MY MYSTERY AIDS DIAGNOSIS? IS HEP. A Vaccine the Cause???????

[AustinWesley]

I've gone over everything. 

So prior to these fucked up tests I had a run of the mill case of HIV.

On Feb 9th I had the 2nd shot for the Hep A vaccine series in my left arm.   30-60 minutes later I had my labs drawn.   And, I didn't get hepatitis, I got AIDS?

LAB Mess, doctor nurse incompetent?

How come none of them thought this could be a bad idea?   Was it a bad idea to do both on the same day?  YEAH!

So, I know I'd heard other shots could cause this, is the HEP A one of em?   Any personal experience with this? 

My counts were ok.    A month ago reasonable.   I'm not sick.   Mentally stressed for sure now.

But, my CD4 plumets from 354 to 139 while my CD4% magically rebounds from 23% to 30% in ONE MONTH?   

On Feb 8th I was HIV+   and now I have AIDS???

This makes ZERO sense to me.   

Anyone care to make a wager?   I'll go for all or nothing at this point ; )

Wesley

[indyguy]

Good question. I had the series of shots 2 years ago because I work in a hospital. My first blood work ever for HIV as you know came back a week or so ago and it was 384/16000. My doc started me on Altripla yesterday. He said there was no reason for geno-type unless I had a problem and because I was neg 6 months ago. He said he wanted me to be undetectable as soo as poss. Not much help on your question though.

[whizzer]

Indy,

Your doctor is out-of-touch.  There are more cases of people that are initially infected with resistant virus than there ever has been before.  Recent papers have underscored the need for genotype testing in everyone before starting HAART.  Does this doc think he can look at you and know what mutations you may or may not carry? 

Chances are you will do fine on the Atripla, most do.  But this is your life we are talking about, do you really want to be treated by someone who is so cavalier with the choice of therapy?

Wes,

While which label you may have, HIV or AIDS, is really unimportant to your treatment, it seems very important to you.  Until your doctor reports you to the CDC as having AIDS, you don't officially have it.  Calm yourself.  Get another set of labs.  Then if you want to start meds,  start them.  Your doctor is there to advise and suggest, NOT to decide what course is best for you.

Don't allow yourself to be talked into or out of anything.  Get advice, get your questions answered, and make an informed choice FOR YOURSELF.  You are the one who has to live with your decisions, no one else.

[Matty the Damned]

Hey Wesley!

This shit has gone on for long enough.

AIDS or HIV it doesn't make one didly dick god dam of a difference. You've got the QueerPlague dear and no amount of fretting over what your doctors say is going to change that. I'm sorry that you're not the clean living gay man you hoped you would be, but the road of life is littered with disappointments.

You're just one of them.

You can whack as many labels on this as you want, the virus isn't gonna care. AIDS is just a diagnostic label. Supposedly it serves to identify the stage of HIV disease for the benefit of clinicians.

You're not a clinician. So what does it matter to you?

Take your tests and pills, live your life and accept the fact that you're a poz bod.

Most of all give the rest of us a break from the hystrionics.

MtD

[J.R.E.]

A HEP A, and/or HEP b vacination , can cause a spike(blip in the viral load) Not really sure what it may do to the t-cell counts.

Ray

[MSPspud]

To be honest I doubt that a vaccination an hour prior to lab draws would make any difference.  Perhaps a day or week before but not an hour.  I really think your labs are just a mistake of some sort and I doubt it was the nurse.

[Ihavehope]

Wesley

The vaccination may or may not be the cause. The only way to determine this is to wait for your next lab results and see if they rebounded back up.  354 - 139 is a huge drop in one month and the next labs may be a number in between which still suggest you should begin to consider HAART. If it goes beyond 350 then congrats  you bought yourself another few weeks or months before you start meds but that is a decision YOU need to make. If your sanity is being compromised by your CD4 counts then start meds. Numbers are deceiving and stress can damage your immune system more than you think. If you are not happy with the way your doctor is handling things then change doc. I did.

Anyway Sweatheart, be brave. If I can do it (I am biggest wimp in New York City but can hide it very well) you certainly can as well.

Hugs

Al

[Moffie65]

Hi Austin,

I figure since I lost sleep over this one, I should come in this morning and share.

First.  Those that have clearly described the difference between HIV and AIDS, based on the CDC description have mostly been correct.  Now, it doesn't have to be less than 200 CD4 AND an OI.  Just one or the other.  Please remember that now that you have "officially" been given the AIDS definition, a huge amount of assistance avenues have opened up to you that for now may not seem very significant.  In ten years or so, if you start to need more time off work, or God forbid, you are not able to work anymore; then getting any help will be so very much easier you just might not even believe just yet.  Don't look a Gift Horse in the mouth.  Getting anything from Social Security if you are a single male, and not diagnosed with full AIDS, is virtually impossible.

Second.  The difference is mainly descriptive in nature, and when you go below 200 CD4s you usually need more attention from your medical team, and you are clearly on the decline.  In the beginning, many went below the 200 mark very quickly, and very few of us survived the "Assumed" 10 year mark before the CD4 decline.  Most were affected by a rapid decline and early death in the '80's.

Third.  Austin, you should come to some peace about this soon, as the anger that you have displayed towards your doctor and yourself, is not healthy at all.  Really nothing is different in your health except that you might be having an early decline in CD4s which "Might" be tied to your virus, your dna, your own immune system or any of a myriad of things.  HEP vaccinations generally don't cause this, nor do Flu shots.  The sooner that you come to a place of peace about the fact that you will be taking medications for the rest of your physical life, the sooner you will be able to put this behind you and move on.

Fourth.  I lasted 11 years before my CD4 plumeted to 20, and now I have re-built that up to the mid 600's.  I accept that my new cells are naieve, and I also accept that I have a really shitty percentage and have not had a percentage above 20 for 13 years.  What does that mean?   I don't know, I only know that the sooner you work through this the better it will be for your own immune system.  Stress over things we cannot change is DEADLY and must be controlled if you are looking foward to living a full and productive life. 

Just my thoughts, from my own experience.

[gerry]

But, my CD4 plumets from 354 to 139 while my CD4% magically rebounds from 23% to 30% in ONE MONTH?   

This is an indication that there is something wrong with the current set of results (since the count and the % went in opposite directions).  You're probably actually closer to your previous number and %.  So a redraw is in order here.

[AustinWesley]

Hey Gerry,

Thanks!   That's my primary issue.   I'm gona retest.  I think the Hep A vaccine could've done it, not sure.

Yesterday was stress city for me.  I don't think my feelings are abnormal for my experience. 

Appreciate the well thought out responses, including the "gift horse" theory."  Should I need SSD I will work that angle.

Just thought it would be interesting now that I'm fairly calm today to get some opinions on the HUGE drop in 1 month?

Thanks for all your input.

Wesley

[Ann]

Wes,

My own opinion is that there was a problem with the lab test itself, whether human error or mechanical error or whatever. The numbers just don't add up in any way.

I also know that if I'd had a result like this so early in my diagnosis, I would have panicked too. However, time and experience have taught me that results like yours are most likely to be down to some sort of error and not at all accurate.

Hang in there Wes. I'd be very surprised if your re-take numbers aren't more what you're used to.

Ann

[AustinWesley]

Thank you Ann,

That's how I feel.   Doctor didn't call, but made sure the nurse did and agreed complete retest is in order.   No one wants to talk about that Hep. A vaccine the nurse dosed me up with in my arm just before the lab draw.

Crabby nurse said no, that wouldn't cause it, but it might cause a spike in your viral load which remained level.   So the nurse thinks the vac. might mess with VL, but not the % and CD4.   She also said it could be a "blip."    Not very convincing from her biased viewpoint ; )

Moffie65,

I appreciate your thoughts and feel bad you lost sleep over my case.    I did too ; )

Love ya guys!

Wesley

[gerry]

Wesley,

It's good that you've already made a decision about meds irrespective of what the next lab draw results would show.  While the initial Hep A vaccination could not have affected your numbers (because of the timing; the vaccination and the lab draw were done almost simultaneously), just remember that it's about a couple of weeks now after the vaccination when you got your re-draw; this means that the Hep A shot could now very well affect your numbers negatively, even though only transiently.  (Not to mention the stress that the last results put you through in the first place).

Gerry

[AustinWesley]

Hey Gerry,

Interesting thoughts.   I guess I'll find out next Wednesday when the new labs come in.   I don't know.   If stress has that much of an impact then I should be dead by now ; ) 

I'm just planning on this number to be the right one and if not, then I'll be happy I guess.    Now, so you think 10 days later or so the vaccine would cause it to screw up labs?

If the Hep A vaccine affects viral load then wouldn't it also by association affect the other numbers?    The only thing which stayed relatively the same was my viral load at 23,000  just down slightly from 28000.

Thanks,

Wesley