Holy Cow! I've been blipped!

[aztecan]

While tallking with the doc today about some other folk, he mentioned he had the results of my last labs.

Yep, I have a blip. For the first time since July 1996, I have a detectable viral load - 61 to be exact.

I have a notion it was the lab where I had the labs drawn. It was a new place, sort of a satellite facility for the main hospital. I should have known things weren't going well when I had to explain the difference between an HIV test (Wester Blot) and a viral load.

She wanted me to sign a consent form to be tested. 

I explained to her I didn't need to be tested. That was old news. What I needed was a viral load.

I'm willing to wager either they didn't send the blood samples out quickly enough or they sent it to a different lab. At any rate, I'm not all that worried about it.

Besides, my CD4 dropped to 940 something, so it probably was a botched set of labs.

I will probably test again in about three months just to make sure, but I think it was a glitch.

Then of course, the doc gave me the bad news.

His exact words were, "Your lipids are shitty."

You gotta love my doc. He doesn't mince words.

It seems, despite my taking 1,000 mgs of time-release Niacin, plus Zetia, plus 4.000 mgs of fish oil each day, my cholesterol is worse now than it was two months ago. 

Of course, the holidays didn't help. I have been naughty regarding my diet. But I didn't think it would be this bad.

So, next week, when I have an actual appointment with my doc, we will be discussing "juggling" some of my meds, as the doc put it.

Hmmmmm, I wonder if he can do that while standing on one foot? 

HUGS,

Mark

[Longislander]

too bad you weren't 'blipped' in some better way!! I love your attitude!

[Jody]

Hi Mark...Sorry to hear your cholesterol is up, I always worry about mine as well...My total is about 220, it was 280 a few years back...My good chol is good and triglycerides are pretty good so I will try to exercise more in 2007.  But who doesn't like high cholesterol foods after all?  I'll try to skip the juicy burger and fries, chocolate cake and ice cream and substitute more turkey and fish and steamed vegetables (OY)....Sigh, life is tough I guess....Keep on truckin' Aztec man

Jody  

[thunter34]

HA!  My cholesterol was up near 500 (yes...500) this time last year.  Yes, I was a walking stick of butter.  Sorry yours are up high, too.  That's a minor little blip on your VL...I wouldn't worry too much yet!.  Good luck!

[Tucsonwoody]

Mark - good luck with whatever you might have to do to get this problem knocked down.  For some amazing and unknown reason I have always had very low levels - it was around 130 in September and I am one of those people who likes butter on his bacon.  Will be interesting to see how I react to the medications I am taking now and if it will go up a lot.

[Jeffreyj]

You had to explain what an hiv test was!?! My goodness...I am glad you are so calm about that, I think I would have been yelling, or fainting, or both! LoL....How shitty are your lipids and what can you do to lower them? hope all goes better next time Mark...you are "The Man."
XOXO
Jeff

[aztecan]

Hey Jody,

I wish my good cholesterol was in good shape. That is the one I have the hardest time controlling.

Usually, I can drop the bad cholesterol through diet and exercise, but the good level drops along with it.

It could be worse, At least the doc isn't harping about my smoking.

Hey Jeff,

I had to look up the cholesterol information here again, because I never can seem to remember what they are supposed to be. I guess its my way of living in denial. 

From the lessons here:

"HDL cholesterol: This is the total amount of “good” cholesterol in the bloodstream. A normal HDL cholesterol level is between 40 and 59 mg/dL. An HDL cholesterol level below 40 mg/dL can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, as there isn't enough good cholesterol to manage the clogging of the arteries by LDL cholesterol."

My HDL is 27, which is better than the 17 it was about six months ago, but, still not optimal.
 
"LDL cholesterol: This is the total amount of “bad” cholesterol in the bloodstream. The optimal LDL cholesterol level is anything below 100 mg/dL. LDL cholesterol levels above 160 mg/dL are considered to be high and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease."

My LDL is 157.

I'm not sure what the next step is going to be. Well, that isn't exactly true. I will be back on my low-cholesterol diet again staring tomorrow. Tofu for breakfast, Vegenase spread instead of Mayonnaise, Smart Balance spread rather than butter, fish or boneless, skinless chicken six days a week, no bacon, no hamburger, no marbled beef, no cheese.

I also need to get back to my regular workouts. I have been lax as of late, mainly because of the holidays. So, at least three times a week, for at least 90 minutes, I will be sweating with the oldies (my fellow gym members.)

The doc will probably want me to start a statin of some sort. We tried Vytorin, but the Zocor in the Vytorin nearly caused me to have a heart attack, so that one is out. I have heard there are some statins that don't interact as much with the Crixivan, so maybe that's what we'll try.

I guess its back to the drawing board.

HUGS,

Mark

[yowsaa]

Hey Mark,

About a year or so ago I also had a blip in the VL. Was explained to me that there was a change in the testing procedure and many clients showed a small rebound. You can call the ID doc and ask if your concerned.
Best of luck with the other stuff.

[Jeffreyj]

Mark,
Your blood seems to be telling you something. I am very happy you are taking it seriously and being pro-active. Good for you.  I would also like to thank you, as this thread has promted me to get a full blood work up tomorrow! So thanks for the post: Thus the reminder. (Since we are the same age, I figure it would be a good thing to do.

Aidsmed to the rescue, once again.

Thanks Mark!

[Eldon]

Yes, I AM Supporting You!

Hey Mark...

It is GOOD to hear from you. Yes, it was more than likely a blip of some sort for your labs as you say a botched set. As far as the lipids are concerend...keep a close eye on that and please do keep us posted. Take care of YOU!



Thanks for chiming in and sharing with the group.

Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...

Because It Is ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!

[Ann]

Hi Mark,

I can't help but wonder if they screwed up all your labs. Is there any possibility you can have them all re-done sooner rather than later? If they screwed up the VL and CD4 tests, chances are they screwed up the rest.

Hugs,
Ann
xxx

[koi1]

Your numbers are still great, I'm jealous, and yes you were enjoying yourself this Holdiay season. The emotional comfort of food and people is worth a little blip in the cholesterol numbers, but get ti down. I hope I can start getting out there more to visit people when I gain some of my weight back.

rob

[penguin]

sorry to hear about the blip.. 10 years though, that ain't bad odds.

re the cholestorol, would it be worth investigating a more lipid friendly combo, like reyataz etc..?

kate

[poet]

Hey Mark.  I think you have your answers in your post which, I hope, will destress all the data.  It does sound to me as though starting with the 'technician,' the lab work was destined for screw-ups.  They may not even be yours, if we really want to assume their worst efforts in play.  I used to have to remind the person to rock the blood in the tubes.   

As for cholesterol, etc., by doing lab work before eating OR taking meds., I was able to see that it was all about the meds and what they did to me.  Without either in play, they were 'normal.'  I already know that statins don't work against them and have been reading some fishy things about fish oils.

I would say what I say to someone who got his or her first results: perspective.  These represent blips.  Let's see where things are at the end of 2007?  Best, Win

[aztecan]

Hey Win,
I did the tests after a 12-hour fast. Nothing but water during that time - and my meds of course. That is one of the reasons it takes me forever to get them done, I hate the fasts.

I can't really avoid taking the meds during that time though. I have to take them every 8 hours and Crix doesn't have a long lifespan in the body.

I think the lipids were made worse thanks to the holidays, but they weren't very good to begin with. I had hopes the Niaspan would help after I upped the dosage to 1,000 mgs two months ago.

I don't think the Zetia is working at all. Apparently, neither is the Niaspan. As for the fish oil?

At some point I may have to consider switching to another ARV regimen. I hate the thought of that, but it may be necessary.

But not untili after May! That will mark my 11th anniversary on these meds and I fully intend to hit that milestone.

The next time I have labs done, I will go back to the hospital lab where I traditionally have had them done. The other place is closer, but I think they really just botched the labs.

As Ann said, who knows, maybe they screwed up all of them.

Time will tell and there is nothing about which to panic. But I will steer others clear of the new facility just because I don't think they have it together as yet.

HUGS,

Mark

[bear60]

Hugs Mark...
I wouldnt be too upset about a reading of 61.  Less than 50 is undectable is it not? Or am I wrong.  What exactly consitutes "undectable"?

[J.R.E.]

Hello Mark,

I also would not be that concerned, at the moment with that number. I pulled a couple links up one was from these forums, when I had asked about Viral load blips, and the other link is from  John Hopkins. Perhaps you may get little bits and peices from those links.


From this site :

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=665.0  ( mention of collecting blood )


From John Hopkins :


http://qa.hopkins-aids.org/forum/search_result.html?section_id=61&keywords=Viral+load+blips


Another search from John Hopkins " high cholesterol" :

http://qa.hopkins-aids.org/forum/search_result.html?section_id=61&keywords=High+cholesterol


http://qa.hopkins-aids.org/forum/search_result.html?section_id=61&keywords=Triglycerides


There is a lot of reading material in those links, but like I mentioned earlier, perhaps you may find bits and peices, to help answer your concerns.


In regard to the cholesterol, believe me I understand this problem, and its frustrating as hell. I go in for blood test January 11. I will be curious as to my cholesterol when those results become available.





Hang in there Mark--------------Ray

[Life]

Mark, as I read, you are handling this like a trooper...   Very calm, kewl and collected....  You will figure out the "mix"

Love

[Queen Tokelove]

Mark,

I have to agree with everyone else on your numbers looking good. I don't really understand the whole cholesterol thing to be honest with you. My hdls (good?) are too low but the ldls are low too. I don't know why this is happening but I need to see my primary doc. I have been taking the fish oil, which you know about but only raised it slightly so now I am taking 2. But don't give up hope, you did say you saw improvement, maybe things just aren't happening as quickly as you would like but aren't we all like that in this maddening numbers game.....

[Mike89406]

Mark,

I drink tea a lot especially Green Tea & White tea not only does those types of teas have antioxidant , and flavonoid properties against diseases, & cancers etc...but they help thin the blood and lower cholestrol.
I also just read that black tea reduces bad cholestrol by up to 11%. Now Im not saying this is a cure all I actually enjoy drinking tea and Im not saying this wll do the trick. However all you have to do is google Green tea, Black tea etc.. and you can read it yourself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_benefits_of_tea

http://greentealovers.com/greenteahealthotherconditions.htm

http://www.whiteteaguide.com/whiteteahealthbenefits.htm

[fearless]

Mark,
sorry to hear about the bad cholesterol levels. don't forget to take along the AIDSMEDS article about the Spanish research which suggested a possible way forward.

[Strayboy74]

Here are the results of my 12 hour fasting cholesterol tests...   mind you, I'm not on ANY medications.  These were taken 12/22/06  - I'm still waiting for my VL and T4's.

Component            Value   Flag               Unit
CHOLESTEROL        351      H       <239   mg/dL
TRIGLYCERIDE        401      H       <199   mg/dL
HDL                         34      L         >40    mg/dL
LDL CALCULATED NOT DONE         <129  mg/dL


Of course, I have a genetic cholesterol disorder that my doctor said will kill me before the HIV....  we'll see.

-joseph

[aztecan]

Hey all,

Thanks so much for the support and advice.

Mike, I love green tea, but haven't been drinking it much. It couldn't hurt, that's for sure. I haven't tried white tea, but I do consumer copious amounts of black tea. I acquired some black tea from Russia that is a real treat.

Ray, thanks for the links. They are interesting and did give me some pointers.

Steve, thanks for reminding me about the Spanish study. When I tried the Vytorin, which is Zetia with Zocor combined, it worked great on the the lipids, but also did a number on me. I noted in the study that Zocor is one of the statins that should be avoided. Wish I had known that before I took it. Definitely worth looking into with another statin though.

Akasha. what can I tell you. My HDL (good cholesterol) is low and always has been. One thing that does seem to help is regular exercise. It does bring up the levels somewhat, but not enough in my case.

Bear, yep, less than 50 is considered undetectable. SIGH. I guess 61 isn't too bad. I still think it was a botched set of labs, though. It could be worse. I once had finished with a blood draw, not paying attention to the number of vials, and was leaving the hospital when the phlebotomist came running down the hall after me shouting, "Wait, I forgot one."

The phlebotomist is an old friend of mine and was totally embarrassed. We had been chitchatting about different things during the blood draw and he just missed one. We had a good laugh about it while he was sticking me a second time.
Unfortunately, he works graveyards now, so I kid him about not being able to poke me any more.

Amazing the memories that come to mind.

Hey Stray, looks like we're in the same boat, except mine's not hereditary.

HUGS,

Mark

[koi1]

Hey,

Otmeal really helps bring cholesterol down. It is really beneficial for other digestive issues as well. I stopped eating it because I got sick of having it every morning. I am taking an oatmeal holiday.



rob

[HIVworker]

Well, I expect that to be a BLIP and you to be undetectable again next time. 61 is not much of a viral load. I think I've harped on about BLIPS enough to not want to be boring about them. However, it is often something another testing center can not repeat with the same blood sample. They just bounce a bit and 61 is very close to below the limit of quantification. It's a shame that the nurse's incompetence made it seem that all the bloodwork might have been wrong. However, viral load tests are actually hard to mess up and are done under strict regulated guidelines. By that I doubt that the testing station did anything wrong, just that you might have been onto something about storage prior to shipping etc. Add that to the viral load bounce and you get a BLIP.

The bottom line is don't lose sleep about that at all.

The cholesterol level is a little concerning, but it seems you know the right sorts of things to do. I can not offer anything but my personal experience with high cholesterol and that doesn't involve the sorts of meds you are taking. Instead, I just do what you are doing now regarding diet etc and I send you my best.

Best,

R

[Eldon]

Yes, I AM Supporting You!

Hey Mark...

You have got a great attitude not to allow your inner anxiety to put you into a panic. From what is gathered here, the Labs botched up the tests. Time will tell the story to the next chapter of this. In the meantime.....take care of YOU!
 

Don't You Dare Give Up... Don't You Dare Give In...

BECAUSE It IS ALL Within YOU to WIN!!!

[joemutt]

Hey Mark and Holiday Hugs!
I noticed you were on a similar combo as I , Combivir and Crixi, I was a Combivir and Viramune.
Reason I tell this is I think those combos are comparable also re: cholesterol,
I switched to Viread, Viramune, 3TC and I'll get new labs on Jan 10,
I stopped the lipitor just to check if a new combo (kicking the azt mainly) will
do something for my cholesterol numbers which got worse even on lipitor and gemfibrozil (in the mid 300's),
I'll let you know, I was on azt 9.5 years and you are for about 10 years if my memory serves me right,
so that might be an avenue to consider, that is if my numbers will be ok next month 

[Nico]

Hey Mark,
In the same boat.  I had the usual seven vials drawn y'day and nurse Wendy asked if I wanted a lipid test to go along with the package.  Knowing I did not fast 12 hours prior I told her and she said OK just to see how bad it was. 

Well not to be gross, but all she did was bring back in one of the vials of blood just drawn and it had a white substance on top of the blood.  You guessed it fat!!!  I just about fell out my chair.  Nothing like shock therapy to wake me up. 

Needless to say, I got a call from my doc this morning telling not asking me to come in for a fasting test and I will start cholesterol medication.  My last fasting numbers were cholesterol 375 and triglycerides 728!  Not pretty, but having my pretend M.D. status, I told doc that I would eat oatmeal and change my diet.  God who's fooling who!

Since I take Trizivir as part of my routine, I will be interested to see if I have the same experience that Joemutt describes.  Time will tell.  By the way do I win a prize if my lipid numbers are higher than yours?!    Good luck on your next series it does sound like a botched job at the lab.

Cheers!
Roger

[Matty the Damned]

Comrade Mark,

It is not Matty the Damned's practice to comment in this place these days. Nevertheless he could not let this thread pass without acknowledgement. Why? Well for two reasons:

1. You are special to him.

2. That no one has yet posted in this thread in the third person. As far as MtD is concerned a thread always takes on a particular quality when a brother or sister comments in it in the third person. It is regrettable that this doesn't happen more often.

Another thing that this thread lacks is a certain degree of cute. Fear not, Matty the Damned comes prepared for all eventualities. How's this for industrial grade cute?



Eh?

 

MtD
(Who still has that certain thang)

[HIVworker]

HIVworker is glad to see you post somewhere...

[Matty the Damned]

HIVworker is glad to see you post somewhere...

Well darling, when one has gwapes . . . .

MtD
(Who is a noted possessor of cute fwuit)

[ACinKC]

Yeah yeah matty.

So where did you put the "hamster" when he was done with the grape you lured him into your car with?

[Boo Radley]

So where did you put the "hamster" when he was done with the grape you lured him into your car with?

I think it's a shrew, not a hamster... although a grape might not be good bait unless it had blood on it or something...

Mark, good luck with getting all the numbers in the right places!  I'll reiterate what has been iterated by several: those labs were screwy and probably unreliable.  See what the next draw looks like.  My CD4s blipped this last test (from 339 to 220) but it don't worry me.  My cheap doctor told me the viral load test I take measures only to =<400 so for me that is the limit of undetectability.    I'll never know if it's 61!

Boo

[aztecan]

In the words of the illustrious Mae West, "Beula, peel me a gwape!"

HUGS,

Mark

(Who also has a special fondness for certain fruits.)

[Matty the Damned]

So where did you put the "hamster" when he was done with the grape you lured him into your car with?

I put him where he belonged, doll.

MtD