1st appointment tomorow

[hussy_24]

Feeling all nervous like i'm about to sit an exam lol, , after many cancellations, finally have my first appointment tomorow to see the nurse (take it all she does is take blood and send me on my way home but i took whole day off work lol ), wish me luck

[Longislander]

don't know what she'll do tomorrow, but good luck!, and enjoy the rest of your day off!

[J.R.E.]

Hello,

Wishing you the best. Get back in touch with us tomorrow and let us know how things went for you.



Take care of yourself---------Ray

[Queen Tokelove]

I was a nervous wreck at my first appointment. But I'm glad you made that first step. I hope everything goes well for you, let us know...

[blondbeauty]

Donīt be nervous and sleep well.

[Eldon]

Hello Hussy 24,

There is nothing to be worried about. The nurse will take good care of you. Just breathe and relax and you will be in and out of the door before you know it. Take care of YOU!

Make the BEST of each Day!

[puertorico2006]

Let us know how it goes. I understand your nerves because my first appointment is the 28th (next week). Good luck :-D
-josh

[hussy_24]

hihi, well things went ok,i spent the first half hour sitting in the waiting room... staring at a poster of hot guys ;-), then the clinical nurse called me in. she explained briefly about hiv, cd4, viral load, etc, gave me a load of literature, told me that the doctors who treated me in may when i was admitted to hospital gave me a misdiagnosis (i wasnt ill because "your mother is white, and your father is brown" as the doctors in may had told me [lol] i was ill, the nurse said, because i had seroconversion illness most likely), she then explained how all of my blood sent for tests had actually been sent to be destroyed by mistake so theres no records for my blood for the 6months or so, so i had to sit there for what seemed like forever while she filled up like 10 testtubes bottles with blood samples. She then weighed me (67kg, bit low for 5ft11 i take it) and told me i should do some weight training (the muscles and/or fat in my legs calves around the knees and thighs have slimmed down a lot i think due to seroconversion was sick for like a month, wish it would go so easy around my tummy >.>), she then asked about my sexual activities ;-x .. , said that the doctor would see me in a few weeks time to see about results and maybe starting a 1 year course of meds as i am relavtively newly infected (take it this is standard procedure in UK?), she also scared me a bit saying as well as contracting hiv you can contract or cause resistance to drug and drug combinations and in the gay world "casual sex" = "i dont know ur hiv status sex" so like yeh..... could have been with more than 1 hiv guy and have resistance to all drugs :`(

she also explained that side effects like diarraheoa etc are not really caused by the meds rather by underlying infections the body has (didnt know that i thought it was the meds >.>) and nowadays affects hardly anyone (read about it a lot on these forums tho >.>) and are relatively minor and disappear after a week or two (wasnt there a link to a website the other day with one guy in a nappy saying he was afraid to leave his home in case he messes his pants >.>). She might be right i dunno but she made me feel secure. She has had 18+ years specialisst  experiences in the hiv field and used to work at the more known clinics in uk including chelsea&westminster so i guess it is good i'm not being seen by just a general practitioner, i'l update in december when i get my blood test results.

[newt]

Hello mr

Your nurse said a lot, and I am not impressed, so newt' roadmap to happiness at clinic

1. In the UK an immediate course of combo is deffo not standard, especially if you have been infected 6+ months.  It may be offered, with patient consent, as part of a trial for people who have been infected less than 6 months.

2. Catching secondary infection (with resistant strains) - hmmm, this is just not science mate (er, nurse).  Most people with resistant strains of HIV had them first time round, there is a chance of acquiring a resistant / second strain, true, but it is low, and more likely in the first three years of being HIV-positive. But, as per British HIV Association new guidelines on sexual health, (ahem) patients should be told, while it is a risk, it is rare.

3. Your clinic should do a baseline resistance test now, as per UK guidelines. The rate of transmission of drug resistance in the UK is about 3-5% for gay men diagnosed in 2005. True, you could have a resistant strain, but most likely not. A resistance test now will most likely tell you (and this is important to know).

4. Losing your bloods is worse than crap.
 
5. Gay sex does not = casual sex.  Some men fuck around, some don't. If a quick shag or two is your scene do get a sexual health screen, cos some STIs can deplete the immune system permanent like.

6. Side effects are down to the meds sometimes.  People with low CD4s who start treatment may get an immune restoration illness, which can mean the squits etc, but on starting treatment, short term, this mostly this is down to the meds, the squits and stuff. Nurse is right that many people get no / few side effects from treatment, but as you will know reading here, some do eh? 

7. Essential UK resource for treatment info (HIV-positive run): i-Base - they's talked the talk n walked the walk.

8. YOU ARE IN CHARGE, ask questions, ask why? ask for justification of statements, think about what the clinic offers / tells you to do before you say yes / no.

First visit to doctor may be disappointing, docs can't tell much from one set of results, s/he will wanna see two or three unless your CD4's 200 or less, in which case will prob. offer you combo on the spot. A good idea at that CD4 count, but do, if you want, take time to think about it.

So, welcome, let us know how it goes.

- matt (Brighton / London) the newt