dear @hepb1,
We have not seen any reported cases of breakthrough with TDF dosing every other day. This makes sense given its secondary effect in silencing cccDNA.
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