POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: noregrets on October 06, 2012, 02:43:07 pm
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Hi everyone,
Not sure if this is the best section but I figured I'd start someplace & this was about as good as any. Regardless of what my profile name is, I'm having a pretty rough week (I think I was in a better place mentally when I set this account up a few weeks back).
Here's my quick story...
After being in denial for several years about getting tested (I had assumed I was probably Pos & was too scared to face it), I finally went and got tested last December. A week before Christmas I got the results - positive.
My story is a little complicated because I work in a pretty big regional medical center with an excellent HIV/ID department. The bad news is the department I work in is "under" the management of the same group of departments that ID is under...& often times people I work with "float" in the ID department to fill in for people if they're out. Well, I was concerned about confidentiality (for no real concrete reason, I was just being cautious) so I ended up going to an HIV/ID doctor here in town with his own practice.
Big Huge Mistake. I honestly don't think he knew what the Hell he was doing. Everytime I went to see him all he did was order up more lab work & tell me to "be careful with what you're doing and don't spread it". After 8 months of this nonsense I decided to just go ahead & make an appointment with the HIV department at the hospital I work at and I have to say that it was the best decision I've made in a long time. They really do a fantastic job of making a pretty awful situation easier to handle. Instead of one doctor (who, I'm convinced is homophobic), I have a team of doctors working with me (always 2, sometimes 3 at each visit), a social worker (who’s beyond wonderful) & access to a psychiatrist (who, luckily, I haven’t needed…yet!).
Oh top of the HIV infection I also found out I have Syphilis. That’s normally pretty easy to treat with Penicillin, but I’m allergic to that. We did one round of treatment with Doxycycline and that didn’t seem to work. So, after two spinal taps to determine whether or not it’s neurological (they say no – finally, some good news), I’ve got an appointment with an Allergy specialist later this month to see about “de-sensitizing” me to Penicillin so I can be treated with that and hopefully knock that out.
Over the course of the past 10 months my CD4s have been going down and my VL has been going up. We decided this week to go ahead and start me on Atripla.
I haven’t had “too” many bad side affects yet, but I can honestly say I know why they call it A”trip”la now…I feel like I’m on a trip each night when I take it and the next morning I feel like I’ve been out all night drinking and partying (no such fun though!). This wouldn't be so bad if the effects wore off early, but I feel like a drunkard till at least Noon. Hopefully the side effects will lesson over time.
I think the first night I took the first pill the past few years of worry and anxiousness came to a head…it’s real now. I’m positive and taking this fucking horse pill each night before bed (I hate taking pills…esp. big ones!).
Anyway, I’m sorry for the long post. I just feel like I needed to post my story someplace. I’m not having the best of times now dealing with it, but I’m working on that and I hope coming here more often will help.
Thanks for reading.
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All things considered, you sound like your dealing with all of this much better than you think. Starting off with a less than ideal doctor can make the first year of a diagnosis very difficult.
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Welcome to the forums. It's good you made the decision to make a change of docs. I'm glad you're getting such good care now. I keep planning to ditch my doc.
Keep in touch and let us know how things are going.
Ted
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Hi Joey, welcome to the forums.
Those drunk/trippy side effects you're feeling from the Sustiva in your Atripla should subside soon.
Have you been eating too close to when you take your pill? You should not eat two hours either side of taking it - at least until your body gets used to it. Many people only need to follow the empty stomach rule in the beginning. Also, eating a high-fat meal before your Atripla will increase the chance that you'll feel the side effects even more.
The side effects should still subside soon, but go easy on yourself and watch what and when you eat before your pill. You can still eat what you want earlier in the day, just be careful about what you're eating two hours before your pill.
I'm also glad to hear you ditched your first doctor and it sounds like your new set-up is great. If you're still worried about confidentiality, remember HIPAA laws and don't be shy about reminding others if you feel they're forgetting.
Good luck. You're going to be ok.
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I'm so glad you ditched that first doctor :o Yikes...
Thanks so much for sharing your story.. things are rocky at first, but they smooth out over time 8)
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It will get better...Read my post from Friday...Atripla is your friend!
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Likewise, welcome to the forum!
I'm new here, diagnosed 6-6-12. i also had a bad experience with my first doc, had to fire the ass hole after he gave me some meds that I was allergic to. The idiot didn't read me chart to see that I was allergic to penicillin and sulfur drugs. He started me on a regimen of 4 pills, one of which had sulfur in it. After a week of letting it build up in my system, a friend finds me in bed, barely breathing and takes me to the hospital where I spent 24 hours.
I changed docs and doing much better now! He started me on Atripla as well! Boy was the first few days interesting! I started tripping 20 mins after taking my meds and stayed fucked up for a while in the morning. After a while, it went away to. My biggest problem was the rash. Had the rash from head to toe! LOL! But it also went away after 4 days. The only thing that seems to linger is the dreams. They get interesting at times. None of them have ever caused me to worry or scare me. Most are quite funny. However, three nights ago, I had one that wasquite erotic. I woke up with jizz all over the place! Oh well, at least something good cum out of it! LOL!
Not to make light of the situation..., hang in there! It will get better! Thanks to many people on here, you learn your not alone! These are good peeps in here!
Holla if you want to chat!
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Thanks everyone for the welcome, kind words, & advice. I really appreciate it.
Last night was night 12 of Atripla and (thankfully), the side affects seem to have just about completely diminished. No more drowsiness in the morning & even the dreams (which I didn’t really mind, I’m just not used to remembering them) have just about gone away (at least I’m not remembering them as much now).
I’m a late eater and I’m trying these days to get into bed at a reasonable hour (something I have a hard time doing since I’m a night owl & like to stay up really late) and my main problem has been trying to eat early enough to give me enough time between my meal and taking my pill when I go to bed. At least half of the time I end up eating and taking my meds less than an hour later. But, luckily, I’m not having any bad effects with that.
One thing I have noticed is that my energy levels are up. I’ve never gotten “sick” so far, but I’ve not had any energy for about a year now. I mean, just about anything wears me out and several times a week I just feel like crawling into bed when I get home at night & calling it a day. For the past week or so I’ve noticed I have MUCH more energy than usual. I don’t know if the drugs are kicking in this fast (is that even possible??), or maybe mentally I’m just feeling better about things overall (finally taking control of things) and as a result I’m just feeling better which makes me less tired.
Whatever it is, I just hope it keeps it up. ;)
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Congrats on making it through the first 12 days with no issues. Should be smooth sailing from here.
After awhile you can start to relax that "take on an empty stomach" requirement if you dont have any issues. You will have to experiment, if you do take it too close to a fatty meal you will know it. Fortunately it doesnt affect the efficacy, but can increase side effects.
I think it is very reasonable for you to be feeling better even after 12 days. You may not have been aware but your body has been fighting and that takes it tole.
Its good to hear you have had such a good experience, I think some people worry so much about side effects they dont consider that they will actually feel better once going on meds.. Also, Atripla has some positive side effects too that people dont talk about much. Some are quite enjoyable.
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Hello Joey,
Although I am not on Atripla I do take part of it since I am taking Truvada. In my situation the energy thing would come and go but eventually all that passed and I feel great 95% of the time. I am one of the older ones here and I think that my age in general accounts for the 5% of the time that I am dragging.
I guess the advice I have is if you are tired or sleepy get some rest. Your Atripla is fighting the virus so the first few weeks/months your body is undergoing a battle. After you become UD and you start to heal you will feel much much better.
Billy