POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => I Just Tested Poz => Topic started by: 2tcells on September 25, 2013, 03:05:45 pm
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hello all, this is my first post i been looking at this site since i found out i got aids... i ended up in the e.r. in july 2013 after being sick for 6 weeks straight and going from 210lbs to 140lbs and being 6'2 tall... so i lost 70lbs in 6 weeks, i had diarrhea, couldn't hold any food down, no appetite, very bad thrush in my mouth, felt more sick than i ever have in my life! Dr. wasn't helping me so i went into the e.r. they kept me there for a week did all sorts of tests they say i have something in my lungs they can see on the cat scan which i haven't had my follow up cat scan yet hope its gone. and then finally got the diagnosis of hiv aids a couple weeks later. i was in the hospital for over a week but i feel better than i felt in years now. they told me i had 2 t cells cd4 count 2 and vl 220,000. that was july. aug it was 4 t cells and vl 500. now im undetectable and have 40 t cells... im in my late 20s have 2 kids both who arnt infected and a gf not infected... the dr says i probably had hiv for 5-10 years without knowing it... im on presista, norvir, truvada.. and some other stuff to prevent illness but they make me sick after i take them lol. anyways thats my story i actually feel great just scared to be around sick people ha.
has anyone else had very low t cells like me? if so where are you at now?
i would like to be up to 200 someday so i dont need to worry about getting brain infections and stuff like that..i wanted to post this because when i first got sick and found out what it was i was all over the internet looking for people with 2 tcells and only found 1 thing about a guy who had 3 and died right after...that didnt make me to happy about my 2 cells.. but im living proof that you can still feel happy and healthy with the right meds and no immune system ;D
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has anyone else had very low t cells like me? if so where are you at now?
There are quite a few of us on here. My lowest was 16 in December of 2007.
Now my CD-4 count (that's the term for "t cells" we normally use around here) is mid-700's and life is good.
Hang in there and I'm sure you'll make a terrific recovery as well.
If the "other stuff" that makes you sick is Bactrim ask your doc for something else. It can be hard on the stomach and there are other options.
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Welcome to the forums . Many of us had similar labs , cd4 counts at one time and have come back to enjoy good health again .
You are trending in the right direction with the undetectable viral load , that key . The cd4 counts take awhile longer but you will get there if you stay adherent to your meds .
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thanks im glad someone else has come so far with there cd4 count...the pills that make me sick areazithromycin 2 600mg and i take another pill sulfameth that dosnt bother me... i just got off fluzocozole which were gross to swallow because they start to dissolve as soon as you put them in your mouth
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Yep , fluzocozole is nasty . I have found that if dosing allows I try and take them at bedtime so I sleep through the side effects . I still do this to this day with a few meds Im on ... its odd how one pill can make me sick during the day but I tolerate the same pill at night with no problems .
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Welcome to the forums, although certainly wish you didn't have to be here. My ex was down to something like 5 t-cells. He was in the hospital with so many different infections. He wasn't taking his meds correctly after getting out of the hospital, and has now developed so much resistance to the meds. It is interesting how the immune system works with different people. Some can get to such low counts feeling fine for a long time, and then it just hits the fan.
I wish you all the best that your lung checkup will show things have cleared. You are on your way with the undetectable viral load and CD4 count going up. I'm curious whether that doc just dismissed your obvious symptoms of something wrong, or whether he/she suggested you really needed hospital care. I hope you just weren't sent away with no suggestion to get more expertise care at the hospital.
Keep in touch and let us know how you're improving. Glad to hear you're feeling so much better.
Ted
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fluzocozole which were gross to swallow because they start to dissolve as soon as you put them in your mouth
I'm glad someone else has noticed this. You are EXACTLY right, they start to dissolve and they taste HORRIBLE. Glad to hear you managed to get off the Fluconazole. I have to take it forever.
I always make a point of taking them right before I brush my teeth at bedtime so I can get rid of that nasty taste.
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I'm glad someone else has noticed this. You are EXACTLY right, they start to dissolve and they taste HORRIBLE. Glad to hear you managed to get off the Fluconazole. I have to take it forever.
I always make a point of taking them right before I brush my teeth at bedtime so I can get rid of that nasty taste.
I finally started hiding the pill in a small chunk of cheese to take them , it was good enough of a trick to get my dog to take pills I decided it might work for me , it did .
I know the OP isn't taking that med now but it sure brought back memory's .
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I got my pharmacy to start stocking an Israeli-made generic. For some reason they don't dissolve quite as fast as brand-name Diflucan or the generic version made in India.
You'd think after all these years I'd be used to the taste, but NO.
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Welcome to the forums, although certainly wish you didn't have to be here. My ex was down to something like 5 t-cells. He was in the hospital with so many different infections. He wasn't taking his meds correctly after getting out of the hospital, and has now developed so much resistance to the meds. It is interesting how the immune system works with different people. Some can get to such low counts feeling fine for a long time, and then it just hits the fan.
I wish you all the best that your lung checkup will show things have cleared. You are on your way with the undetectable viral load and CD4 count going up. I'm curious whether that doc just dismissed your obvious symptoms of something wrong, or whether he/she suggested you really needed hospital care. I hope you just weren't sent away with no suggestion to get more expertise care at the hospital.
Keep in touch and let us know how you're improving. Glad to hear you're feeling so much better.
Ted
he just gave me 2 days worth of diarrhea and nausea meds even after i told him i was sick for 3 weeks and lost 35 pounds, then on my own decided to goto a gastro doctor and they couldnt figure it out and after 3 more weeks i just took myself to the e.r. because i felt like i was dieing and losing so much weight and very weak at the time
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and this so called doctor looked at me for less than 5 minutes after waiting 2.5 hours and paying 275! :o
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When you get healthy enough to bother with it, I would report the doc. You had thrush and that was dismissed, along with the huge weight loss? I think any doc would know it is time for some blood work. Obviously not. It makes me wonder whether it was dismissed, because you are heterosexual. It was lack of care, regardless. It makes me also wonder how many are sent away and they end up dying.
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Hi 2TCELLs, just wanna say hope you get better and your numbers too x ;)
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I was once down to single digit CD4's with a vl of 6.7 million. Becoming UD thanks to HAART was pretty quick, but it too quite a while to get my CD4's above the critical mark. Being that low, it takes time and patience.
Oh, and Fluconazole, I took it every day for a couple of years thanks to the cryptococcal meningitis.
Welcome to the forums, hope to hear more from you.
Wolfie
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Yes twice , when I was having chemo for Hodgkin , I have levelled out at 350 to 400 V/l undetectable. Have a lot off medical problems but nobody goes through 2 sets off Chemo without baggage , HIV or not.
Keep as healthy as you can in head as well as body and at your age the odds are very high you,ll be fine . They are already growing ,you have said your feeling better, so keep on keeping on .
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When you get healthy enough to bother with it, I would report the doc. You had thrush and that was dismissed, along with the huge weight loss? I think any doc would know it is time for some blood work. Obviously not. It makes me wonder whether it was dismissed, because you are heterosexual. It was lack of care, regardless. It makes me also wonder how many are sent away and they end up dying.
Agree
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Hi 2tcells
U are not alone, Im new here too.
In april this yr i was dx pz, and same u i started to get sick after taking the HAART.
My cd4 was zero, and my. VL was skyhigh. But pretty fast i became UD, and even though I also had TB, my cd4 increase to 120 after 1,5 month.
Now I feel very good - only issues with my skin - but feel strong and fit again.
So will U, and I also have wife and daughter - who(thank God) dont have hiv.
Best of luck to you, and may u have fast improvement with yr health :)
Hugs
Peter
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thanks peter, i feel much better now. im getting bloodwork in a couple of weeks to see what my new numbers are. the meds that make me sick i just take before i goto sleep and that works nice. i got a new ct scan of my lungs and stomic a week ago and everything has cleared in my stomic, i have bronquitus (sp?) now but the crushed glass stuff and patches in my lungs are gone so i think thats good but we will see what the lung doc says about that in a couple weeks. i also have skin problems, dry red flacky skin on my face but dosnt bother me much