POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: tommy246 on June 12, 2009, 12:02:59 pm
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I was diagnosed in dec 08 so still learning my question is if your numbers are in the normal range can you still expect to get things like shingles ,pneumonia etc.I was clear in 2006 so had hiv two years at the most my c4 count was 505 in december and 635 in march my % was 16 both times a little on the low side .I had shingles last august ,what i thought was bronchitus in november for a whole month and now have bronchitus again.Can doctors confuse bronchitus for some sort of pneumonia ,thanks for your help i am just having a paranoid day
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I had the shingles when my CD4 count was well over 500. Anybody that has ever had the chicken pox can get the shingles. Anybody can get sick, for a number of reasons. Stress, tiredness, lack of sleep, all those things can contribute. Since you have a very recent diagnosis, I would think you might still be adjusting to this news - I know I am, being diagnosed only four months before you. As much as possible, try and make positive, healthy changes to your lifestyle. I personally struggled with the thought that, every time I got sick, it was the HIV - I have OCD too, which is a form of Anxiety D/O. It's part of adjusting.
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Shingles is common, not necessarily HIV-related
So is bronchitis
Just cos you're HIV-positive doesn't mean you won;t get normal illnesses (and recover normally ;) )
- matt
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Can doctors confuse bronchitus for some sort of pneumonia ....
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/lung/pneumonia/understand-overview/pneumonia-bronchitis
Ray
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Hi,
Just wanted to add...When I had Pneumonia in 2003, it was confirmed with an Xray.
Never had bronchitus.
Ray
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I was diagnosed in dec 08 so still learning my question is if your numbers are in the normal range can you still expect to get things like shingles ,pneumonia etc. was clear in 2006 so had hiv two years at the most my c4 count was 505 in december and 635 in march my % was 16 both times a little on the low side .I had shingles last august ,what i thought was bronchitis in november for a whole month and now have bronchitis again.
Like you said, the % is on the low side. Low enough, I think, to compromise your immune system and leave you open all sorts or stuff, including shingles and bronchitis.
Can doctors confuse bronchitis for some sort of pneumonia ,
yeah, I suppose maybe they thought you had bronchitis when you really had pneumonia. Did they ask you to spit? When I was diagnosed with pneumonia, they took x-rays and confirmed it. If they took x-rays then it's highly doubtful they misdiagnosed you.
with your low %'s you might want to think about starting meds.
good luck.
robt
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I've had bronchitis at least 20 times (don't ask) and never has it been confused by a doctor for pneumonia.
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Like you said, the % is on the low side. Low enough, I think, to compromise your immune system and leave you open all sorts or stuff, including shingles and bronchitis.
yeah, I suppose maybe they thought you had bronchitis when you really had pneumonia. Did they ask you to spit? When I was diagnosed with pneumonia, they took x-rays and confirmed it. If they took x-rays then it's highly doubtful they misdiagnosed you.
with your low %'s you might want to think about starting meds.
good luck.
robt
My hiv specialist at the local hospital said he wasnt to worried about my % at the moment as my c4 count is good .The last few years i was living life in the fast lane drinking way to much and taking coke a couple of times a week ,i have since my diagnosis had a lifestyle change finished with the coke and cutting back on the alcohol slowly but surely so still hoping my numbers can rise(is this possible) as i was only infected sometime after march 2006.My doctor seems reluctant to start people on meds until 100 % needed ,i know there are two schools of thought on this and as i am on the national health system here in spain we have to wait for the doctors orders
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I've had bronchitis at least 20 times (don't ask) and never has it been confused by a doctor for pneumonia.
Wow thats alot i suffered with bronchitis occasionally before my hiv so i should just accept it. Heres a tip which i read about and tried yesterday after days of heavy coughing my wife made a big pot of chicken broth with lots of garlic ,pepper (and curry powder but i missed this out ).I had three big bowls and havent coughed since ,its also my 4th day on anti biotics so maybe its a coincidence but i feel loads better try it next time.
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Wow thats alot i suffered with bronchitis occasionally before my hiv so i should just accept it. Heres a tip which i read about and tried yesterday after days of heavy coughing my wife made a big pot of chicken broth with lots of garlic ,pepper (and curry powder but i missed this out ).I had three big bowls and havent coughed since ,its also my 4th day on anti biotics so maybe its a coincidence but i feel loads better try it next time.
Do you smoke?
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No i dont smoke ,how do you clear your bronchitis miss philicia and how long does it take . Is it true you cant take antibiotic if on hiv meds ?
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No i dont smoke ,how do you clear your bronchitis miss philicia and how long does it take . Is it true you cant take antibiotic if on hiv meds ?
No, it's not true. You can take antibiotics with HIV meds.
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No i dont smoke ,how do you clear your bronchitis miss philicia and how long does it take . Is it true you cant take antibiotic if on hiv meds ?
First of all, like I stated, I've had bronchitis a lot (I've been prone to acute respiratory tract infections of this sort since I was a child, so it has nothing to do with HIV at all), so I've become very skilled at detecting it the early stage -- the problem comes when it goes on too long and so much. If you can catch it before your lungs become overly full of fluid and you're already up for 4-5 hours at night hacking your brain out, then go to your local pharmacy and buy Mucinex D or the generic equivalent that contains specifically guaifenesin of 600mg dose, as this is what is used (and was once by prescription only until recently) to loosen mucus in your lungs. You'll probably want to also supplement this with some sort of cough syrup, but make sure when you do that it does NOT contain that same medication, guaifenesin, because if you double up on it there's the distinct possibility of side effects, namely dehydration and blood pressure. They also in most states keep this medication behind the pharmacy counter and not out on the shelves because kids use it to get high, so you may have to ask for it specifically.
Generally you'll have to take a regimen of guaifenesin and cough syrup for 10 days or so to rid yourself of the problem, so it's not an instant type thing, but your cd4s are high enough that you should be able to rebound like this fine. When I was hovering ~200 they'd give me an anti-biotic (even though generally bronchitis is viral... I know, it doesn't make sense, but like Dachshund states the idea that one is prevented from taking an anti-biotic with HIV medications is absurd) and yes it speeds up dealing with it, but because I was getting it a lot they don't like me to use an anti-biotic on a yearly basis if not needed.
At any rate, this is all information your doctor should be giving you, and my Mucinex-D recommendation isn't something I made up on my own, but it was the recommendation from my doctor on more than one occasion. I no longer bother him with the bronchitis routine, and would only if my phlegm was discolored in the manner more specific to pneumonia, as in greenish or yellow phlegm (which it never has been, fortunately).
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My phlem is green and yellow which is the norm with bronchitis and the viral infections can then transform into bacterial infections if i understand correctly.Although i feel better i am not fully recovered and tommorow is my seventh day on antibiotics,my sinuses are fully clear as they were also blocked.My main concern is that it lasted 4 weeks in november is it harder to clear because of my numbers c4 635 %16 vl 80,000,as i am not to keen on more anti biotics .I was treated by a private doctor near my work i went there to save time,he listened to my chest only,that is what i meant could it be pneumonia as you cant tell by listening only could you you need an x ray i imagine .I think my best bet is to let him hasve a listen to my chest tommorow and if there is still an infection there i will go to the hospital and let my hiv doc deal with it.