When will this roller coaster slow down

[chemistry001]

Sorry guys I just need a quick scream

ARGGGGGGGGGG

It seems that everyday something else is thrown into the equation, and its starting to wear me out, in the last 3 1/2 weeks Ive gone from being HIV+ to having renal failure to dangerously high Calcium levels and today I've just found out that the inducted sputum sample i gave a few weeks ago has been grown on culture and they have found some kind of TB bug and Ive to go in next week and get it investigated. If it is TB then my chances of starting my new job as a teacher are screwed. I don't want to answer my phone as I'm paranoid it will be the doctor telling me something else is wrong.

This is one roller coaster ride that i want to get off NOW!

(scream over and calming down now)

[Matty the Damned]

Paul,

If you've got renal problems and TB then you really need to sort those out before you go back to teaching. I appreciate the difficulties you're facing right now, but you owe it to yourself (and in light of the TB to your students) to get these things sorted out.

-huggles-

MtD

[penguin]

paul, hello, that is a lot  you've got going on at the moment.

i am wondering why things are being left until next week though, in terms of investigation, further treatment..

what is being done about the renal failure? and the calcium levels?

and to agree with matty..if you are experiencing renal failure, your immune system is obviously struggling so much, you possibly have TB, & you are still recovering from  PCP..with all those difficulties, are you really feeling well enough to be thinking about going back to work? Perhaps focusing on regaining some strength and health first is the priority

i hope things are soon easier, calmer for you

Kate

[Matty the Damned]

Paul,

I forgot to ask, are you having dialysis for the renal issues? If so how will this (which is usually many hours of treatment a week) sit with your teaching responsibilities?

MtD

[chemistry001]

Hi Matty, Penguin

The renal failure has been resolved, it was the Seprtin (bactrum) that caused that and my kidney function is returning to normal, the doctor said it was Chronic Tubular Necrosis that i had, which they believed lead to the high Calcium levels (but are still not sure). Both were treated while in hospital and monitored daily and they were happy enough with the results to let me go home.
I think they are leaving the TB thing till next week as they are not sure what it is they have grown or how to treat it, the doc said it was not serious enough at this stage to ask me to stay in hospital. I imagine the need time to investigate what it is and the growth of it was speeded up on the culture dishes.

Work is going to be a hard one, i guess I'll speak to the head teacher and keep them informed, its hard to do that when i don't want to disclose my status, so must choose my words carefully

[Matty the Damned]

Well presuming you have active mycobacterium disease, what are your chances of being cleared to teach?

MtD

[Christine]

Hi Paul,
I am sorry the past few weeks have been so rough. Your post sounds like you have a lot of fight in you. Don't give up...take one day at a time.

I agree with everyone else. You need to focus on your health right now, and getting stronger. You can have your doctor write a letter to your head teacher saying you are having medical problems right now (absolutely no need to disclose the reason why), and that you need to take time to focus on your health.

When speaking with your boss, express how much you want to teach, how disappointed you are that your health problems are taking away from your dream of teaching, also ask if you can have a deferral for xxx amount of months on your start date.

Your desire to teach is not being taken away from you, it is just going to take a little longer for it to happen. Take care of you right now.
Christine

[chemistry001]

I'm going to go into school and speak to the head on Tuesday when the senior team are back in and explain (to an extent) what is happening, and see what they say, my passion for teaching will never be put in question as it is more than evident when people met me as to how much i care for the profession. It's looking more and more likely that i will not be able to start and that distresses me more than any illness.
Ive got so much fight in me i feel like going 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, no matter what my body throws at me I'm going to hold it down and never give up, too many people care about me and they deserve more than this, so i will prevail (just hope i prevail in double quick time).

Paul

[penguin]

Hello, again, paul.

Yes, you need to talk to your medical team about going back to work. They can sign you off, for x amount of time. Yes, you need to talk to your new employer, and their occupational health  dept/person, you dont' have to disclose your hiv status, or give every detail, but they need to have a basic understanding of what your support needs might be?
If there is any  issue of you having active TB however, getting that clarified is very important.

Right, the TB. Or the might-be TB, or whatever it is.
I am confused. If you’ve done sputum samples ( and there should be 3, one early morning, if you have) then there is a suspicion, on someone’s part, of active respiratory TB.  So from this, I assume that at some point, you had dodgy chest  xrays and/or symptoms of TB?

I am really not understanding this, the waiting till next week, if you have had a positive sputum swab.? Even if they want to do another one, or they are still waiting for more results…if there was evidence of tb, then someone should be talking about treatment?

The boys n girls at St Thomas’ are pretty much on the ball when it comes to TB, at least they have been with people I know of who’ve been treated there. So something, something about this seems a little…odd?

Kate

[chemistry001]

Hi Kate

I'm not sure myself whats going on, I'm going to call my doctor tomorrow or go down to the hospital to speak to someone as over the last few days it feels like there is something stuck in the lower part of my oesophagus and my chest feels tight.

When i was in hospital with PCP the physio came in and i had an induced sputum using a nebulizer to help bring up samples, i had to give 5 samples at the same time, at this point i was in isolation as they did suspect TB. Nothing came from those samples as i was let out of isolation after 7 days and put in an open ward, and i thought that was the end of it. Today i was told that they have grown something they suspect is Tb on the culture dishes and that i should go to the X-ray dept next Thursday.

My sister was coming down to see me for the weekend and bringing her 2 young kids, so i called the doc and explained this and asked if it was safe, he said that it wasn't that serious as they would have kept me in if it was, and that as long as I'm not coughing much and don't spend to long in an enclosed space with the kids everything would be fine.
Still I'm a bit worried and will try and get answers tomorrow morning, but not sure what i should be asking as not familiar with TB

As for school that will be another bridge to cross next week, thanks for the advice, its gratefully received

Paul