"Black Tongue" or Candidasis

[SANJUANDUDE]

   Hi there!!!!!  I've got a question, and I guess that it is one that my partner should be taking up with his current physician here in New York.  For about the past six months, he has had black hairy tongue or Candidasis.  Sometimes the condidtion appears to get better, sometimes worse, but never clears up.  He is a tobacco user, and I am certain that doesn't help the situation.  For a short while, he was on Acyclovir, which helped to clear the condition up, but the Nurse Practitioner at the VA in Amarillo, TX didn't deem it necessary for him to continue that treatment.   I don't have very high opinions about the VA and their medical care; however, they do have the latest medical devices.   

How does he clear this up...  He scrapes it every few days.  I advised him to begin using Listerine on a daily basis, which should help with the bacteria.  He read 'somewhere' online that this condition is sometimes an end stage to HIV.  I don't buy into it because his CD-4 count may only be around 150, but his viral load is undetectable.  Any further suggestions on this??

By the way, he is planning to change his regimen sometime next month.  His CD=4 count should be as high as mine, which last one was around 600.

http://timehasshownme.com

[denb45]

I had "Black Tongue" or Candidasis about 12 yrs ago, I was given CLOTRIMAZOLE Lozenge, also I was put   Fluconazole (Brand name: Diflucan) along with Bactrim DS, I remained on all 3 of them for about 7 yrs. (1997 to 2003), however, I had only 85 t-cells back then, and was very sick with teh AIDS, I got better as time & better Meds came along, I'm not even sure, if what I was on to fight "Black Tongue" or Candidasis is even used anymore 

[leatherman]

since you didn't go back to a previous thread where you talked about this same stuff I thought I'd repost some of what I wrote 

if your partner is staying undetectable why in the world would y'all want to mess up a good thing by changing regimens? Staying UD is the biggest issue, NOT the cd4 count. He could add a PI (like Norvir) to the mix, but that wouldn't change his cd4 count. Honestly, there really isn't anything to do to increase a person's cd4s; but to let the body recover by keeping the HIV to UD.

If there was something to jump cd4s up, there'd be a lot of us here using that solution. (I sure didn't stay below 250 all those yrs because I wanted to. LOL) It's tough but there is nothing (not even "healthy living" whatever that is LOL) to help recover CD4s. There is nothing to help cd4s except for time and sometimes it takes a long time too, as in decades even. Yet other times, not even time helps. That's just how it is.

your partner changing regimens will do nothing to help increase his cd4 count and will possibly risk his undetectable status. Is he changing because of side effect problems??

by the way, I have had thrush more times than I can count; but had never heard of "black tongue". You should probably read up on it (your partner isn't taking a lot of Pepto Bismol is he??), because it shouldn't have been the acyclovir that got that under control as it takes an antibiotics or antifungal to do that. (http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/black-hairy-tongue)

taking the acyclovir and the black tongue decreasing are just coincidental as acyclovir is not an antibiotic. tell him to read up online "elsewhere" as nothing I read at respectable places even talks about "black tongue" and end stage AIDS (to be honest after 30 yrs of knowing about HIV/AIDS I had never heard mention of "black tongue" before.)

[Ann]

Acyclovir is an antiviral used in treating the various herpes viruses.

It has no effect on candidiasis (aka thrush, aka yeast infection), which is fungal.

You need to treat candidiasis with an antifungal such as clotrimazole or fluconazole.

By the way, the use of antibiotics can also kill off the friendly bacteria that keeps candidia in check, so you end up with an overgrowth of candidia which is then called candidiasis.

It sounds like he needs to talk to his doctor about this and get the proper treatment. Good luck!

[tednlou2]

I know tobacco use comes up again and again as a culprit--as well as poor dental hygiene.  He may need to give up the cigs to get a better outcome with the black tongue part. 

I wish him the best for a better result.

[Hellraiser]

He read 'somewhere' online that this condition is sometimes an end stage to HIV.  I don't buy into it because his CD-4 count may only be around 150, but his viral load is undetectable.  Any further suggestions on this??

By the way, he is planning to change his regimen sometime next month.  His CD=4 count should be as high as mine, which last one was around 600.

http://timehasshownme.com

Thrush is sometimes an indicator of a failing immune system (this is what happened to me when I was at my worst) and is one of the things that tipped off my doctors.  However my CD4 count was a LOT lower than 150 (15 at the time).  As far as changing regimens bringing your partner's CD4 to the same level as your own this is just wrong.  If he has a regimen that is suppressing the virus changing regimens will not "grow" more CD4s.  His immune system is functioning close to what it normally would without the virus if he is undetectable.  Another regimen would simply put him at undetectable as well.