I have met a new pozzie and I told him to go to RITM since he's CD4 is below 50. However, he opted to go to a hub in Manila area for reasons I don't know. Proximity? Maybe. We stopped communicating for a month, and when he texted me two weeks ago, he said, his doctor hasn't given him his ARV's yet. He claimed that they are treating his acid reflux first! Huh? He said that even waited for 3 hours in the hub at that time and then the doctor rescheduled his consultation for the following week. Early this morning, I got a text from him saying that he has now blisters and he is pretty scared. I texted him just now, and still there was no reply yet. If he has not taken his ARV's yet, I will force him to see my doctor ASAP. I know for a fast that any OI can infect him now, so it is a must that ARV's will be prescribed while he is addressing his other medical illnesses.
Time is crucial when you have HIV. The virus will definitely lower one's immune system and when the time comes that it goes down to a super low level, any opportunistic infection can attack. Then one will have AIDS fast. Treatment will be more costly because, there will be more tests to be done, and more medicines to purchase, not to mention the hospitalizations. ARV's are free however, the treatment for OI's are not.
So why wait? Get treatment fast. Seek medical advice ASAP! If you feel that your doctor in your hub is slow in giving ARV's even though you know that you are below 350 CD4 count, then switch to another hub or find another doctor.
It is your life that is at stake. It is your pocket that will hurt if you don't rush. You need to be healthy again and you need your immune system to rebound as quickly as possible!