POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Someone I Care About Has HIV => Topic started by: Patty M on June 19, 2007, 02:03:20 am
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my brother is newly diagnosed with aids, not just positive but the medical records I have read for him say aids. His counts are T4 189 and virul load 750,000. He called me on a Sunday about six weeks ago, and I knew he had pnuemonia by listening to him breathing on the phone, we are 1800 miles apart so I couldn't just go to him and take him to the doctor so I called our sister and she took him to the hospital. I am thinking that he suspected he was positive because of some of the other symptoms he has been having for a few months so he was tested and they did a biopsy of his lungs and found the pnuemonia to be one that is not common in the general population and when he told me that they said it is one people who have aids get I was fearful that he was going to die before I could see him again. I am so grateful that this is 2007 and not 1980. He has been hooked up with a good infectious disease doc and some programs to help him financially, he quit his job, at the recomendation of his doctor and moved into my sisters home so that he is not alone. He is recovering from the pnuemonia that years ago was fatal. He starts his medications today and although I am far away I get to at least talk to one of them everyday we are all on the same cell phone service so that mobil to mobil does not interfer with our communications. I feel a whole array of feelings and I can not even guess what is going through his head, he told me he is mostly just sad, his whole life is changing and there isn't a whole lot he can do about it right now, he is pretty sick. I know there are side effects with his medications but his doctors tell him that he will feel better soon. I am glad that I found this site, it feels comfortable and warm and full of positive energy. I think that is what I need is positive right now, I am scared for us. We just lost our mother about a year and a half ago, it was very painful. I am not sure that my family is done grieving her, we are not ready to let him go right now either, he is doing his part to get better and stay healthy I want to do mine and encourage him to do it. Thanks for listening to me, I am not even sure that what I wrote makes any sense. Patty M
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Miss Patty M-
Yes, what you wrote makes some sense! I follow you. Glad you found us here at the forums. Stick around and read up. You can learn a lot here & it can help you get more at ease with all that you and your brother are facing. If he has an internet connection, it might benefit him to join up here as well. 189 t cells ain't great, but it ain't rock bottom either. I was personally much lower than that when I first got on treatment. Sorry to hear your brother has been going through trials with pnuemonia. That can be very rough. He's likely to have some physical adjusting yet to do with the medications he is starting, but he should eventually get feeling better. You are all lucky to have a tight-knit family support network like you seem to have.
Again, welcome to the forums.
TH
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Hello Patty,
Welcome to the forums. I am sorry to hear about your brother, but it sounds as though he is in good hands !! A big part of dealing with HIV, is to have a good qualified doctor, knowledgeable in HIV/Aids.
The pneumonia your brother most likely has is called PCP. You can read about here :
http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/PCP_6886.shtml
It's treatable. Your brother is most likely on Bactrim ( or some equivalent antibiotic.) May also be on some other antibiotics as well. Its important that he takes his medication on time, and not miss or skip doses.
I was also a lot lower in the numbers, than your brother was, back in 2003. T-cells 16, and viral load 500,000. It will take a little time for your brother to get back on track, but the medications will certainly start working for him. Things will take time.
As Thunter mentioned, read up on the lessons portion of the site you can start here, and if you have questions go ahead and ask :
http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/WhatIsAIDS_4994.shtml
Wishing your brother well...You take care of yourself also---------Ray
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Thank you for your responses, I knew this would be a warm place to share. I will go to the lessons section and read, thank you for the direction I know that knowledge there can never be enough of. My brother is taking bactrim for his pnuemonia and he is taking it mon wed and fri as a preventative to keep the PCP away. I thought that a body would get immune to antibiotics when taken in this manner. But I trust that his doctor knows what he is doing, after all my brother is still here with us. I wish that he was on line and maybe in the near future he will be, this site has helped me already. Patty M
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I thought that a body would get immune to antibiotics when taken in this manner. But I trust that his doctor knows what he is doing, after all my brother is still here with us.
I thought the same thing.... I was on Dapsone ( equivalent to Bactrim from September of 03, to November of 04.
In the beginning, I was taking it daily. As my numbers improved, I was able to start taking it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I took the Dapsone until my t-cells got up to over 200 and maintained. Then I was allowed to discontinue it !
Ray
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Patty,
Here's alittle more info regarding the bactrim dosing
http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Infections/Archive/Pneumocystis/Q5061.html
Ray
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Hi Patty
I am glad you found us, we are here when you need us. All my friends have already gave you lot of info about the pneunonia and the HIV virus, take your time to read it.. sometimes it can be overwhelming for you and your brother at the beginning. So take it easy and make us as many questions as you want... it is important that you share this info with your brother and sister too... at the beginning he impact of the diagnosis is big.. and that might affect our mood which also affects our T4 counts. I believe that having more info and assimilating it helps to reduce the impact on newly diagnosed (3 months diagnosed speaking up here).
So keep on going and be patient, he will get over this and the more he starts to know about the virus and its effects the better he will start taking care of is health and avoiding stuff.
I know it all does not look sunny right now... but believe me, the sun will come back to your lives. It just takes some time.
Send you big hugs
Juan Carlos
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Patty,
Your brother is a very fortunate man to have sisters who care so much about him. Besides learning more about HIV and helping your brother heal, you'll also do very well to help him become his own advocate in his care Apparently, he was in denial for some time; but now that he is in treatment, you can share with him what you have learned and encourage him to learn more on his own about treatment and daily living.
Wishing you and your family better days,
David
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Welcome! Sounds like your brother is in good hands and should be on the mend in no time. Like Tim and Ray I had no tcells and an extremely high viral load when I started treatment...I'm back to work and full of piss and vinegar.
As well as good medical care your brother has the most important thing he could possibly have...your support. We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully your brother.
It is going to be okay.
Hal
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Patty,
Here's alittle more info regarding the bactrim dosing
http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Infections/Archive/Pneumocystis/Q5061.html
Ray
Ray, David, Carlos, Hal and all the others I appreciate the information, thank you for spending some time and caring here. The more I learn, the more confident in the care he is receiving I am becoming, thank you for the support. Sincerely, Patty M