vampires

[Jim Allen]

So my next appointment is the 26th of Sept. It's a bit early but I am hoping they already will have the flu jab available otherwise I'll have to do that separately.

[Jim Allen]

So my next appointment is the 26th of Sept. It's a bit early but I am hoping they already will have the flu jab available otherwise I'll have to do that separately.

Boo...I had a call this afternoon after trying to renew six months of my medication and they want to do a 24-hour blood pressure monitor on Monday, a blood draw on Tuesday and an appointment on Thursday the 26th.

I know it's nothing major and I should not complain but it's just a pain in the ass to arrange care for Caelan, anyhow, it is what it is.

[leatherman]

they want to do a 24-hour blood pressure monitor on Monday

I know it's nothing major and I should not complain but it's just a pain in the ass to arrange care for Caelan, anyhow, it is what it is.

is the monitor on you?

arranging health care IS a pain in the ass. for everyone. all the time.

[Jim Allen]

is the monitor on you?

arranging health care IS a pain in the ass. for everyone. all the time.

Yeah, it's for me. I had it before a few years ago, they just want to monitor me again to see if my meds need adjusting.

I could have been clear, so when I said care for Caelan I meant someone to look after him whilst I have these healthcare appointments.

[leatherman]

I meant someone to look after him whilst I have these healthcare appointments.

ah! the woes of a caregiver. Most of the time, it's just another responsibility of the day. Other times, it's a big ol' pain in the ass. LOL

I stopped in at the Lowes Home Improvement store that Larry works at today to catch everyone up on what's happening. Of course, everyone wants to help. I told them that while we didn't need anything this week, with Larry's surgery and recovery, but come a month from now when I'm tired of all his football games and Hallmark movies all day, then that's when they can all come sit and watch with him while I get the hell outta here for a break. LOL I've been down this road before with my previous partners, so I know when I can really use the help of friends......oh unless anyone wants to send over an early casserole so that I don't have to cook for just one person this week. ROFL

[Jim Allen]

ah! the woes of a caregiver. Most of the time, it's just another responsibility of the day. Other times, it's a big ol' pain in the ass. LOL

I stopped in at the Lowes Home Improvement store that Larry works at today to catch everyone up on what's happening. Of course, everyone wants to help. I told them that while we didn't need anything this week, with Larry's surgery and recovery, but come a month from now when I'm tired of all his football games and Hallmark movies all day, then that's when they can all come sit and watch with him while I get the hell outta here for a break. LOL I've been down this road before with my previous partners, so I know when I can really use the help of friends......oh unless anyone wants to send over an early casserole so that I don't have to cook for just one person this week. ROFL

Yeah as a caregiver you have to look after yourself otherwise you can't look after the person you are supposed to be caring for. If Larry is bed bound just take the remote control away and watch whatever you like, fuck Hallmark movies

I would send you over cottage pie or toad in the hole but I suspect it wouldn't be any good even if I FedEx it from Ireland to USA

[leatherman]

fuck Hallmark movies

will you marry me? clearly we're soulmates!
(sorry Alan. You can come watch Midsomer Mysteries with Larry)
ROLMAO

[Jim Allen]

will you marry me? clearly we're soulmates!
(sorry Alan. You can come watch Midsomer Mysteries with Larry)
ROLMAO

  LOL.

So next week Monday and Tuesday appointments I suspect one of the outcomes will be an increase in my blood pressure medication. I have been on minimal dosage for years but recently had some less normal readings and I was going to request an increase anyway.

Thursday, hoping they have the flu vaccine in already, pharmacies get it the week after so they should already have it and that MRI of the spine, the results from that should be back although I already know they found nothing, I also suspect switching meds to duel therapy will be their usual topic, not going to happen.

[Jim Allen]

Boo they didn't have the flu vaccine yet...said no thank you for hepatitis a vaccine and no point trying the hepatitis B vaccination again, tried twice already

Anyhow, rest of the appointment was easy enough, 3 mins.
CD4 719 /40%, VL suppressed and cholesterol was excellent. 6 more months of truimeq 👍

Got the blood pressure results back, borderline so I asked to increase the dosage but they want to repeat the 24 hour monitoring again next month before increasing the dosage.

Total time from arrival in the clinic to walking back out onto the street with my meds was 19 mins, I timed it.🙂

[daveR]

Boo they didn't have the flu vaccine yet...said no thank you for hepatitis a vaccine and no point trying the hepatitis B vaccination again, tried twice already

Anyhow, rest of the appointment was easy enough, 3 mins.
CD4 719 /40%, VL suppressed and cholesterol was excellent. 6 more months of truimeq 👍

Got the blood pressure results back, borderline so I asked to increase the dosage but they want to repeat the 24 hour monitoring again next month before increasing the dosage.

Total time from arrival in the clinic to walking back out onto the street with my meds was 19 mins, I timed it.🙂

I also tried the Hep B vaccine twice years ago, the one which had multiple injections a few weeks apart. Never managed to produce any antibodies. Then a few years back my Dr suggested I try a new vaccine. Just a single shot and when she checked on my next 6 monthly I had a good antibody response. She gave me one more booster and we check every 6 months and still I have a good response.

Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the vaccine but it may be worth asking your Dr if they use the latest type.

Dave

[leatherman]

19 mins

is that a good thing?
I switched doctors once for only giving me minutes; but I've also been glad to get out of there quick when nothing was wrong.

[Jim Allen]

is that a good thing?
I switched doctors once for only giving me minutes; but I've also been glad to get out of there quick when nothing was wrong.

It's good as I am not in a great mood this week.

I like the clinic to be on demand, when I need or want more I'll take it but when I'm not interested in talking to them, changes or discussions I want them to communicate the entire interaction in three sentences or less and I know they can do that. However, I am fair and I tell them what mood I am in when the conversation starts

[Tonny2]

             ojo.              @JimAllen, great numbers. I’m sorry  you have to deal with your blood pressure levels…just 19 minutes, mmm, I wish I had those kind of visits, usually I have to wait mote than 30 minutes to be able to see the doctor and when he comes in he is there for five minutes when everything is ok, he always tells me tonny2 I wish I could do more to help you with your neuropathy, pain, and then he is gone…take care…hugs

[Loa111]

Had my 4 monthly Vampires visit early this week on Wednesday.

As a visit to a hospital can be an annoying day, & generally wastes up most of the day too, as per my usual habit, I try to make something nice about it. So mid-morning, near the hospital where my ID clinic is located, I went to a nice cafe & had a lovely big breakfast of sausages, bacon, eggs, toast & a massive coffee.

First job is the ID nurse weights us, & takes our blood pressure etc. Then I had about a 45 minute wait in the waiting room which was kind of boring before doctor called me.

A very routine visit I am pleased to say. Still UD, thankfully, my CD4 is 408 currently.  Ok, they'd prefer if it was over 500, but there is nothing the doctor can do about that, and all I can do it take my meds daily.

Doc noticed it was 2 years since I last got my cholesterol done, so old score was 2.5 for bad cholesterol. In my country, I think 7 is the highest score, so no problems there & lots of room to go.

Doc also doc did a Heart Risk Assessment. He told me for my age group, weight etc, the average score is a 4% risk of heart attack, but my score came in at 3% so I am delighted with that. The fitness regime is paying off.

Got a free STI test as part of the service.

Then finished with doctor & out to the nurse to get my bloods taken. Vaccine nurse gave me my Flu Shot, which I was delighted to get done on this visit. The Pharmacist came with my meds supply of the next 4 months.

The whole thing from registering,  being weighted, waiting, doc, bloods, vaccine, & pharma took about 2 hours total.

Not a bad visit at all. Stopped in for my afternoon coffee on the way home which was enjoyable.

My next ID appointment will be mid-February approx.

[leatherman]

hey, that's great news to hear your health is doing so well!

Sausage AND bacon? Be careful or that cholesterol won't be so good in the future. 

[Diagnosedat50]

Loa- that’s great that you get to have bloodwork done every four months. I had frequent visits the first couple of months, but was switched to yearly appointments for CD4 counts and viral loads. Also, as someone who wholeheartedly believes in the power of increased physical activity for improved health outcomes, I also applaud you for continuing to hit the gym regularly!

[leatherman]

tomorrow it's our turn to get some blood sucked out of us and chit-chat with our doctor. I've got to tell him I look tired because I did too much --cutting apart a large branch that came down during a storm a week ago and lugging our oldest 50lb dog up and down the steps the last few days as she has either hurt a leg, is getting old, or having an issue that may necessitate a vet trip soon. Oh! And an a real medical issue too. Some weirdo vertigo something that's been going on with me (had something like this with the flu a couple years ago; but this has been a handful of very short episodes). I don't think there's anything medically that can be done with all that info; but I want the weird vertigo stuff documented so if it happens any more.

This will be the first time the doc has seen Larry since I let him know about Larry's heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery so I guesstimate that most of our shared appointment time will be taken up with Larry's issues.

LOL I have been out of the HIV advocacy game too long. I almost posted a note to apologize for these next comments because they are about American politics...but hell! HIV/AIDS health care has always been a political issue. Silence=Death.
I guess since this is our last doctor visit during the Biden administration, I better figure out if I have any other issues. Who knows how long or if I'll still access to meds or medical care under the next POTUS after mid-Jan. Medicaid/Medicare has kept me alive for 23 yrs! Both the ACA along the SC ADAP program that I advocated for for many years and Larry's insurance through work have kept him alive for 22 yrs. It could certainly feel like the 90s full of AIDS death again if HIV medical care coverage programs get wiped out in the Trump/Musk/Ramaswamy "dpt. of Government Efficiency" overhauls or the other changes Project 2025 has planned.

While I'm writing this, I'm on a zoom meeting with indivisible about advocacy planning for the future. Crap! I've been out of the advocacy stuff for a few years. Covid restrictions and turning 60 made me feel like I could leave it behind. But I guess I'm going to have to reach out to my HIV and healthcare groups and see what plans they have going on as it looks like I'll have to get back into the fray.

It seems so stupid that 40+ years later, I may end up still having to advocate for HIV health care so I don't die.

[Jim Allen]

This will be the first time the doc has seen Larry since I let him know about Larry's heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery so I guesstimate that most of our shared appointment time will be taken up with Larry's issues.

No stress test this time!

[leatherman]

No stress test this time!

thinking about that, last time Larry saw the cardiac surgery for his final checkup with that doctor, the surgeon told him that now he needed to go back to the cardiologist for the rest of his care. Larry wasn't certain who that was, and I spoke up to say, "that's the doctor who sent you on the stress test and gave you the heart attack". Ooooh. The surgeon jumped on that one fast. "He didn't give you a heart attack! and neither did the test" LOL Luckily, I was smiling as he turned to glare at me so he realized it was a joke. the surgeon and I had  talked a bit before, during and after Larry's surgery, so he knew I actually was medically knowledgeable and didn't really mean the cardiologist or the test gave Larry the heart attack. 

Too bad the surgeon probably does hear that kind of nonsense because someone thinks that how it happens.

[Brian1966]

I love it.  I totally would have been telling my cardiologist something like "you're not going to try killing me again - right doc?" at the first appointment just because I have a dark sense of humor and then thank them for the test that probably saved my life.  When dealing with something as serious as my own mortality; I cope with it by morbid humor.

[leatherman]

"you're not going to try killing me again - right doc?"

I cope with it by morbid humor.

ROFLMAO
Morbid humor is the best response to the spectacular conclusion of not dying.

I've gone through 6 doctors in the last 30yrs of treatment and my favorite, Dr. Marc, helped keep me living through 12 years of almost dying with AIDS and was with me through the death of two partners. (sorry current doctor Jason. <3 you've only been my doc for a couple years. It's just going to take a lot to top Dr. Marc. But, since I'm planning on living to 104, you've got time to show your stuff. LOL) I think it was almost the 4th year of doctor visits (4-6 wks because of how ill I was) when we starting laughing at the situation.

Up until then, every appointment seemed to have one consistent point. Dr. Marc would look at file and slowly shake his head. Sadly, he would say, "I just have to tell you Michael, that your numbers aren't looking good at all. Honestly, you probably only have 3 to 4 months left." As he was coming up to that point in this one appointment, the absurdity of it all just hit me. Before he could do his part of this routine, I  laughingly beat him to the point and said, "yeah, yeah. 3 to 4 months and I'll be dead. but how's my HDL and LDL look?". For another 8 years while I was in OH, Dr. Marc and I joked about how I was longest living almost-dead person we knew. LOL

These days, after having 2 long term (10 yrs each) partners who died, a husband who almost died two months ago at year 10 (thank goodness for quadruple heart bypass surgery!), and a grandmother who lived until 104, the joke now is about how many more husbands I'm going to go through at this rate. Just call me the black widower. Coming up on 63, I say only 3 more husbands. My (current LOL) husband Larry says 5 if I keep marrying around my age, cause that'll be a bunch of older guys who might not make 10 yrs each, or maybe only 2 if I hit on some younger dudes.

[leatherman]

well this doctor visit was very interesting. First they separated Larry and I instead of the usual joint appointment - mainly because I had the mandated (thank you SSd/Medicaid regulations!) yearly physical. And that was a hoot!

There was a EKG to start. Thank goodness for that too. That's exactly what the doctor used our last visit which prompted him to send Larry to a cardiologist. The poor nurse though. She couldn't get the leads to stick properly. Oops. Sorry for my sexy, hairy chest. Then there was all the hair pulling as she tried to untape the leads afterwards. I told her I wasn't really much of a masochist but pulling the tape off that slowly was starting to get kinda kinky. So she ripped it off. (Ouch!...oh! Nice..... LOL)

Next up was stripping down (nice! more sexiness!) and putting on a paper gown (yuck. less sexiness). By the time we got near the end of the physical, I told my doctor that I just was going to skip the gown the next time. To his incredulous look, I just swiped my hand down pointing out the situation of the gown hitched up to my chest and him rolling my balls around in his hand. I told him, "See my teeny tiny tan line? Clearly I don't have a problem with exposing myself and this gown is just a crinkly pain in the ass and it's not like you're not going to see it all anyway." LOL To prove my point, I turned on around so he could see how the gown wasn't even closed or covering my ass as I got in position for that prostate check. Always a highlight of the physical. LOL

After getting dressed again (without shoes and socks though), there was one more test and something new for our clinic - a peripheral arterial flow test. Two leads were attached to the bottom of both feet with a pulse/ox meter on a finger and on a toe. Next up were cuffs velcro-ed around both biceps and both ankles. While that certainly sounds sexy, these weren't restraints but BP cuffs periodically taking a reading off and on for 20 minutes.

In the end, the EKG, blood flow test, lungs, BP, and prostate poking all turned out good. Before leaving, I left behind some of my bodily fluids (blood and urine) and should get those lab tests coming back probably Mon or Tues.

[Tonny2]

              ojo.         @ Leatherman, it’s been 30 years since my diagnosis and I don’t know how many times I’ve seen several doctors and none of them has asked me to Andres 😎 for a physical. I guess I’m so skinny that they can see everything inside my body through my clothing. Lol… But seriously, I don’t know why, but I had never had a physical you mentioned and I heard from others Who had gotten physical examinations, naked, naked…hugs

[leatherman]

I had never had a physical you mentioned and I heard from others

that's a little odd and probably depends on your insurance coverage. if you use Medicaid or SSd you should probably have an ACA (affordable care act) plan, which includes physicals.

[Tonny2]

                ojo.                Thanks for the info Leatherman. I guess that might be the reason I have never gotten A physical examination. Thanks for the info… Hugs.

[leatherman]

so this afternoon a slew of test results came through on the portal of my clinic. Pre-diabetes? No more. Really bad triglycerides? Just 5 points out of range. Bad LDL? 1 point in the good now! Bad HDL? only 2 pts out of range now.

No syphilis or gonorrhea. No surprise there, since the only person I'm screwing these days is my hubby....well at least until his heart attack/bypass surgery two months ago. We've been a little leery of re-engaging in marital congress right yet....but maybe soon.

Speaking of "congress" , today is the 40th anniversary of me getting HIV. That wasn't with Larry though. Back in 1984, that was with my first partner Randy. Boy, do I remember that night.  Good times.

[Tonny2]

              ojo.             Cause for your Leatherman… Hugs