New to this forum and saying hi.

[puuchai]

Hi to all.Well firstly i hope i'm posting in the right forum.Have been reading this forum/website a few days and now just registered.
Was diagnosed with hiv/aids last June 4th 2010. Started out when i saw a dermatologist because had a few purple bumps on my body.Never gave it a thought i might have hiv.After i got biopsy result back 3 weeks later it turns out it's Karposis sarcoma KS.The doctor then said i think we better do an hiv test as it could likely be the cause.
An hour later the test said positive.quite a shock at the time,my CD4 was checked and was 56.
Anyway i felt as great at the time health wise as i'd ever done ,was started on meds fairly quickly and then the KS flared up and became extremely aggressive,within a week or 2 i'd turned into a Dalmatian and was covered in purple bumps from head to toes and looked dreadful,my face and legs swollen up so much.Not too long  before i was admitted to hospital for a few days and it was then decided i needed to have chemotherapy,19 rounds of chemo and i'm seriously on the mend and coping quite well with the new look and life.
Having read many posts on here if theres one thing i've noticed is theres so many great people willing to help others to cope with hiv and its problems,so i would like to be able to do the same,ive certainly gained a lot of knowledge on KS and if anyone here would like to know more about it then feel free to ask.
Thanks and good luck to everyone.

[leatherman]

Wow! That's quite a story that you've got, puuchai. Did the KS probably flare up like that because the meds were working reducing your viral load and your immune system was getting back to work?

Oh, and definitely welcome to the forums. As we always say around here, I'm so sad that you've had to find us because of the HIV; but I'm so glad that you did! As you've seen yourself, this site can be a great source of information, both medical and practical, from the support of people dealing with the consequences of being HIV positive. Your contributions will keep that going on. Though I never had KS, I look forward to your future posts about that ... and about yourself!

[drewm]

Welcome to the forums 

[hope_for_a_cure]

Thanks and good luck to everyone.

Best of luck to you too!  Welcome aboard and yes, sorry you have crossed over.  Take care of yourself ok!

[buginme2]

I hope your feeling better. Welcome

[puuchai]

Thanks all for welcoming me to the forum and your kind words.

leatherman. Yes about the KS flaring up,the doctor said it was The immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). I was so surprised at first and scared the hell out of me as i watched myself worsening day by day and already trying to cope with taking medications for HIV,i was given a pretty poor prognosis to start with but luckily it's not the case now,the lesions became so bad that i even got gangrene in my thigh and for a few weeks it just wouldn't heal.started to think about buying a few thousand maggots to eat the F**k off it LOL.
I bought some 100% pure honey and plastered that on it 3 times a day instead and it slowly started to clear up,probably the Haart meds also but who knows for sure,looking back from the start of all this last year i think that was probably one of the most horrible things ive been presented with,as well as that happening suddenly my balls grew into the size of a small football and started rubbing on my thigh just to make it worse and my dick turned into a oversized deformed purple carrot.Then my legs swelled up to nearly twice there normal size,when i woke up in the mornings my eyes where nearly closed with swelling so much,that had it's advantages as i could only see the mess i'd become half the day instead of all of it.One of the hardest things to cope with has been so many people staring at me and asking what the hell happened to you?.I live in south east asia so i told them i pissed off a large family of mosquitoes and they declared war on me.By this time your probably thinking why do i sound so jolly about all this? well truth be known i'm not all the time,and it's been one heck of a bumpy ride for the last few months but i"m sure having a good sense of humour is one of the strongest medicines there is.food glorious food is the other thing that i think ive been so lucky about as i have been able to eat like a horse everyday.craving for french fries burgers and loadsa fatty foods,can't say it's done me any harm.
Now i have a undetectable viral load and CD4 at last check was 208 so i'm just thanking my lucky stars for the moment.
Well it's a long story and i don't want to bore anyone to death,could be worse than HIV lol,thanks for listening.

[Andy Velez]

It sounds like you're doing very, very well, Puuchai. This is all still new and no doubt shocking to you at times. But it sounds like you are receiving good care, which is essential of course.

You're always welcome here to talk about whatever is on your mind and to ask questions when you have them. There is a lot of experience here and you will find members are responsive with sharing what they know with you.

Keep on going and things in your body and otherwise will gradually settle down to a more manageable size.

Best to you.

[brenner]

hi puuchai, how are you feeling now?  and how are the lesions for ks looking?  are they going away or at least fading?  i would love to hear about your situation, as i have a ks lesion, but just one on my thigh.  my doctor thinks that it may go away with my haart treatment.

[puuchai]

hi puuchai, how are you feeling now?  and how are the lesions for ks looking?  are they going away or at least fading?  i would love to hear about your situation, as i have a ks lesion, but just one on my thigh.  my doctor thinks that it may go away with my haart treatment.

Hi there brenner.Well compared to before,many of my lesions are fading to a lighter brown color now,and they've more or less all flattened out,the only part of my body that didnt have a lesion was my right hand,and still is.mainly they where classed as agressive skin lesions but also had/have in the lymph modes.it's been about 2 months or more since i stopped chemo now and the lesions are or look to be still fading slowly as time goes by so i think the haart meds are helping to destroy the Bast**rds,so if youve got one and keep up with ur meds i think ur doc is probably right and it shouldnt be a major concern for you.
Normally my doc here said they wouldnt have zapped me with all that chemo unless the lesions where inside ur body but in my case it became so aggressive so quiclkly and with such a low CD4 it seemed better to start zapping before they got even worse.
I look loads better now but still get asked my name when i take the dogs to the vets lol.

[brenner]

thats what my doc said too.  i am really glad that you are doing well now.  you seem to have a really good mental grip on all this judging by your posts.  and your sense of humour is really great.   will keep you posted on my development.  somehow, i think my lesion is getting lighter after 2 weeks of haart, but i think its wishful thinking at this point....but i do feel much better after being on meds.  we are on our way back to normal.

[puuchai]

Thanks brenner,yes please let me know how you go on,take good care and keep scoffing the pills,it soon becomes an easy routine to follow..

[puuchai]

Hi there everyone.
Just a quick follow up. Saw my oncologist the other day (not the vet) lol, and as no new lesions seem to be presenting themselves and the existing ones still seem to be fading things are looking good for the forsee-able future,got a 2 month reprieve until my next appointment,which is just great as it's a 260 km round trip each time on the bus.Now my docs saying if i adhere strictly to the meds then i could be fine for at least the next 10 years or more.with the KS at least.
My god i might even turn into a senile old fu*cker after all.
Best wishes and wellness to all...

[spacebarsux]

That is really awesome news puuchai, good luck!