Author Topic: Non HIV-related health issues (Read 5678 times)

aupointillimite · « **on:** December 21, 2006, 03:33:56 pm »

I have an ulcer which likes to flare up from time to time... it seems to be exacerbated by alcohol.

No joke.

Last night was one of those times. I had to run out of a bar after a single drink, throw up everywhere, and try not to scream like a little girl on the long walk home, as it felt like my stomach was being skewered by a thousand red-hot knives tempered in the pits of Hell itself.

I'm being serious here... as I lay on my couch, writhing in what I can only describe as a very unique pain, I did get some solace from the fact that it wasn't HIV related.

It made me feel sort of oddly triumphant that I could still have other things wrong with me that didn't have to deal with immuno-suppression.

Does this happen to anyone else?

thunter34 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:37:41 pm »

Oh, yes! Thunderous flatulence brought about by lactose intolerence gives me that triumphant feeling all the time!

bear60 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:41:33 pm »

I am sorry to hear that you have had this painful episode. Honestly this is one of those times when I have to ask: "Why didnt you go to the emergency room?" It does not matter that this was HIV related or not. Your health ( when you are HIV positive) is always an ISSUE. So, get to your doctor.

RapidRod · « **Reply #3 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:43:41 pm »

aupointillimite, have you ever had your gallbladder checked for stones? The only time I ever seen anyone get like you mentioned, was from gallbladder attacks from alcohol. My alcer never makes me upchuck, but my gallbladder sure in the hell will.

marco23 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:48:16 pm »

I'm lactose intolerant (damn dairy products to hell) and a couple of years ago I had strong stomach pains that would come and go. It got a point when I would throw up and have diarrhea. Eventually, I had to go to emergency and as it turned out - I had gastritis!
HIV, lactose intolerant, gastritis.......I'm just a delicate flower.

Have you had exams for gastritis?

aupointillimite · « **Reply #5 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:52:53 pm »

Rod- I actually haven't. It never made me throw up before... but I told my doctor about the stomach pains a while ago, and he told me that it was probably an ulcer and to quit smoking and drinking, and if it kept bothering me to see him again. My PCP hates prescribing medication and is inclined to not worry about too much... especially if his patients are in their 20s.

It didn't bother me until last night. Weird. Outta nowhere. Wham!

thunter34 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 21, 2006, 03:55:21 pm »

Quit smoking and drinking.

Now there's some real-world answers for ya.

aupointillimite · « **Reply #7 on:** December 21, 2006, 04:02:52 pm »

Quote from: thunter34 on December 21, 2006, 03:55:21 pm

Quit smoking and drinking.

Yeah, I know... but I like smoking. And I like drinking.

I know it's horrible for me... but I'm impractical, and for me they sort of make life worth living.

bear60 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 21, 2006, 04:24:20 pm »

OK....I wish I didnt have to get serious all of a sudden. But here goes: Aupoint "I know it's horrible for me... but I'm impractical, and for me they sort of make life worth living. "
This is EXACTLY what I was telling my doctor 6 months ago. After she told me that I had early stage emphysema after smoking for 30 years. She said, you obviously are not going to die from HIV so if you want to be on an oxygen tank when you retire, go ahead smoke. I started Wellbutrin and it totally took away my NEED to smoke because......it made my world better and worth living ...without the nicotine. (And I went in for an acupuncture treatment to stop smoking).
So what am I saying here? According to my doctor I needed nicotine to get thruough the day. Ok, now I just need Wellbutrin. But it isnt harming me like smoking.
In addition to the smoking I was drinking on a daily basis. I looked forward to coming home to a cold one ( or two or three) to relax. You get the picture. I needed that too. Now, with the Wellbutrin not only do I not need the nicotine I dont need the alcohol. It apparently works for the two problems. I still have a few drinks when I want to but that daily need to make my world worth living is gone.
You are young. A lot younger than me. But you may have some of the the same problems as I do. Being HIV positive makes your life different. No going back. No going back to square ONE. You got this to deal with now.
I also....had a serious problem with ACID REFLUX, which although not an ulcer, is a cause of esophageal cancer. This cancer is one that you die from. Quickly.
I started taking NEXIUM a few years ago and it has turned my life around. No more acid stomach. No more vomiting or nausea.
My friend I am not saying you have the same problems as I do but you need to care for yourself in the same way I am trying to care for myself.

aupointillimite · « **Reply #9 on:** December 21, 2006, 04:55:08 pm »

I try. And I know why I continue to smoke and drink.

I'm 24. I'm HIV+. I am not a fan of having to go to a doctor more often than my parents do, or having to have a stupid medication calendar thing like my grandparents do. It's screwed up, and it makes me feel frail and old.

I quit doing heroin at 21 and quit doing coke months ago. Neither withdrawal bothered me all that much... I've quit smoking on a number of occasions, and not having nicotine doesn't really bother me. But I've stopped the drugs.

This is in no way meant to offend anyone... that is not my intention... but I feel older than I am in a lot of ways, and it all stems from the HIV. And if I have to have some self-inflicted wounds from youthful indiscretions, than damn it, at least I enjoyed my youth.

It's nothing more than that... I very well may quit... but I feel as though my life has been dictated to enough... and if I have to keep up a couple unhealthy behaviors... at least they make me happy.

I'm sick of feeling like I'm made of porcelain. So I smoke.

bear60 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 21, 2006, 05:03:43 pm »

Well.....I hear you loud and clear. Yes, HIV has changed your life forever. But you can still BE young....act young. Young people have LOTS of opportunities....... To travel the world or study music or go mountain climbing.
I know you dont want people dictating to you. But its only cause they love you or want to help that they say stuff like...you need to stop smoking.
Ultimately it is up to you.

aupointillimite · « **Reply #11 on:** December 21, 2006, 05:10:48 pm »

Quote from: bear60 on December 21, 2006, 05:03:43 pm

... travel the world or study music or go mountain climbing.

I do these things. They're brilliant. I smoke while I do them.

I can't go mountain climbing though. My lung capacity is shot to hell.

I guess I'd just like to feel normal. Well... normal for me, anyway.

Boo Radley · « **Reply #12 on:** December 21, 2006, 05:14:11 pm »

au,

I stopped smoking tobacco in my mid-20s while recuperating from Hep A. In truth I just started smoking more pot and having a joint in my hand satisfied the urge. I hate tobacco smoke now and it makes me ill to have to breathe too much of it.

Drinking, on the other hand, I did with a vengeance until 1994. I drank so much I could often feel my kidneys grinding, trying to get to 5th when they had only 4 gears.

One thing you need to consider, au, is nothing ages your face more than smoking and heavy drinking, and I have the wrinkles to prove it. As we all know you are slim and gorgeous (and you have those fabulous cheek bones from which the rest of your body hangs, sweetie-darling!) so maybe appeal to your vanity and think about restricting both activities so you can leave a beautiful corpse when you go.

Just a thought...

Boo

Longislander · « **Reply #13 on:** December 21, 2006, 06:17:05 pm »

AUP (wish I knew your name),
You're still a young guy. No one could tell me what was good for me back then , either. You've made alot of excellent decisions lately, and I have no doubt you will, in time, realize what's best for your own health. Bucking the system is still a part of being 20-something. Later on, you'll realize it'a lot easier not to.

Now QUIT SMOKING AND DRINKING!

Paul

aupointillimite · « **Reply #14 on:** December 21, 2006, 06:33:41 pm »

Thanks... just please let me engage in the idiocy that I'm supposed to.

I'd like to think I've come a long way... from some 20 year old ass who sat with a smack needle in his arm talking about how strongly he felt about revolutionary Trotskyist politics. For some reason, this seemed like a healthy activity and a viable political philosophy.

I don't so much like bucking the system anymore, as I prefer to seduce it and then give it to it a little rougher than the system is used to.

bear60 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 21, 2006, 06:37:13 pm »

Well, just so you know....my acupuncturist said that he gives the same treatment for detox off of heroin as off of nicotine. As in....they are both very difficult to give up.

aupointillimite · « **Reply #16 on:** December 21, 2006, 06:40:39 pm »

Not for me, really.

If I don't want it to bother me, it doesn't. I'm weird like that. No joke.

Like when my roommate and I stopped doing coke, she was a raging b*tch for days. Me, I felt bummed out for a couple days and then it was done.

Of course, whereas I did do a lot of drugs to excess... I didn't make it a "must be high all the time" thing. So, I'm not gonna pretend like the withdrawal wasn't there... but I kinda force myself to ignore it.

Nicotine withdrawal... same thing. If I encourage it to be hard... it's gonna be hard. If I just pretend like it's not there... then it isn't.

manchesteruk · « **Reply #17 on:** December 21, 2006, 07:11:34 pm »

Quote from: aupointillimite on December 21, 2006, 04:55:08 pm

I'm 24. I'm HIV+.

I feel as though my life has been dictated to enough... and if I have to keep up a couple unhealthy behaviors... at least they make me happy.

I'm sick of feeling like I'm made of porcelain. So I smoke.

I seriously don't think I could agree more! I'm 24 as well, sure I could quit drinking and smoking but I enjoy them so i'm not going to! The day hangovers don't feel like they are worth it anymore then i'll stop but until then...

allopathicholistic · « **Reply #18 on:** December 21, 2006, 07:35:34 pm »

Quote from: aupointillimite on December 21, 2006, 04:55:08 pm

I'm sick of feeling like I'm made of porcelain. So I smoke.

(OK Last post before dinner. Whoa - long thread) I zeroed in on the above quote. First I wanna say congratz on no longer living "la vida coca" and second is a question re: the smoking, why not do what Kate Moss did which was acupuncuture for addiction management? Fyi, there's a new but growing thread (in the Treatment forum) about acu in case you're curious I'll be back later to take in the whole thread and what everyone's saying

aupointillimite · « **Reply #19 on:** December 21, 2006, 07:42:36 pm »

Quote from: allopathicholistic on December 21, 2006, 07:35:34 pm

re: the smoking, why not do what Kate Moss did which was acupuncuture for addiction management?

Because I really don't want to quit smoking. I like it.

I know smokers are all supposed to loathe the fact they smoke... but if I didn't like it, I wouldn't do it.

I need a couple of vices; I really do. It's a personality flaw to need to do that which I know I shouldn't... but I feel like it gives me character.

allopathicholistic · « **Reply #20 on:** December 21, 2006, 10:50:19 pm »

Hi aupoint - OK I'm removing the foot from my mouth right now - in other words I see Bear has mentioned acu several times above ....... Anyway, here's some light (fun?) reading:

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=390.0

Edited to add: Oh yeah, this too:
http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=314.0

lydgate · « **Reply #21 on:** December 21, 2006, 11:15:35 pm »

I smoke and drink too. Quite a lot. And I'm 34 and HIV+.

I've made a few feeble attempts to quit smoking over the years -- I started smoking at 17, so that's half my life.

But as someone who associates cocktail hour with smoking, and, even more, writing with smoking, I pretty much decided a few years ago to quit quitting. And since I like cocktails (as someone who's generally easily empathetic, I find it hard to understand voluntary teetotalerism) and since I'm pretending to be a writer, my jeans and my desk are usually pretty well-stocked with Camel Lights.

But: last month, I was at home, watching bad TV; finished a bottle of wine and a pack of smokes. Woke up in the morning, went to the bathroom and caught sight of my face in the mirror. Look what the cat dragged in! Quite the wake-up call. So now I'm thinking about quitting, not for any concern for my lungs but for my facial epidermis. I've certainly cut back; now I smoke only when I'm having a drink (or three) or after a meal. When I'm writing, I try to nibble instead (carrot sticks, cookies).

As for the booze, I find that if I'm in a settled gym-routine, the drinks limit themselves. Somehow it just doesn't feel 'right' to be downing vodka tonics the night after a solid workout.

Moral of the story: to cut back, examine your face for dull skin and get thee to the cruisiest local gym. I guess in counselor-talk that would be termed 'harm reduction.'

Jay

Tucsonwoody · « **Reply #22 on:** December 21, 2006, 11:16:15 pm »

I sure don't want to encourage anyone to do something considered good or bad for them but for myself I have always had what I considered a selfish attitude about doing what I want - when I want etc. (Hmmm maybe that's why I am an old solitary hermit huh?)

Anyway at the not so ripe age of 53 I was diagnosed and almost kicked the bucket recently and one thing that was and is going through my mind is - Damn I sure am glad I didn't worry about how I lived 25 years ago or even yesterday. And I am not going to start worrying about living or maybe surviving is a better word another 25 years.

So IMHO - even though I never smoked (anything legal anyway) if that's what adds something to your life - do it, if drinking is your thing, okay etc. As long as I don't hurt others, scare my dog and can take care of myself then I am free to do what makes me happy. Even more so today then before.

Is smoking any worse then climbing mountains or hang gliding or eating lots of snickers bars or just getting up to go to work? Doesn't everyone do something that isn't good for them - either for awhile or for a lifetime? I know as many people 80 years old who still drink and smoke as I do those who never did.

When someone (and many people did and still do) said abstinence will keep you safe from HIV did I and many of us here listen? In my case - nope.
So it makes me wonder why so many comments are offering suggestions on how to give up something when the person involved has made it clear it's what he wants to do...for now. Who knows, maybe tomorrow he'll change his mind.

Anyway - I am rambling again and not sure if I got my point across, but then that's one of the things I like about this site...a high tolerance for babblers. Thanks!

aupointillimite · « **Reply #23 on:** December 21, 2006, 11:22:40 pm »

Tuscson. Thank you!

You articulated what I wanted to say perfectly.

Eldon · « **Reply #24 on:** December 22, 2006, 01:02:59 am »

Supporting You

Hey Aupointillimite ...

It could very well be an ulcer that is upset from all of the drinking. I had a friend of mine go through the same thing. Alcohol burns a hole in your stomach. You may want to consider taking it easy for a while so that it can heal.

Take care of YOU!

"Don't Give Up, Don't Give In... Cause it is ALL within you to WIN!"

allopathicholistic · « **Reply #25 on:** December 22, 2006, 09:17:42 am »

oh goodness Tucson I already removed the foot from my mouth. see above. those links are just semi-pointless light reading that's all

besides we're just repeating what aupoints doctor said because the good doc seemed to have a trite/callous moment by stating the obvious without providing ideas to build upon

bear60 · « **Reply #26 on:** December 22, 2006, 09:41:31 am »

Aupoint:
I think you should know that I love smoking. Adore it. It was a big part of my life and it made my day worth living. And I gave it up for my health. I still want to smoke and every day I have to tell myself that I dont need to anymore ( and I really dont). It's just something that took 30 years for me to quit. Thats all.
Modified to add: Its all about today for me too Tucson.

Forums Index

Welcome

Author Topic: Non HIV-related health issues (Read 5678 times)