Travel Question

[jimbalaya]

Hi friends....

So I have a question and while I'm waiting to hear back from my Dr. I thought I would throw it out into the world wide web.....

It's been almost a month since my partner and I tested poz (May 16)....He went through a really nasty seroconversion and ended up in the hospital and I have been asymptomatic.....

We went last week for our first appointment with our ID Dr. (who was awesome), but the lab didn't do the genotype testing so we had to run the tests all over again, and made another appointment for 7/16 at which point we'll go on meds....Right now my numbers are CD4 471, VL 56,000 and I'm at 17%....the Dr. was concerned about the percentage being so low, and said that we needed to keep an eye on my health because PCP was a concern, and that 14% was when things got critical.....As this was my first appointment a lot of that went over my head as I had so many other questions....

So, after all that backstory (sorry!) my question is this:  My partner and I have a trip out west planned in a couple of weeks with his parents.  His parents have been great about the whole HIV diagnosis, but now want to cancel the trip...they are concerned that until we get on meds that it's too risky to fly, and plus we'll be doing some extreme hiking, spending nights at the bottom of the grand canyon, etc....where it will difficult to get medical care....they want to postpone the trip to next summer when things will be hopefully more stable. 

When we were at our appointment we asked about exercise and stuff, but we didn't really get into the specifics of our trip....our Dr. told us to continue to live normally but to call if anything came up before our appointment.....

What are your thoughts?   Should we go ahead and take the trip (understandably there are no guarantees)....or should we err on the side of caution and hold off until things are more stable?   

Thanks for reading, and any advice that you can give!   This site and you guys have been such a great resource and inspiration over the past month.....thank you thank you!     

[jimbalaya]

Also:  Sorry if this is in the wrong forum...I wasn't sure if it should be 'I just tested positive" or "Living with HIV".

[surf18]

Im not dr but i say absolutely go! your numbers are fine. go and have a good time!!

[emeraldize]

If it were my opportunity, I'd go.

I'd just reassign the acronym HIV to   Hey It's Vacationtime!

I appreciate that your partner's parents think you're both fragile, but you're not.

A memorable trip so soon after diagnosis might be the best thing fer ya.

Hope you go and hope you have a good time.

[mecch]

If your doctor is so fantastic, you ask your DOCTOR to evaluate this trip and its risks.  Since we assume you got the info correct from him about there being a small rick for PCP...  So he should give you guidance about what is prudent.  (My guess he would tell you to go enjoy yourselves, but I'm not a doctor let alone your doctor!)

I do not see any role whatsoever for the parents to be recommending things about what you two should and shouldnt be doing. None.  Neither for your treatment nor for your daily lives.  This suggestion on their part might be out of love and concern, or overreaction on their part, considering the shock of the diagnosis.  However, I would nip that in the bud soon.  Just my opinion.  They need to bud out.

[Ann]

Jim, you're both fairly recently infected and you both have good numbers. Neither of you need to be worrying about opportunistic infections (like PCP) at this point - so go on that vacation! It will do you far more good than harm. Enjoy a med-free trip, relax and have a good time. You'll both feel better for it, trust me. Leave your hiv at home (so to speak) and go for it.

And don't worry about being far from medical help. Would you have worried about that before your diagnosis? Well, there's no reason for you to worry about it now. As I said, you both have good numbers and nothing is going to suddenly happen just because of hiv.

All you have to do is take any precautions you would have taken before hiv - like taking a first-aid kit with you when you go hiking and not drinking water out of streams. Just use your common sense and you'll be ok.

Have fun - we want pictures!

[jimbalaya]

Thanks all who took the time to respond...I really appreciate it!   

In response to Mecch, all I can say is that his parents are coming from a place of love and concern.  They already buried one child, and my partner is their only remaining son, so they are understandably a little bit overcautious about the diagnosis, but have been so supportive that I can't complain at all about them getting in our business.....    

I did speak to my Dr. finally this morning, and he told me to go ahead and go on the trip and have a great time as long as it didn't require me missing my appointment with him (which it won't).  He also told me not to drink alcohol on the trip (which is kind of a major bummer, but I can live with it). 

On a side note, things are getting a little bit easier to take....we are now 3 weeks into our diagnosis, and there are def. good days and bad days....we found a support group called 'positive attitudes' that meets every Tuesday night up in Jacksonville (about an hour away) and we are going to go tonight for our first meeting and I think that will be a big help......It just feels so isolating to have no one know what's going on....it's almost like we have to pretend that everything is the same, when it's really not....I think over time we'll start to tell people, I'm just not ready yet....plus we are teachers and I think that once it starts to get around parents could find out, and it could become an issue in that regards.......it's bad enough having to deal with the ignorance of some parents not wanting gay teachers...we are both pretty open and work at the same school, so most people know, staff and parents (and even some middle school students have caught on).....

[Ann]

Jim, alcohol in moderation is not going to be a problem. Perhaps your doctor is just worried you'll get totally shitfaced and do something stupid and/or hurt yourself physically.

All things in moderation, including moderation!

Have fun - and relax! - on your vacation. Don't sweat the small stuff!

[emeraldize]

I agree with Ann. When you toast, think of us, will ya?

[jimbalaya]

haha.....thanks guys!