Pneumonia & elevated levels

[kentfrat1783]

Well I haven’t felt good since last Wednesday, went to the Doctors and they found nothing but then went to the ER Sunday and finally found out I have pneumonia (again).  Not too bad as of now but they were shocked with my AST and ALT numbers.

Having a fever of 101 to 103 for nearly a week had me taking Tylenol to keep the fever down and when they did the labs my AST was at 187 and ALT was at 263.  They did an abdominal CT and everything came back lookin fine (I have a new baseline now) but I have an appointment with my Primary Care to follow up and then depending on those results I’ll be making an appointment with my Infectious Disease doctor.  As I just had the prior labs done barely a month prior I think it’s just a blip from the Tylenol. 

Or should I be worried?  Just my luck.

[leatherman]

Or should I be worried?

well, of course you should be buddy.  Pneumonia is ! Take care of yourself and hope you get better sooner!

what and when was your last VL/CD4?

[Tonny2]

           ojo.          Hello there!… I suppose
It’s a bacterial pneumonia, right?… Hopefully you feel better with some
Antibiotics…… Get better please keep us posted…hugs


Ps. I wonder how much space would I need to post all my blood work results since my diagnosis ask my signature.

[leatherman]

Ps. I wonder how much space would I need to post all my blood work results since my diagnosis ask my signature.

In my sig-line I used to keep a graph of my VL/CD4 counts all bouncing around for 12ish years but that was just too much to keep updating all the time. Humorously last year I graphed out all the "new" numbers since I last made the chart.....and it was just no fun!  Those years of bad numbers were just a blip at the beginning and all the rest of the graph is flat-lined at UD. The finally climbing cd4 is the blip at this current point/end of the graph, and I'm happy to see that!

And now I have lyrics down in my sig ....because that's exactly how I fell in love with all three of my guys. 

back to you Ken. Drink plenty of fluids and get rest!

[kentfrat1783]

Ps. I wonder how much space would I need to post all my blood work results since my diagnosis ask my signature.

Well I've had to change my signautre line format a few times and didn't update it from my labs in June.  I need to get that updated.

[kentfrat1783]

what and when was your last VL/CD4?

06/26/2024
VL=33
CD4=372

[leatherman]

well, those aren't terrible numbers. You've been <20 VL for a long time (yeah, the meds are working fine!). While you're cd4s are a little bouncy (isn't everyone's?), they've averaged to around 350 over the last few years....and that's a good number.

oh I know doctors can be worried about that kind of number; but I was under 200 for 15 years (when I was sick a lot) and then spent a decade around 350....healthy as a horse. See, while optimism won't cure you or heal you, I do think trying to live for the good stuff and not the bad, makes you feel happier....and that does have a positive effect on your health. BTW, you're not in the hospital with that pneumonia, right? It's not PCP, right? That right there should be enough to put you in a better mood dealing with this until you feel better.

The crazy thing is that even with successfully treated HIV, you can still get sick with all sorts of stuff.    just like "regular people". LOL

Stay away from sick people. Take your meds. Hope you feel a lot better soon!

[Tonny2]

                Ojo.            I don’t think is PCP because of his numbers specially his HIV virus suppred. hopefully, he will get better with some antibiotics and some rest… Please keep us posted… Hugs

[leatherman]

I don’t think is PCP

nope, they would have kept him in the hospital. They're evil that way. 

[kentfrat1783]

Nope, not PCP Pneumonia.  I wouldn't have let them discharge me if it was. Then again last time I think I had that for a good month until they started to connect the dots and what it was. 

Yes, I know we get the same things that normal people get but still hate being sick.  I am doing better today. The antiobtic seems like it is working and hopefully they caught it soon enough so it doesn't turn into anything worse. 

I have a feeling Friday will be more labs as I have a Dr's appointment for the ER Followup and nasty liver numbers.  Now that one freaks me a little but as they were fine the month prior I think it was caused by the tylenocl, day/night quill, bannadryl and who knows what else I was taking. 

Now on a good note I'm back to 175.4 this morning. 

[Tonny2]

          ojo.           I’m glad you are feeling better. I remember way back around 1996 or 1997 that I got PCP and the doctor gave me medication to take by mouth so I kept working but that medication, I don’t remember the name of it, gave me an awful, side effect. Every time I need to have a bowel movement it was so painful to make a long story short, I ended up with an anal fissure so bad that I had to have surgery because I was having some drainage back there. But anyway, that’s in the past… Please give us posted and don’t worry about your liver. Fortunately, this organ is pretty. manageable… Hugs

[leatherman]

the antibiotic for PCP treatment is Co-trimoxazole aka Trimethoprim / Sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX)
brands: Bactrim DS, Sulfatrim

perhaps I should have saved this for Q&A peer support coming up
 but did you know that technically PCP isn't PCP?

Originally this kind of pneumonia was called "Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia", hence PCP. It was thought to be caused by a protozoan that infected rats and humans. However in 1952, Otto Jirovec showed that there were two variants, one for rats AND one for humans. In 1999, after more study (on those who had developed it after being infected with HIV...like me. LOL), DNA analysis proved that it two different variants....and a fungus....not even a protozoan. The name was then changed of Pneumocystis jirovecii. But the general word usage of PCP stayed because after the main brunt of the AIDS epidemic the name of PCP had been used so much, no one has ever made the push to rename it.

[Jim Allen]

@kentfrat1783 wishing you a speedy recovery and hope you feel better soon.

[kentfrat1783]

I am defiently doing much better then I was the prior few days.  The antibiotics are sure doing their trick. 

Now to go to my Dr Appt tomorrow, more bloodwork, and see how my numbers are now.  At least I hope they are doing better now. 

[leatherman]

"At least I hope they are doing better now."

there. fixed it for you  

[kentfrat1783]

"At least I hope they are doing better now."

there. fixed it for you  

I like your posititivity but my ALT is now to 297 but my AST is down to 121 so that one is headed in the correct direction. 

I'll be calling my Infectious Disease Dr on Monday to get his input on this.  Unsure is connected but got to keep everyone in the loop.

On a positive side, my ALT hit a new high.  Prior high of 263 was on July 28th, 2024.  Prior to the my high was 184 and that was when I was diagnosed with HIV and on some potant antibiotics back in May of 2017. 

Why do I have a feeling this is going to lead to some more labs and a CT and/MRI?  At least I've met my out of pocket.  Might as well make it worth it. 

[LeftyBowler300]

How’s your bilirubin? Any abdominal pain? Something (like a gallstone) obstructing your biliary tract could elevate liver enzymes and it wouldn’t necessarily show up on a CT.

[kentfrat1783]

My bilirubin is within range and on the lower range.  No abdominal pain or tenderness when I touch. 

I am thinking it has something to do with the Tylenol I was taking but wasn’t excessive.  My doctor did call in an ultrasound and working on getting that ordered and more bloodwork to be done. 

Just seems odd it spiked so much and nearly double the numbers I had when I was diagnosed with HIV back in 2017 and I was on my different antibiotics.