Almost Undetectable!

[Lou-ah-vull]

I just got my three months labs back this afternoon.  You may recall that during the past three months, my doctor suggested changing meds in an attempt to lower my lipid profile.  I decided to remain on Kaletra and Combivir even though my triglycerides are higher than they should be.  My new numbers show dramatic improvement from three months ago:

July, 2006:  CD4- 361 (27.8%)  VL 1299

Oct,  2006:  CD4- 454 (32.4%)  VL 55

This is about as close to the magic number of <50 as you can get.  I started these meds on May 15, so I am thrilled with these numbers.  I will have to pay close attention to my triglycerides.  They were in the mid 400s at the end of July.  I have been on Tricor for several years now (high triglycerides run in my family) and there is good reason to believe that the boosted PI has caused the increase.  Nevertheless, I concluded the virus suppression was more important in the short term as I try to take diet and lifestyle changes over the longer term to get a better lipid profile.  As all of you know, we find ourselves making "tradeoffs" frequently with these combos.

I know many of you reading these posts are facing decisions about starting meds and are trying to learn as much as you can about them.  It is a serious decision and there are risks.  I have been fortunate-- so far the side effects have been minimal.  I have been "religious" about adherence-- I think you have to be ready to be adherent day after day and dose after dose.  I encourage you to share your feelings with us and we will try to share our experiences in return.   

For the moment, I will take one of those rare opporutunities since my HIV diagnosis last October in rejoicing in good news!  Thanks to all of you who have given me encouragement and support.

Gary   

P.S.  Robert, I have had a productive discussion with the doctor.  He understands that at this point I am not willing to try "non-standard" treatment when my "standard" treatment is working well.  More importantly, he u understands how much priority I place on viral suppression.  Nevertheless, I cannot simply ignore my lipids.  So we will continue to work together.

[Longislander]

Hi  Gary, nice to see those #'s rise! Those tri's, I had a bad cholesterol testr once, that said my tri's were 771. The doc wanted meto take pills (pre HIV) , but instead Ichanged my diet and went back to the gym. Therewas a book I got called Sugarbusters. It helped me so much in fact that in 2 months, I'd lost 35 lbs, was in great shape, etc. Turns out, I had a new test done about 5 days after original results, and it was some kind of error. Maybe you should look into that book. I wish you all the best!

Paul

[heartforyou]

Great news Gary.

Now go for the 50...

Hermie

[Andy Velez]

That's excellent news, Gary! And you have a good plan -- working on the VL and then addressing the lipids issue. Good for you,man!

Keep up the good work of taking charge of your health in a creative way.

Cheers,

[RAB]

Gary

Oh but for that pesky little #5 (second one), you'd be there.

Glad you had the talk with your doctor and have come to a workable strategy. 

Keep up the good work buddy, and thanks for the good news--I always love reading it! 

RAB

[wellington]

Those are great numbers! VL of 55 is a definite improvement and just look at that respectable CD4.

I just had my very first cholesterol test and my partner is chompin' at the bit to know that my arteries are clogged. He sees on a daily basis what stuff I jam in my mouth and he'd be real pissed if I didn't have elevated levels of ... well, everything. Get results on the 24rth.

[Eldon]

Hello Gary,

This is GOOD news and I love to hear GOOD news! Sending my Congrats to you.



Make the BEST of each Day!

[Robert]

Gary....


good numbers, good direction.   As for the triglycerides, have you tried oatmeal with FLAX?  It's a winning combination.

By the way, I'm "undetectable" too but as far as I know, I've never been as low as "55".  My Dr uses "70" as the magic number.  For the last 3 1/2 years, by VL has always been at '70'.  Beats me.

robert

[allopathicholistic]

keep up the good work