First Trip to the Doc's

[Ravhyn]

So I took my first 60 mile drive today to Nashville for my appointment was hoping too see what my viral load results were but nothing has reached them yet.

They took my blood here at home for the viral load/cd4 count, then called me back and said they had to do the test again and still no results on it. So the hospital in Nashville took my blood again too do the test along with a lot of other stuff.

My doc here says she believes the virus is still dormant in me, which cheered me up. I have my first appointment with an actual doc next month I am really looking forward too it. They say she's one of the best and that she's been all around the world. 

the lady I spoke with today though was really upbeat and positive. After talking to her today I walked away feeling a bit more positive about being positive.  Even my husband had cheered up a lot, which of course made me even happier. 

[tednlou2]

I wish ya good news on your labs.  It is very possible your body will control the HIV for many years.  Some progress very quickly, though.  So, your husband is negative and you met him after being poz?  Or, you got HIV from former partner but just found out?  I guess if you were just diagnosed and already married, then I guess I answered my own question.  Has he been tested?  What does he think about it?  It sounds like he's being very supportive.

Best of luck!

[hotpuppy]

Ravyn,
  Hopefully your labs will turn out great.  Everything always seems to take longer when you are waiting on it.    It's always good to remember that HIV is a 100 mile marathon, not a 50 yard dash.  Patience and perserverance carry the day.  I always like to relax and meditate a bit before going to the doctor's office.  I always take something to read.  That lessens the opportunity for me to be frustrated when things are slow, mistakes are made, and I feel like I could be doing something else besides listening to the Crisis News Network.
-Brian

[Matty the Damned]

My doc here says she believes the virus is still dormant in me, which cheered me up. I have my first appointment with an actual doc next month I am really looking forward too it. They say she's one of the best and that she's been all around the world.

The sooner you can see the "actual doc" the better sez Matty the Damned.

HIV does not lie dormant. It is always active, chipping away at the cell mediated immune system. There was a time (back in the 80s) when HIV was believed to lay dormant biding its time and twiddling its glycoproteins, but now we know much better.

You owe it to yourself and your intimates to get this stuff sorted out.

Be well,

MtD

[Ann]

I have to wonder if your first VL test result came back undetectable and that's thrown doctors with little hiv experience into confusion (hence the repeated tests). I've read through your story both here and on your blog and things just aren't adding up. I'm wondering if your positive antibody results aren't false positives due to something like an underlying, undiagnosed auto-immune disease (which is something that is know to cause false positive hiv antibody results).

If you were infected by your partner who died from aids related causes, then you would have tested positive back then, provided you tested out to three months following your last incident of unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse with him. If you tested too soon and never re-tested, you could have been positive for all those years without knowing.

Just because your current husband tests negative doesn't mean you weren't positive with a detectable viral load. Hiv is much more difficult to transmit from a woman to a man and it's not unusual for a man to remain negative despite unprotected intercourse with an hiv positive woman.

Could you please clarify whether or not you tested out to three months following your last unprotected intercourse with your late husband?

If you DID test out to three months with negative results following your last unprotected intercourse with your late husband, then either you became infected from someone else between your late husband and your current husband, or you aren't positive. As I said, it is possible to get false positive results due to other reasons.

And as Matty said, hiv does not lie dormant. A person can remain asymptomatic for years, but the virus is not dormant and antibodies are always produced, usually by six weeks following initial infection. There is no such thing as a dormant hiv infection. Dormant implies the virus is not replicating or doing unseen, unfelt damage. Asymptomatic implies the person is feeling no ill-effects because the damage is not yet great enough to cause symptoms. There's a HUGE difference.

When will you get the results of your latest tests?

Ann

[Ravhyn]

Hello everyone, sorry been running around lately like a chicken with my head cut off LOL. 

Ann the test I took was only a couple of weeks after we found out his diagnosis.   But, I do think another test was taken I just can't remember at what time but it was with the same hospital. She said dating back two years show's nothing.  I'm very forgetful.

With partners though there was no one in between.

I do have one concern, although I haven't looked into it. I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) I've been told it puts me at a high risk for hypothydriosm (I know my spelling is terrible) Could something like that cause the test too go awry? I know it's rare to test as a false positive on both test. The lady I saw in Nashville told me of one such case that a woman was pregnant, and for some reason her hormones were just out of whack more then usual and it caused her to be false positive on both test.   With PCOS, I have a mountain of testorone in my body and not half as much estrogen. 



Hotpuppy

I understand what you are saying =). I actually already at times forget I have it.  Except when I come on here or the aids tribe which seem to be less and less everyday.  I try to focus on my artwork and it helps =)