Mendicant:
Hi all, I have a unique health issue that I wanted to get people's opinion on.
While the meds are doing a great job, (Dolutegravir-Darunavir/Ritonavir-Tenofovir) and I have become undetectable, I'm faced with an uncommon issue where I have lost all muscle and fat from my arms and legs. This has affected my self-image in more ways than one.
This makes me look like a classic aids poster boy.
Is it possible to reverse this look. I have been trying to eat as healthy as possible. Could steroids help in this situation? If so, what kind? I need muscle and fat fast else I think I'll simply keep on growing thinner.
Jim Allen:
Lipodystrophy issues would be rare with today's meds, its really an issue of the past ARV's not current and as for wasting it is reversible to a point but it also highly depends on the root cause.
You would need to work with your doctor to check for any underlying issues and also to rule out just aging.
Anyhow wish you well.
Jim
PS This has a section on wasting and list of "possible" causes and things to check, might not be an answer but a start.
--- Quote from: Mendicant on March 23, 2018, 10:18:03 am ---I have a unique health issue that I wanted to get people's opinion on.
I'm faced with an uncommon issue where I have lost all muscle and fat from my arms and legs.
This makes me look like a classic aids poster boy.
--- End quote --- your situation really isn't all that unique or uncommon.
Looking at your previous posts, I see that by the time you went back onto meds (dec 2017) you had AIDS again, not to mention a lot of other problems too (thrush, TB, fevers, loss of appetite, hospitalization). In January (just barely 2 months ago) you were just out of the hospital and talking about your loss of appetite.
not to be rude, but you might look like the classic aids poster boy, because you are the classic aids poster boy. Don't get mad at me for saying that because I too was an aids poster boy too for quite some time (from about 1994 to 2000. I was really sick for quite a long time because of the issues I had with the early HIV meds). It took you a number of years to get this sick and, even with meds, it is going to take time to recover from all that's happened to you.
--- Quote from: Mendicant on March 23, 2018, 10:18:03 am ---I have been trying to eat as healthy as possible.
--- End quote --- since steroids don't help with a weight loss problem, might I suggest you simply stop eating so healthy. ;) when I was recovering from AIDS, thrush, wasting, PCP, etc. (weight down to 100 lbs from my normal 145 lbs), my doctors suggested milkshakes, ice cream, cake, protein shakes, Ensure, etc. Being sick burns a lot of fat and muscle. Recovery takes a lot of eating to replace what you've lost and to give your body the material it needs to rebuild
--- Quote ---I was left scratching my head as I had read on many sites that a loss of 50-100 is the norm. Apparently not if you are on meds, it just spirals out of of control immediately. --- End quote --- One more personal note. During the early years of HIV meds, I had lots of issues. So many that twice I stopped taking meds. Each time, within about 3 months I was back to an AIDS condition and back in the hospital with an OI within 5 months. While some people who stop meds may go for a while without health issues, many people quickly develop AIDS again. Stopping meds doesn't result in a small drop in cd4s or a slight increase in VL. Stopping meds results in losing lots of cd4s, a quickly increasing viral load, and eventually AIDS. (btw taking meds every other day can easily let HIV become resistant to the meds, resulting in the race down to AIDS again)
So, as someone who, like you, stopped meds and developed AIDS again, all I can say is that I hope you take this lesson to heart. Haphazard adherence or no adherence to daily HIV meds isn't playing russian roulette, it's just a straight path to being sick again. While the damage isn't cumulative, becoming ill with AIDS several times can leave some long term issues - your immune system may not recover very much and you may always be more likely to have health issues. If you ever feel like stopping meds again make sure to talk to someone (your doctor, a peer, a counselor) who might be able to encourage you to stick to your daily regimen. ;)
Best wishes during your recovery!
Mightysure:
I think this is something I'd seek medical advice on. Your body took a beating when you stopped your medication, so there may be some things that are reversible, like building up fat, but I'm not sure about muscle tone.
I would see what a medical professional has to say about any of that.
leatherman:
--- Quote from: Mightysure on March 24, 2018, 04:40:32 pm ---so there may be some things that are reversible, like building up fat, but I'm not sure about muscle tone.
--- End quote --- since the OP's problem is based from being sick with AIDS and not an issue of fat loss/redistribution from older meds, of course this is reversible.
I nearly died of aids several times and had wasted away nearly 50 lbs. 25 yrs later, I am a very health 56 yr old at 150 lbs, going to the gym every day, in better shape than I ever was in my 30 and 40s (my "aids years"). The OP can recover too. It just takes take and effort.