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Author Topic: Losing fat on ass and face.  (Read 13330 times)

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Offline bubble

  • Member
  • Posts: 70
  • hanging in there.
Losing fat on ass and face.
« on: November 09, 2008, 02:02:28 am »
It is uncomfortable for me to sit about anywhere these days. I am always aware of my bony ass. I have always been thin but the last few months I am really starting to feel it. Friends are asking me if I have lost weight and I have - about 5-10 pounds in the last 6 months. It's gradual and I am getting scared that it is lipo and that this is only the begining and I will waste away to bones.

I am on Truvada/Kaletra for a little over 2 years now... Which is causing it probably? Can I switch? Anyone on this combo know?

If there is nothing to stop this, how do I mentally deal with this?
diagnosed 03/08/05
reluctantly started my first combo (Kaletra/Truvada) on 09/28/06 cause my tcells were dropping and vl increasing.
01/26/07 - undetectable!
12/01/08 - started new combo because of problems with Kaletra. Now on Truvada/Isentress.
Still undetectable. :)

Offline frenchpat

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  • Posts: 519
  • Love your friends, don't eat them.
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2008, 07:36:51 am »
Hello Bubble,

Although it does not seem to affect everyoneon HAART, lipo sometimes affects people who are not taking meds. So which part is due to meds, which is due to HIV itself, which is due to genetic makeup? No one has the answer yet. As far as I am concerned Kaletra seems to be involved in my lipodistrophy rather than the atrophy part, i.e. I've gained fat on my abdomen and neck ever since switching to that drug.

Wasting is another thing which affects the muscles. Lipo and wasting are not the same. If what you suffer from is "only" lipo then you can try to change your overall shape by gaining bigger muscles. Check also with your doctor that there are no other issues (diet, testosterone levels etc.).

As to how to cope with the lipo, I guess you are left with pretty much the same choice you had when being diagnosed positive: accept it or worry about it all the time. I find that self image is the one thing that I keep having to adjust to ever since I was diagnosed. In my case it helps that I am not so young anymore (48) so the effects of age over my body were already something I had learned to adjust to and accept.

At this stage I am lucky not to have had any really damaging effects of either hiv or meds, but I can imagine a future when self image might move to the background with more pressing issues showing up.

hope this helps,

Pat
People have the power - Patti Smith

Offline OneTampa

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  • Posts: 3,021
  • "Butterflies are free."
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2008, 09:52:35 am »

I find it simply amazing that when I signed on today, this discussion thread had started.  I had planned to post an update on my facial wasting correction this weekend as it represents a little over year since I had  my last treatments with Sculptra.

I had facial wasting for 10 years: 1997 - 2007. I went on and then off Crixivan in 1997/98 as it then was deemed a potential cause of that and increased belly fat.  I gained a little weight in the belly and lost some weight in my butt and thighs. I was tall and thin with what they used to call "thunder thighs". Now I am tall (...well 1 out of 3). ;)

My wasting case was deemed moderate to severe in certain areas of my face. I have a long face with high check bones.  The half way good news is that the wasting went to this level and stopped ten years ago, never getting progressively worse. The facial wasting created craters at the ridge above my cheeks (a skeletal look) on both sides of my face and sunken cheeks. The check bone ridge was sharp and pronounced. The area immediately below my eyes, however, remained full and smooth and not sunken. No veins in my forehead.

I had the Sculptra treatments to the area above the cheekbone ridge, surrounding the ridge and below the ridge next to the edge of my mouth. I choose Sculptra because it was noted that it promotes production of your body's own collagen and is less prone to trigger an allergic reaction and the manufacturer offered financial assistance (I was unemployed at the time).  As a person with medium brown and slightly thick skin, I was also told that I was an ideal candidate for the treatment. My remaining concern was the formation of keloids (raised welt-like skin formations) at the fine need injection sites as sometimes happens to persons of color with darker skin.

I went to the doctor in June this year for a check up and he saw no need for a touch up.

Now its November 2008 and all still appear fine.  My cheeks are smooth, full and well rounded --no sharpe ridge, no hollow crater and no severe sunken area in the cheeks.  No keloids formed. I remain extremely pleased and quite aware that I chose a temporary filler that will require a touch up in the future.

Pat is correct. As you get older, you adjust your self image.  I am 55 and after living with wasting for 10 years I am happy to  have the experience of incredible improvement to my face with a youthful appearance as a side benefit.   I have no problem accepting this as I have adjusted my self image upward.

Bubble, there are options for improvement out there.  Just do your research and find the ones you can afford and live with.

Take care.

"He is my oldest child. The shy and retiring one over there with the Haitian headdress serving pescaíto frito."

Offline denb45

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  • Posts: 5,048
  • "1987 Classic Old School POZ+"
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2008, 12:15:12 pm »
It's gradual and I am getting scared that it is lipo and that this is only the begining and I will waste away to bones.


If you take good care of yourself eat right, and do Heart health cardio, and improve your muscle mass, you'll eat more, and feel better, the good news is ,you won't waste away to bones.  ;D but, if your losing 5 to 10 pounds and it's as dramatic as you claim, ( and it's becoming painful just to sit down) I'd talk to my Doctor about THIS! to see whats causing it  ???
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline Miss Philicia

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  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2008, 01:03:08 pm »

Wasting is another thing which affects the muscles. Lipo and wasting are not the same. If what you suffer from is "only" lipo then you can try to change your overall shape by gaining bigger muscles. Check also with your doctor that there are no other issues (diet, testosterone levels etc.).


I just wanted to quote this part of Pat's post for extra emphasis, coming from someone who first saw lipoatrophy develop, THEN had wasting issues.  It's very easy to confuse the two but they are different issues.

Also, if you've only lost 5-10 lbs and assuming (assumption not based on anything but just using it as an example) your base weight was 160 lbs. then this is not wasting in a clinical sense.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline aztecan

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  • Posts: 5,530
  • 36 years positive, 64 years a pain in the butt
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2008, 09:10:24 am »
Hey Bubble,

It can be hard to pinpoint what is causing fat loss. However, if you are losing 5 to 10 pounds, that may be the cause of your butt loss, etc.

Generally speaking, when you get lipo, you don't lose weight, just fat. In other words, if you were at 160 pounds, as Philly used as an example, you could have lipoatrophy in the face, butt, legs and arms, but not lose any weight. You could still weight 160 pounds.

Wasting is another thing entirely.

I would have a heart to heart with your doc about this and see what he/she says. I would want to get to the bottom of the weight loss.

HUGS,

Mark

"May your life preach more loudly than your lips."
~ William Ellery Channing (Unitarian Minister)

Offline bubble

  • Member
  • Posts: 70
  • hanging in there.
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2008, 11:24:10 am »
Thanks everyone...
I saw my doc yesterday. First time in 3 months. He said he didn't even recognize me... **BIG SIGH**
He claimed it was the beard I am using to hide behind my fat loss on my face.

He said that most likely the Truvada was causing it but that it is caused by the way the Kaletra interacts with the Truvada....

He said I could try to switch to the integrase inhibitor which he wasn't sure how it would work with the Truvada. Does anyone know or used this combo or integrase inhibitor with a nuke??

He said I could also try to switch to another PI that might not interact with the Truvada the same way.

He also said there was new non-nuke i could try that doesn't have the same resistance as Sustiva which I am resistant to...

I don't know if this is an entirely different post - perhaps it is and i have "hijacked" my own post LOL. I will start a new chain in another section perhaps about switching meds...

Anyway - i have a lot to think about. At least I am still undectable and have 800+ tcells. :)


diagnosed 03/08/05
reluctantly started my first combo (Kaletra/Truvada) on 09/28/06 cause my tcells were dropping and vl increasing.
01/26/07 - undetectable!
12/01/08 - started new combo because of problems with Kaletra. Now on Truvada/Isentress.
Still undetectable. :)

Offline Miss Philicia

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  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2008, 11:49:12 am »
The integrase inhibitor is the new HIV med called Isentress.  I've been on it for a year now, and in combination with Truvada.  That's a bit odd that an HIV specialist in NYC would not have any patients already on this combo.

While my experience is purely anecdotal, there's been absolutely no worsening of lipo on this combination, nor has there been for any of the handful of people on this same combo that attend my long-term survivor support group.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline denb45

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,048
  • "1987 Classic Old School POZ+"
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2008, 01:13:25 pm »
Thanks everyone...
I saw my doc yesterday. First time in 3 months. He said he didn't even recognize me... **BIG SIGH**
He claimed it was the beard I am using to hide behind my fat loss on my face.

He said that most likely the Truvada was causing it but that it is caused by the way the Kaletra interacts with the Truvada....

He said I could try to switch to the integrase inhibitor which he wasn't sure how it would work with the Truvada. Does anyone know or used this combo or integrase inhibitor with a nuke??

He said I could also try to switch to another PI that might not interact with the Truvada the same way.

He also said there was new non-nuke i could try that doesn't have the same resistance as Sustiva which I am resistant to...

I don't know if this is an entirely different post - perhaps it is and i have "hijacked" my own post LOL. I will start a new chain in another section perhaps about switching meds...

Anyway - i have a lot to think about. At least I am still undectable and have 800+ tcells. :)




Why do all of these dam ID Doc's continue to ignore the effects of lipo, and what it's doing to most of us, it's a real shame, all they talk about is changing MEDS,  >:(  well, I'm sorry that isn't gonna correct the problem, cuz , the damage is already done, I hope that most of the Doc's start recognizing lipo for what it is, and what it can do to a persons self-esteem, for some reason most don't care much about it  ???
"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Offline bubble

  • Member
  • Posts: 70
  • hanging in there.
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2008, 02:09:01 pm »
I know the damage is already done but i just dont want it to get worse. changing meds should stop it from progressing I hope!
diagnosed 03/08/05
reluctantly started my first combo (Kaletra/Truvada) on 09/28/06 cause my tcells were dropping and vl increasing.
01/26/07 - undetectable!
12/01/08 - started new combo because of problems with Kaletra. Now on Truvada/Isentress.
Still undetectable. :)

Offline GSOgymrat

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,122
  • HIV+ since 1993. Relentlessly gay.
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #10 on: November 14, 2008, 09:30:13 am »
It was probably just my metabolism but Kaletra did not work well for me. It got me undetectable but I didn't have a solid bowel movement while I was on it, I had trouble maintaining weight and my lipoatrophy seemed to speed up. With Truvada, Reyataz and Norvir I have not had those problems, although my lipoatrophy has not improved.

Offline bubble

  • Member
  • Posts: 70
  • hanging in there.
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2008, 11:10:48 am »
yeah i am DONE with Kaletra i have decided. I have been on 2-3 imodium daily for a  year and I am bloated and fat from my face and ass are going to my stomach. I AM OVER IT. I would rather stop taking meds and go on a holiday than watch my body turn into this... I guess if I get a dose of what else could happen to me without it I would be thankful but I am not there yet.

diagnosed 03/08/05
reluctantly started my first combo (Kaletra/Truvada) on 09/28/06 cause my tcells were dropping and vl increasing.
01/26/07 - undetectable!
12/01/08 - started new combo because of problems with Kaletra. Now on Truvada/Isentress.
Still undetectable. :)

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Losing fat on ass and face.
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2008, 11:14:49 am »
I think I went on Kaletra at the end of 2001.  By that time my lipo was already bad enough that I had collagen injected in my face (this was all pre-Sculptra or anything else) so I'm not going to point my fingers at Kaletra.  It did give me really bad diarrhea, in fact worse than what I read on this board as at one point I was taking 10 capsules of loperamide daily (that's 20 mg of OTC immodium).  Plus it never got me to undetectable, but then nothing had at that point and anyway I was already resistant to the PI class.

I firmly believe there's somewhat of a lag time with lipo.  It's hard to believe that a metabolic issue like this appears so quickly, but then again I'm not a doctor so...

Oh, bubble -- I know you've said in the past that you are resistant to non-nukes but take care to know that Intelence is a new med in that class, approved this year, and is for patients that are normally resistant to this class.  I would think that this would also be an option for you.  And don't make your experience with Kaletra turn you off to all PI's -- Prezista, which I've been on now for 2.5 years, is very good and doesn't seem to aggravate lipo issues.  Prezista can be combined with Intelence for a regimen.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

 


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