First Labs Results Since Starting Meds

[koi1]

Well I had my appointment with the ID team yesterday.

I met with Ed my mental health component first. I saw that his left shoulder was a little stiff, and I asked him what was going on. He said "Okay I am going to tell you. I had another stint put in after a heart attack." Wow, they they had told me he was on vacation. I guess they wanted to respect his privacy. I felt really terrible for him. But he seemed to be resigned to the fact that it runs in his family.

The meeting with thedoc and pharmacologist went fine. I expressed concerns about havin the runs for the past 5 days. My doc ordered stool tests to try to find the origin of my troubles. I aslo told my doc to refer me to the ophthalmologist because my right eye has been acting strangely, being dry and kinda blurry. I aslo got a candidiasis prescription and am now going to start dapsone for PCP prophylaxis. Her reasoning is that pentamadine only protects my lungs and dapsone will protect me from other bugs. I will just start taking at night with everything else.


I had no serious side effects to report so she gave me my results and said I am doing great. She gave me my new figures.

cd4's  119  viral load 1,100. She said I could be undetectable in a month.

But then on the advice of some of you here, I asked for a lab printout before going home. It turns out that I had been declining from the time they first saw me.

I started with c4's at 97 then went to 84, then went to 70, and now at 119
Perceentages were  8                       7                        6                     7

I was not aware of this. I guess they were trying not to stress me out. So I now also recommend that everyone get print outs of their labs everytime.

So I guess the good news is that my viral load is going down very quickly with this medication and that I climbed up one percentage point from the date I started the the meds. Always get straight answers from your docs, even when the news is not so good.

I also asked a question about Lipo and basically the doctor kinda brushed it off saying tha I should be happy to be alive. Which is common with doctors that can't empathize with patients with "cosmetic" fears. Yes I should be happy to be alive but my quality of life matters to me. I was expecting this response from reading some articles on the body website.

In a nutshell, after ten days on medications, the meds are kickin' ass, my cd 4s are in an upward trend having climbed a percentage point. So I am happy. I can always look back and say If I had not had that bactrim allergy and hospital stay... but let's not dwell in the past and move forward with these new numbers.

rob

[skeebo1969]

   After what you have been through I am glad to hear that your numbers are improving.   Once that VL is undetectable your cd4's should show a steady improvement which of course is a great thing.  Once your numbers get above 200 the doc will probably take you off the Bactrim I'm guessing.

   I'm just curious and if it is to personal I understand, but quick question..

   Is it lipodystrophy you are having or is it possibly wasting from the HIV which is what I was having?  That might be the reason the doc kind of blew that notion off.  I totally understand how you feel about it either way.

   I hope everything continues on the upward trend for you.. Goodluck!

   Thomas

[koi1]

Well I am having wasting. The only way I will know if it is lipo is if the fat does not return to the face if and when I gain the 30 pound I lost back. I just think that doctors in general are not very sensitive to this. But my self esteem is already low so I need to know if this is one more thing I will have to deal with. The thing with lipo is that if caught early there is more that can be done. I don't know.

rob

[aztecan]

Hey Rob,
It looks like you're on the right track. The improvements in numbers is encouraging and I'm glad you are being proactive regarding any symptoms that manisfest themselves.

Regarding the lipo, there is a belief that HIV by itself can cause this. Certainly, wasting will rob you of fat and it may take time to come back.

Keep on being proactive - and getting the printouts. I have mine dating from 1992 (I know, I'm anal about things like this). They really help put perspective on things.

Take good care of yourself.

HUGS,

Mark

[Longislander]

Hi Rob,

Congratulations on the uphill climb and the VL drop. I really admire your strength. You've been through quite a bit lately and now your starting to kick ass! 

Paul