Your Infectious Disease Doctor

When you get to a hub, a doctor will be assigned to you. He or she is an Infectious Disease (ID) doctor specializing on HIV/AIDS. So the question now boils down to this. Can you have your own private ID doctor then? Of course you can. I had one in a private hospital before. She was Dr. T. She handled my case when I was confined because of pneumonia. She had all HIV/AIDS tests done while I was lying in the hospital bed during my 10 day stay in the hospital. I saw her for another 1 month prior to my ARV meds. She connected me first to UP-PGH-SAGIP, my first hub where I met Dr. R. So what was my private ID’s role then? She was my primary care giver and the hub was just a source of my ARV’s. 

When I had a problem with SAGIP (read my initial entries in my blog), I also switched ID doctors. Dr. T told me that she lacked the expertise to decide on my case. Then I found Dr. Ditangco, the head of RITM- ARG. She became my primary care giver and my hub became RITM-ARG. She is an Infectious Disease doctor specializing on HIV/AIDS. Up to the present I am still under her care.

So what is an infectious disease doctor?

An infectious disease (ID)  specialist is a doctor of internal medicine who is qualified as an expect in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.  ID specialists have expertise in infections of the sinuses, heart, brain, lungs, urinary tract, bowel, bones and pelvic organs. Their extensive training focuses on all kinds of infections, including those caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Many ID physicians specialize in treating patients with infections due HIV/AIDS. Along with with their specialized knowledge comes a particular insight into the use of antibiotics and their potential adverse side effects. ID specialists also have additional training in immunology (how the body fights infection), epidemiology (how infections spread) and infection control.

What an infectious disease specialist does

The role of an ID specialist is to review a patient’s medical data, including records, X-rays and laboratory reports. They may perform a physical examination, depending on the type of problem. They also counsel healthy people who plan to travel to countries where there is an increased risk of infection.

Laboratory studies are often necessary and may include blood studies and culture of wounds or body fluids. They may order blood serum studies for antibodies indicating the presence of unusual or uncommon diseases. These studies may help explain the results of studies that a general internist may already have done.

Work in the infectious disease specialty is limited to diagnosis and medical treatment. ID specialists do not perform surgery. 

On the treatment of Opportunistic Infections (OI’s)

When our immune system goes down, our body defenses are down too and the opportunistic infections (infections that don’t normally affect individuals with normal immune system) can happen anytime if we are not careful. So who do we turn to then?

It is still our ID doctor’s call. Up to now, Dr. Ditangco is my ID doctor and my head physician. She dictates on what I need to do. I have a team of other doctors and upon her advice I can go see them when necessary. I have a pulmonologist (my lung doctor), my nephrologist (my kidney doctor) and my gastro intestinal doctor. Since it is already my 6th month, my pulmonologist Dr. T wants to have a chest X-ray done again for comparison and Dr. Ditangco gave me a go signal to see him. She encourages me to see my other doctors and show how healthy I am now.

Dr. Ditangco can identify my infections fast but she would ask me to also go to a specialist. One time, I had sore eyes (‘pink eyes’) four times in 2 weeks and she asked me to see an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). She also noted that whatever medications the doctor will give me won’t have any problems with my ARV’s. I asked if I can have my chest warts cauterized and she told me to go see a dermatologist (skin doctor) and the anesthesia and medicines won’t interfere with my ARV’s. A pozzie asked me before about hiccups while taking ARV’s and she said that they are not related and he has to see a neurologist to check on his hiccups. A pozzie messaged me before that his family was hesitant to seek consult with other doctors specialists because of the stigma that HIV/AIDS has but I told him that he CAN disclose his status to caregiver. There is a doctor-patient confidentiality law no matter what. But your ID doctor can also can assist you in finding a specialized doctor who you can trust.

With our condition it is best to trust our ID doctor. He or she knows what is best for us. 

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