HIV and Syphilis

[kitty242]

Hello - I had an opinion question that I was hoping to get some insight on...

My hubby is hiv+ And been getting treatment and is responding well. When he was first diagnosed he also tested positive for Syphilis and was treated for that. The Syphilis has returned and the doc says it’s an opportunistic infection and may continue to recur.

I think with this recurring complication that it might be time to go to s more specialized doctor - and that maybe this is getting too complicated for his basic infectious disease doctor.    But am I wrong about that? Is this considered a ‘routine’ complication? I help him with all his doctors and everything and I don’t want to drag him to a specialist that’s far away if this is a common situation.

Any insight is much appreciated!
Thx

[zach]

"basic infectious disease doctor"

An ID doctor is a specialist, no such thing as a basic ID Dr. Both are infectious diseases, so not sure how much more specialized care you're hoping for your husband to find.

If that is the only reason for a doc change, seems a poor reason to me. Is he being treated for both?

I too was coinfected, eventually had a picc line through my armpit into my heart pumping antibiotics for a week. That's a last resort, and it really sucked. His doc may well be waiting before taking that drastic step.

My advice, give your husband love, and all the moral support he needs. Leave the medical decisions to the doctor, second guessing them isn't productive.

[kitty242]

Thanks - sometimes it’s hard to know if support is enough. It’s frustrating not being able to fix things for him when things get rough. Thank you for the advice.

[CaveyUK]

I was co-infected too. Just had the course of three injections and touch wood, I don't think it's come back.

Strictly speaking Syphilis isn't an Opportunistic Infection, at least not in the sense that the term is used in the HIV world. It's an infection that anyone can get, negative or positive, however due to it's sexual transmission route it is more frequently seen in HIV+ folk than the general population. It also tends to be treated a bit more aggressively in people living with HIV, although generally speaking the treatment is the same for those positive or negative.

Syphilis *can* reoccur if it wasn't effectively eliminated the first time, or if the infection has got into your central nervous system. It can also reoccur if you are re-infected of course.

It can also sometimes never disappear, even with effective treatment. However an extremely low titre in the blood which doesn't change is viewed as effectively cleared for all intents and purposes.

I would imagine most doctors would err on the side of monitoring and potentially re-treating first before going down the IV antibiotic route, although nothing you have said implies the current doc is not up to the job, so I would try and relax and leave it in their hands.

[kitty242]

Thank you for the info!