Similar to other HIV/AIDS drugs, DDC treatment is often associated with a number of side effects. Among the most commonly encountered are nausea, abdominal pain, tingling in the extremities, burning sensations, joint pain, and numbness. Many of these and other less common side effects result from mitochondrial toxicity and peripheral neuropathy of the DDC metabolites. Nevertheless, the side effects connected with the drug are generally considered mild in comparison to the outcome of receiving no treatment, which is usually a more rapid deterioration of the immune system and subsequent death. When utilized with other antiretroviral drugs, side effects experienced by patients tend to amplify, but so do the benefits of the pharmaceutical therapy.