Comments and Replies

Because my blog is full of entries, I can’f find the entries that you guys commented on so I might as well respond to comments on this entry.


1. Comment : “If there is an award for HIV blogs, your blog will surely win!”.

Pozziepinoy’s Reply: Thanks but my blog wasn’t intended to be in competition with other blogs. I just want to be straight forward, factual and serious. Having AIDS is a serious matter and the impact of it is so devastating that one really has to be careful in advising or even discussing it. My initial intention was a blog that would serve as a diary but later on it became a blog to reach out to other people who have the same condition as I have. I try to be as factual as possible and I do my researches and my interviews as well because I know people are paying attention. My blog is also a way for me to help people financially with their lab test struggles. 

     

Thanks to all the guys who have been emailing and even though I am quite busy right now, I still make it a point to reply back. I know our staggering statistics so I know there are people who are confused who need some words of encouragement!


2. Comment: “Before I was diagnosed last February 13, I was hospitalized twice (Aug and Dec last year) and the diagnosis was TB Adenitis (TB of the lymph nodes). I completed my Quad Tab for 2 months, and now I’m on my first month of a 4-month regimen of Rimactazid (Rifampicin and Isoniazid). It will end on July 14, so I guess I’ll start ARV treatment by then? Anyhow I hope my SAGIP specialist would know better.”

Pozziepinoy’s Reply: Thanks for the comment. I helped 2 pozzies before who had tuberculosis and I don’t know if some hubs would allow ARV treatment at the same time with the TB medications. One thing for sure, in RITM-ARG according to Dr. D and Ate Ellen, they give ARV treatment even while undergoing TB treatment and the two pozzies that I assisted are still on them now (one, after just a month, is now looking for a job!)

I don’t know if SAGIP will advice you to start ARV treatment but I know for sure that you need to get ARV treatment fast especially if you’re CD4 is below 350. 

You can ask your doctor to have your CD4 test done ASAP so you will know the status of your immune system and by then you will be able to know if you are indeed in need of ARV treatment or not. If SAGIP won’t allow you to have the ARV treatment while having TB medications, ARG will allow you to. But it is your choice. What I know is that the earlier you take the ARV’s, the higher the chance for your CD4 count to recover fast. This means that for a CD4 count below 100 (like mine), it will take months or even years to go up to above 350. CD4 counts above 300 can improve to normal levels in just months. My only point here is why wait?

Unfortunately, the ARV's are so expensive here that we don't have a choice but to get them from the hubs. In the US (and maybe in other first world countries), they start taking ARV's even when their CD4 counts are 400 or 500. This means that their CD4 counts can go recover fast. However the cost is pretty outstanding too but they have insurance to cover for them. Since we get our ARV's for free, we have to follow the rules of each hub and their cut off is 350 and below. So for those CD4 counts that are higher than that, they will be advised to just take multivitamins and stay healthy and will be asked again to come back for another 6 months.

3. Comment: “ I agree. Reading poz stories help boosting one’s morale. But not all the time, though..... I read a couple of sad stories that scared the shit out of me. One is about a poz who got cancer (lymphoma) shortly after taking ARVs... and another, who actively blogged his HIV journey, then stopped blogging after hisCD4 count dropped so low.”

  
Pozziepinoy’s Reply: I agree with you. It scares the shit out of me too ... ALL THE TIME! But I am keeping a very POSITIVE attitude about everything. The ARV’s really are scary but the best way to lessen this burden is to update your doctor all the time. Report all your physical findings especially when you feel something different. When I was in SAGIP I was taught on how to check my own lymph nodes and up to now I am still checking them out. 

I am in no position to say something about the poz who claimed to have had lymphoma after taking ARV’s. I am not sure if ARV’s can cause it but the HIV itself can definitely cause it. Only the doctor can tell you. 

I strongly believe that we have the responsibility to take care of ourselves by closely monitoring our bodies. The technique is to report everything to the your ID doctors fast because they want to prevent those other complications. Well that’s what I do up to now. I proactively ask my doctor for advice if I feel and see something different. When I had sore eyes, I reported it to DR. D fast and she told me to go and ask the advice of an opthalmologist and my ARV’s are ok with any eye medications. When I had chest pain (later turned out to be just heartburn), I called my friend doctor fast who asked me to consult my pulmo doctor.

I also agree with you that there are some poz who started blogging, then when their CD4 dropped, they stopped too. It is sad but each has his own way of dealing with things. What I can tell you guys is this: that even though my CD4 count will drop, I will still report it here because it is really possible and it is the reality. My blog is all about facts and I want to share my entire journey with everybody. What is important is how I would deal with it and in that way, you guys can learn something from me. 


4. Comment: “I thought you’re taking efav with an empty stomach? How come you take all 4 at once?”

Pozziepinoy’s Reply: I am taking all my ARV’s on an empty stomach. The tenofovir  ( 1 tab) and lamivudine (2 tabs) can be taken with or without food so my SAGIP doctor, DR. R. and Dr. D. from ARG told me told to take all at the same time with efavirenz (1 tab).  Why separate them all when I can easily take them all at once? 

When I first started taking my ARV’s my ID doctor adviced me to take them separately: tenofovir at 8am, lamivudine at 12 noon and efavirenz at 10 pm (empty stomach). This was so to just monitor the tablets’ side effects. The only one that had side effect was efavirenz because I felt them after taking it. After 3 weeks, after switching doctors, Dr. D told me to take all my ARV’s all at once at 10pm on an empty stomach.

It’s your doctor’s call no matter what but ask if you’re really interested in taking them all at the same time. Ask your doctor if you want to change schedules and ask him or her on how to change it.


5. Comment: “ARG is so far from my place. Nearest to me is SAGIP. I hope that I won’t have any horror stories in SAGIP.”

Pozziepinoy’s Reply: Go to a hub that is convenient for you. I don’t have anything against SAGIP because they really helped me a lot in dealing with my first ARV experience. It wasn’t a horror experience but a very intellectual decision that my team of doctors in my private hospital had to decide on.

I am very sure that SAGIP will give you the best care but always question things. It is your body .. it is your health so be proactive!

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