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Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: Assurbanipal on December 10, 2010, 07:39:40 pm

Title: Singing the midwinter, mediocre labs, fractured blues...
Post by: Assurbanipal on December 10, 2010, 07:39:40 pm
Grump 
              grump
                                grump
     
New labs on Dec 1 and a new DEXA scan

In theory the DEXA is good news; bone density up 10% and the T scores up about .5.  But after a year and a half of bone meds, tons of aerobic exercise and lifting weights it still registers in the osteoporosis range  AND I AM NOT FRAGILE DAMMIT!

On to the regular labs:

All cholesterol numbers are high (thankfully even the "good" cholesterol)
Blood sugar is just over the limit
tcells down (not significantly)
% down (significantly but at least not dangerous )

-- and as icing on the cake they have gone to a NEW! MORE REFINED! viral load test that shows viral load copies down to 20 ... and I scored a 20.   Meaningless but .......

I have tried every shoe insert on the planet --- next stop the podiatrist -- like I need another g.d. doctor...

oh and at 54 I'm too old to call this the midlife, midwinter, mediocre labs blues  ... no matter how much I admired Hugues Cuenod...

_____________
All right -- rant over -- we return now to our daily program of uplift...   
Title: Re: Singing the midwinter, mediocre labs, fractured blues...
Post by: J.R.E. on December 11, 2010, 05:28:04 am

I have tried every shoe insert on the planet...


Been there, Done that !  I hear ya...

Ray
Title: Re: Singing the midwinter, mediocre labs, fractured blues...
Post by: Jody on December 11, 2010, 10:22:40 pm
Sorry the numbers weren't better assurb but not terrible either, sorry for the foot pain, that's a bummer.

Happy Holiday's anyway.

Jody
Title: Re: Singing the midwinter, mediocre labs, fractured blues...
Post by: eric48 on December 12, 2010, 03:56:37 pm
Hi,


With your numbers being

CD4 Count CD4%   Total Lymphocyte

636   30,3   2099
573   26,1   2195

the total lymphocyte is stable... May be a small raise in CD8 % , then ?

A flue (or recent flue vaccine), may be ?

Once your are UD for a while, chances are that your VL could be as low as 1 (requires research equipment...)

(my doc said, though, that for some unknown reason a (small) number of people, while technically UD, remain in the 25 + area (measured at research institute)
They do not know why... Yours is not so... See what I mean...

This VL is awesome !

If your are still on Epzicom (which includes Abacavir), cholesterol can go slightly up with even a bit more up with HDL (limited effect). PIs can crank up cholesterol (I am not on PI so I do not know for sure...).

Abacavir notoriously fucks up with blood sugar RESULTS, not blood sugar ITSELF. While on Abacavir, monitoring of Fructosamine and Hemoglobin A1C helps get a better picture.

Pain along the leg nerve (sciatic) is an 'old' man's companion. I do not know if you suffer from that as well. I do, but recently bought a heated mattress insert. Solved my problem :-))

So this is all very good!

Cheers

Eric
Title: Re: Singing the midwinter, mediocre labs, fractured blues...
Post by: Assurbanipal on December 21, 2010, 08:53:04 pm
Hey thanks guys.
 
I thought I'd post the results of the discussions with the endocrinologist and ID doc.

The endocrinologist said that the bone density improvement was more than he expected and so I should keep on taking it until it stops working.  How would we know? Another DEXA in a year and a half. "Bones are slow"

I told him about the foot pain and he took my shoes off and felt around and said he thinks it is bone spurs.  He ruled out neuropathy because it relates so directly to stepping on the foot . 

ID doc told me she can't do an anal cancer swab and sudggested the colorectal guy who did the colonoscopy 4 years ago (about due for another), told me it was time to go back to the dermatoogist, gave me a new eye doctor and an orthopaedist...  It will be a doctorful winter.

But

I've been off oxygen support for 4 and a half years and except for the broken wrist I haven't been back to the hospital.  Pills, doctors, feet ... it's still sweet to be alive.

Happy holidays
A