User Reviews for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir)

This is an update of my review from 5/7/22. I felt great after taking paxlovid for the 5 day course of treatment and tested negative on day 7. I now have the rebound covid that people have been mentioning and am testing positive. This is day 12. When I first got sick it was like the flu. This time it's like a massive head cold. I would definitely take it again because it worked but I guess it doesn't completely clear the virus in some people.

64 F, fit and healthy. Strated Paxlovid on day 3 of symptoms and tests. Taste isextremely toxic, the drug must be toxic as well. Completed dosage today, reluctantly. If I had it to do over I would not take this, I don't think it helped one bit. God only knows what the long term effects will be.

Besides the horrible after taste like other users have stated, after the first dose right away felt as if I was gaining my energy back. Day 2, my sneezing and coughing is stopping, and I feel this medicine is actually working.

Take this with Jello!!! It seems to help with the bad taste tremendously!

Hi everyone. This is an update from my last post from May 7. I just took my last dose of Paxlovid. I am happy to share that I am feeling just about 100% better. I still have a lingering cough and some congestion and of course, that nasty metallic taste which I am looking forward to going away. I did experience some diarrhea but nothing too major. Drinking a lot of water helped that a lot. Just a few things for you all to try to get help dissipate that bitter/metallic taste. Cough drops, soups, crackers - like Saltines or Gold Fish crackers, mouth wash, use like a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and baking soda with a cup of warm water and gargle with that mixture. And of course, ice cream or popsicles. Reading through some of your posts helped to know that you were not alone with going through this horrible virus. I'm hopeful that Paxlovid did what it's supposed to do or cut out to do. I wish you all good health and a better experience while using this medication. Hang in there. Things will get better.Read More Read Less

Started with fatigue on 5/7. 5/8 With the fatigue I had a headache and mild cough. On 5/9 I was coughing so much I thought my stomach was going to come out my mouth. I went to urgent care, tested positive (first time). Oxygen level was low 90s and my heart rate was 120-130. The Physician Assistant prescribed me paxlovid so I didn’t have to go into the hospital. I ran 101.3 fever, SOB, tachycardia, migraine, fatigue, vomiting, coughing and… peering on myself. Today 5/10 I am 3 doses into the paxlovid & choosing to take these antivirals was the best decision I could have made. Today I’m moving around & not quite as tired. Hoping to be symptomatic free by Thursday so I can return to work on Monday! Read More Read Less

Just started with first dose this morning. Its night now and i am experiencing massive sweating. No fever. Do have the odd taste in my mouth but may be worth it to continue doses if the horrible sweating subsides. I have HTN and so far my BP isnt changed from pre medication. I started med on day 4 of symptoms. Did have some stomach pain with first dose which subsided fairly quickly. I had to stop some of my normal medications such as lipitor until doses are finished.

I am a 57 YO female and came down with very symptomatic COVID. I began Paxlovid on day 2 of symptoms and by the third does, my symptoms were nearly gone. I felt great and I appeared to have cleared the virus as I tested negative on a rapid test upon conclusion of the 5 days course of meds. HOWEVER, 4 days after finishing the 5 day course of meds, my symptoms came back and I once again tested positive. There is definitely a relapse. My symptoms now are bad congestion and muscle aches, symptoms which are not as severe as they were when I initially contracted COVID, but I still feel pretty miserable. I was hoping the Paxlovid would help me to clear the virus from my body entirely, but the effect was sadly temporary in my case. Read More Read Less

Within hours of taking this my symptoms started improving drastically. I don't know if that's a coincidence but I'm very thankful. The taste is terrible as I warned reading the reviews but it's but it's certainly not a problem. Brushing my tongue with toothpaste a couple of times and then using Listerine has helped. I suggest everyone try that. Then I've been sipping on grape juice and it's fine.

Medicine taken of day 4 with symptoms Raised blood pressure extremely Face and neck red from reaction discontinued use after three days Prolonged the virus

Woke up Sunday morning 05/07/22 sick with body aches and headache. Went to urgent care Sunday morning and tested positive for Covid. As Sunday progressed, I became super sick, I could barely walk, talk, felt light headed and dizzy, had zero appetite, horrible body aches and pounding headache. I spent the entire day on Sunday laying down. Doctor prescribed Paxlovid 05/08, took the morning and evening dose of the medication the same day, and the very next day on Monday 05/09, my Covid symptoms were pretty much gone, I couldn’t believe it, it’s like I never had Covid. Only thing I still had was a stuffy nose, but besides that I was back to my normal self. I was able to walk, talk, eat again, and my body aches and pounding headache were gone. Only thing I did notice while taking this medication is the unpleasant taste in my mouth. But I will take this unpleasant taste over the horrible Covid symptoms I was experiencing prior to taking this medication. I’m on day three of this medication and so far so good. For me, this pill is a magic pill that brought me back from the dead. I will provide a second update once I’m done with the medication. Read More Read Less

I am on 3rd day with the medicine. Got on with the med on day 2 with Covid Symptoms and day 1 of testing positive. My Covid symptoms were reasonably mild with low fever, moderate chills, moderate body aches and bad fatigue spells. Fever, chill and body aches are gone on 2nd day of med. Fatigue spells have been severe, once late morning and once late afternoon, each one lasting for little over two hours forcing me to bed and knock me out to (jet lag type) sleep in the afternoon one. Today, on 3rd day of med, fatigue spell happened only in late afternoon and avoided getting to sleep. Some thinks fatigue may be resulting from the med. I had it before getting on the med and I have it after the med as well. Will know tomorrow if it is really getting better, no way to know if the med is helping with that or not. I am fully vaccinated to two doses and one booster.Read More Read Less

Me: 54, overweight, high-blood pressure and have illness induced asthma. Cold/Cough usually start with a sore threat that quickly becomes bronchitis by end of day 2. Background: I tested COVID positive on day 2, started taking paxlovid on day 3 of my COVID illness wherein my symptoms included sore throat, body aches, alternating between fever and chills, dizzy, fatigue, congestion, coughing up thick, green phlegm, hungry a lot but had no appetite. Review: After 4 doses, the thick, green phlegm became watered down and clear. Coughing subsided significantly. I was able to stay up longer and the intense need to lie down lessened. The bouncing from fever to chills and vice versa stopped. Brain processing was normalizing. Appetite slowly coming back. Fatigue is still there but not as bad. Taste: First dose left a weird taste in mouth. 2nd dose - I started noticing bitterness in mouth. 3rd dose - Very bitter, metallic taste was ever present in my mouth. Tried many options to take away bitterness, candy, ice cream, Chinese food, juices, soda, peanut butter, cheese, mint, brushed teeth + more and nothing worked. 4th & subsequent doses - Trying not to gag on the 3 pills for each dose. It is very bitter and my body and mind were balking at the prospect of putting those revolting pills in my mouth. Would I take it again? At my age and if it means cutting my illness in half the time, Yes! I will need flavorful food to help push it down to mask the bitter taste. If I am in my prime child bearing years, I will not take paxlovid because it is still in experimental phase. Tip: Paxlovid has "limited" distribution and it is mainly the big pharmacies. Call your pharmacy to ensure that they have Paxlovid before telling your doctor to send your prescription to the pharmacy. My pharmacy is small and they could not get this medication. I had to call multiple pharmacies and go through voice trees from hell to find out which pharmacy in town had it.Read More Read Less

Tested positive for Covid April 17 due to fever, scratchy throat, and significant congestion. Meds worked quickly -- Started Paxlovid on day 3 and fever broke on day 4. Other symptoms improved a lot by day 5. My only real side effect was the metallic taste about an hour after taking meds. Strong mints helped a lot. By day 4, the bad taste was not nearly as strong. Frustrated, however, due to testing negative on day 11 and then testing positive again (with only mild congestion) days 12 - 22. Read More Read Less

Tested positive via throat swab two weeks ago on Thursday and finally positive in a nasal swab Friday. Thursday all I had was a sore throat but by Friday I had inflammation in my vocal chords and a lot of mucus. I had already lost my voice and was experiencing difficulty breathing due to the pain and tightness. I called my doctor that morning and was prescribed Paxlovid. Saturday morning I woke up struggling to breathe and my o2 stats were low and I was struggling to get them any higher. My husband was finally well enough to pick up my prescription and I took my first dose Saturday evening. Sunday my sore throat was horrific, but my breathing had improved immensely overnight. I was able to keep my o2 up at about 96%, only dropping lower with coughing. Everyday I improved to the point where I felt about 90% better by Wednesday! I got better faster than my husband who did not take Paxlovid. I can’t say for certain whether it saved my life, but it definitely kept me out of the hospital! And I did not experience a relapse of covid once I finished my course. I did have the bad taste in my mouth. It wasn’t too bad for me but it did ruin some of my favorite comfort meals during my sickness. I tried eating before, after and both but nothing helped. Usually by hour 8 the taste went away but I was taking Paxlovid every 12 hours so it was a short relief. My taste was back to normal by hour 8 of my last dose, and I have not had any flavor issues since finishing the medicine. The pills are a smidge wider than an average Tylenol. I have a lot of trouble swallowing pills but didn’t struggle much with these. I also read that the medicine can raise blood pressure, which I am usually in the pre-hypertension range, so I made sure to drink water and relax. I never had any symptoms of raised blood pressure while taking Paxlovid. Also just as a tip, if you have covid and are struggling to breath with mucus in your vocal chords, especially after sleeping, try taking a shorter sleep. I would set an alarm every 4 hours so I could drink water and clear the mucus. I found when I slept a full nights sleep I could barely breathe in the morning, but waking up to clear my airway midway through the night really helped. By day 2 of Paxlovid, I no longer had to do that and could sleep fully. Read More Read Less

I only started talking it today but my symptoms are already better. My symptoms progressed from severe sore throat to sweating to headache. the next day it was worse headache, congestion and chills. The next day was weakness and coughing up phlegm, followed by dry coughing and gastrointestinal issues. Tested negative after the first two days, then positive on day four. I will say, very bad taste from Paxlovid is pretty bad but will be worth it if this gets under control

Felt mostly sick on day 2 of symptoms. Started Paxlovin on day 3. Hard to tell if it worked that quickly but feeling much better on the evening of day 3. Horrible taste in my mouth. Someone described as a combo of Tylenol dissolving in your mouth along with the bitter aftertaste of grapefruit. Sucking on candy has helped but I can only suck on candy for so long. However, this is nothing compared to the awful taste in my mouth during chemotherapy treatments. Grateful to have this medicine. I have 3 1/2 days to go with this medication. We’ll see how it goes!Read More Read Less

I cannot stand the horrible bitter aftertaste in my mouth. By the time it goes away, it’s time to take the next set of pills. Every 12 hours I take the three pills. I take three sets of pills twice a day, once in the morning and once at night… You can take it with food or without food. And I had to take them for five days until all the pills are gone. But the nasty taste in my mouth is hard to deal with. I suggest having some bottled water by you, Or something to snack on the help mask that nasty taste.Read More Read Less

This is an updated review: I am a 56 year old female who tested positive 3 weeks after my 2nd Pfizer booster. My initial symptoms were chills, sore throat, and low fever. I have sarcoidosis, so I began Paxlovid on the 1st day of symptoms and the day I tested positive. By day 3, my symptoms were gone. The only side effect was the bitter taste which I felt was worth it. On day 6, I tested negative. On day 11, I became very congested and started running low fever again. I tested positive and feel worse than I did before Paxlovid. I wish I had just let Covid run it's course the first time around.Read More Read Less

I am a soon to be 62 year old. Quite active, told I do not look the age I am. I’ll take that as a compliment who keeps himself in relatively good shape. Like most of us, we all did our very best NOT to contract this horrible virus. I am double vaxed (Pfizer) and also boosted. Unfortunately last Saturday I was hanging out with my godsons who are teenagers did one of them have Covid not knowing. I am in day 2 of taking the full dosage of paxlovid. I am on a 5 day treatment. So far my chest and nasal congestion have subsided a great deal. My coughing is at a minimum but still not feeling 100%. I suppose this is all part of having Covid. Reading through others comments, yes, there is this metallic taste that literally can make you feel sick. It does make you feel nauseated but if you can tough through it, there are suggestions that are given for you to try to disguise that nasty taste. I have tried chamomile tea with honey. That is a real plus. I’ve also tried eating bananas and that too, is it good source. Someone suggested miso soup, a big yes to using miso soup. The chamomile tea with honey will help settle your being nauseated. I will update this post again to share how well this medication works. So far so goodRead More Read Less