My Story

[Mrmojorisin]

 I was given my official diagnosis on April 17,2012. I had taken the blood test on March 30. Here is my story....
   
 I have been really healthy most of my life. I have missed very few days of work for being sick. I have not had a flu shot since I left the Army in 1991. In that 21 years I have only gotten the flu twice. My weight had stayed around 160-165lbs ever since high school.
 Over the last several months I had lost about 25lbs. I went from 160lbs to about 135lbs. I didn't think much of it as my appetite had gotten smaller. I simply attributed it to age. ( I am 43) I had some fatigue and joint pain. That I was thinking was arthritis, as many in my family are afflicted with that. In the middle of March I developed a sore throat that would not go away with over the counter medication. So I visited a get well clinic. It was the doc there that noticed the white sores on my throat. She tested for strep, it came back negative and she sent me home with a bottle to gargle with. That fun trip cost me $110 just to be told it wasn't strep.

 I had recently activated my VA medical benefits, so a week later when the sore throat hadn't gotten better, I visited my VA clinic. Since it was my first visit we went over my medical history. I had contracted Hep B in February of 2010. That really knocked me on my ass. After two emergency clinics and one hospital emergency room failed to diagnose me correctly, the second hospital emergency room admitted me and I spent a week in the hospital. At that time I tested negative for HIV. I was not informed that I needed to get tested again.

 The VA doc took one look at my throat and said "thrush". He said it usually only presents in infants and adults with a compromised immune system. He said coupled with your history of Hep B, you may have HIV. So he gave me the antifungal medication and scheduled for blood test. I took the blood test on March 30, 2012. I had an appointment to go over the results on April 20 but my thrush came back and I went to see the doc on April 17. It was at that visit that he informed me that I had tested positive for HIV. I was told that the ID section at the VA hospital would get in contact with me and we would go from there.
 
 I didn't sleep for almost 72 hours. Then I decided to get informed. I had all the usual misinformation. Things like I only had maybe 5 or 10 years. But as I read more, I discovered that while it is a chronic illness it is not fatal if it is managed.

 My first appointment with ID was on May 8th. I had to reschedule because I had a conflicting court date. So the appointments desk reset my visit with ID to May 29th. The next day I get a call from the ID doc asking why I rescheduled. I explained it to her. She informed me that my CD4 was at 83 and my VL was 353,000. So I needed to get started on meds right away. She had my meds mailed to me and I started them on May 4th. I am taking Norvair, Truvada, and Prezista.

 About a week after starting the meds, I began running a fever at night and was very fatigued regardless of how much sleep I got. I also had almost a zero appetite. I started drinking Ensure, because I knew I needed the vitamins. One morning I woke and had a fever of 103 and was very light headed. So I went to the emergency room. I had gotten pneumonia. While I was there they sent me to have my blood tested again. This time my CD4 was 218 and the VL was 4790.
 Since then I have gotten over my pneumonia and am feeling like my old self again. My appetite is back and stronger then ever.
 Although, I haven't spoken with any family about my status yet, I feel pretty confident about this. I know that I will live a long and healthy life. I will not let this define me.
 Also, I thank God for the VA. Without that, I could not afford these meds..

[thunter34]

Hey and welcome to the forums.  I am on the same exact combo as you.  I also started out with almost the same number of CD 4's.  Make yourself at home.  You seem to be handling this with the appropriate stride.  That's refreshing to see.

[Mrmojorisin]

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