Numbers!

"You look fine, you don't look sick at all", said Dr. Saniel as she motherly patted my thigh when she first saw me in TMC last October when my SGPT (ALT) shot up to 328. I was asked by Dr. B to see her because of my SGPT concerns and at that time Dr. T was in a US conference. Dr. Mediadora C. Saniel is a renowned infectious disease doctor who is a member of The Medical City's Board of Directors. She is also the Director of Proser Health Services, Inc, President of the University of the Philippines Medical Foundation, Inc., and the Director of the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation, Inc.

"The numbers are high but there are no signs of yellowing", she added.

That was what my GI doctor, Dr. N said too. He even palpated my liver and it was normal. My CT Scan of my liver showed normal. Dr. B then referred me to my current ID doctor, Dr. Ditangco, the Head of RITM-ARG and she said that ALT will go up because of my HIV but lamivudine, one of my meds, will take care of it so there is nothing to worry about.

Then, I told myself to relax and not think about numbers anymore. What is important for me is that I do feel well and great!

My CD4 result just came out and it increased by 696%. I was happy of course, but those are just numbers. To me, what is important is for the past 8 months, I never got sick with any major illnesses. I had bouts of colds that lasted for less than 3 days which is normal for any individual. I had sore eyes that lasted for a day. I had bloated stomach from over eating. Well, that's about it. Other than that, I am in perfect shape.

Just don't get sick! That is my command to myself. CD4 goes down whenever we have illnesses. If we feel something, consult with our doctors fast. The faster we cure our illnesses the better for our immune system to bounce back again.

Numbers are numbers. I prefer that I feel great and well!