Never Been Sick Again!

I am so conscious about my health now. At the early sign of an illness, I treat it accordingly. I take a lot of rest. My priority is now my health and if ever I would feel that I would come up with something, I will opt to be absent from work. That is my commitment to my body and my responsibility to Tag. Today is my 114th day and I've never been sick. No fever, no cough or flu (knock on wood). I had bouts of beginning illness but I fortify myself fast with vitamins and lots of fluids to flush everything out. I am very particular with hygiene...

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Losing My Belly

I was so fit before I got sick. When I was hospitalized I started to lose 15 pounds. When my pneumonia cleared after a 2 weeks, I started eating again, up to 7x a week. At that time I told myself that I have to look good and feel good again. After a month, I gained all the 15 pounds back. Then I started with the ARV's. I figured that with the side effects (maybe I might lose weight), I started my voracious eating again. I needed to fight the side effects. I gained another 15 pounds. The fat gathered around my belly, my legs, butt, arms and legs. When...

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"HD" Dreams

I wasn't noticing it until lately when I realized that I really am having vivid dreams. I tell Tag about it and courtesy of the efavirenz, my vivid dreams are so fantastic. Really, I am enthusiastic about it. Recently, I realized that my dreams are pretty crisp, like watching HD movies on TV. Now I call my dreams as my HD dreams because I really feel that I am part of the dream which is so great. Am I crazy to love these dreams? Maybe, but my dreams recently are great. This morning, my dream was star studded... and the theme was Mama Mia....

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Don't Be Scared!

So you got your result and it says your positive. You get confused. You blame yourself. You cry and hibernate. You feel like your life has come to an end. Don't be scared! Like me, I've experienced the worst. I was sick before I got my result. I may think that I was already on my death bed. But I struggled to get out of the rut. I fought back. I was scared at first but I opted to think positive. I chose to survive and now, I am back to my previous life. I still have the virus but I am not allowing it to get me sick again. Don't be scared....

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Alarming Rate

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Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in The Philippines

In December 2011, there were 268 new HIV Ab sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative  Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry. This was 54% higher compared to the same period last year. This increased the total number of cases to 2,349 for 2011.Most of the cases (94%) were males. The median age was 27 years (age range:16-59 years). The 20-29 year (62%) age-group had the most number of cases. Forty-eight percent (128) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region...

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My 113th Day

Today is my 113th day of taking ARV's. Everything's fine now. No more side effects, no dizziness, no itching, no vivid dreams. So far so good. In just 7 days, it will be my 4th month of taking my cocktail, namely tenofovir, lamivudine and efavirenz. I am proud to say that I have never been late or have missed my scheduled intake of my meds. Really, all my set up timers worked wonders for me. Now, it is like a habit which I can't dismiss. Up to now, I am still taking my daily cotrimoxazole and my weekly azithromycin. I am back to work and I...

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Sore Throat

I woke up today with a mild sore throat. Oh no. Back to 2000 mg of vitamin C fast as  used to do before to prevent the virus from spreading. I can't allow this to happen and I will do everything to prevent it. Last night's dinner in a crowded place was the culprit. Smoke was everywhere and I wasn't able to pay attention to it. My fault. I left my guard down. this can't happen ever again. After all the accomplishments of my immune system, I can't regress back. I just can't. So today before I regret it, I have to do the following again: 1....

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Seeing a Dear Friend

When I was in the hospital a dear friend of ours kept on monitoring my health thru Tag. When I came out, she sent food twice to our place. It was heart warming, knowing that there is somebody who knows my condition, who somehow cared. Last night we had dinner with her in a restaurant. We greeted each other with hugs and there was a sign of comforting in her eyes. Our conversations were all about the past happenings, but I guess she was polite not to mention about my virus. I liked it better that way. Nothing has changed and I felt the I am...

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Happy Working Again!

Today is my 17th day of work. I am happy. I am glad that I am back. Now I know what the doctors told me when they said that HIV/AIDs is like having diabetes only... that eventually, everything will go back to normal as long as you strictly take your medicines on time and you take all the necessary precautions not to get sick. On my first day of work, I was a little apprehensive. Of course, people asked me what happened and I just told them about my liver issue (which I did have) and that my doctor wanted me to take a break from work (which she...

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Health Tips

Once you find out that you are HIV positive, your priority will change to health. You can't take it for granted anymore. You have to find ways to prevent illnesses and to be healthy, physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. Here are some tips on how to be healthy: 1. General Physical Fitness     a. Eat healthy. Have a balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. Eat fruits and vegetables to get your natural vitamins.     b. Stay active. Exercise regularly or just do a regular physical activity on a...

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Loving Family

I am blessed. With Tag by my side and families who are very supportive, I am so blessed. I am not alone with this fight. Ever since I came back to work, I am receiving messages from my sisters and nieces. "Don't work too hard"... "Get plenty of rest"... "Eat right" ... "Always be careful". Those were the warnings that they tell me. Loving messages? Hell, yeah. Messages of concern coming from loved ones. I needed that because I am the type of person who would eventually forget but having a good habit, knowing that I have a virus in me all the...

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Listen to Your Body

Listen to your body and always be reminded that... We are immuno compromised so we must always take care of our bodies. We should always be reminded that by taking our ARV's, we must also remind ourselves that there is a virus inside of us and any infection can hurt us... any infection can make our CD4 levels go down because the infection itself can trigger the replication of the virus. We are immuno compromised. We should practice what we have learned in the past. NEVER, never get sick.. and the best way to do it is to prevent it from happening....

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Feeling Good!

I feel good. I called a poz today and helped him with his current health status. Sorry but I can't reveal what we talked about but these were the things that I wanted him to do and to think about: 1. Start paying again his PhilHealth --- this week!! We all know that Global Fund will end this December and the ARV's will be paid for by PhilHealth starting next year. I told him to pay off 1 year (100 per month = P1,200 per year) or 2 years so...

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My Pledge

I talked to Ate Ellen from ARG about my mission.. of helping financially a pozzie who is really in dire need of help while on treatment. She said she will do the screening for me in RITM and will let the poz call me and ask for assistance. She told me that I can help paying his or her Philhealth so the poz can be in OHAT fast or help with the baseline tests. I told her my predicament. I was sick before and luckily we were financially flexible. Now starting this year I want to help. I want to help one person a month ... a person who really has...

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What's Going On?

I am sorry that I have not been blogging as frequent as before. As I've said in my previous entries, my life is coming back to normal again. I just had my 1st out of the country travel and I really felt alive. Like what I've said too, I owe this to my following diligently my doctor's orders and my positive attitute of getting well. Now, everything is paying off. I am back to work which is I love the most. I travel once again. I work out hard again. I am on a diet program now. I go to places that was once forbidden to me but of course, now...

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It's the Law!

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100% Adherence

I am proud to say that for 94 days now, my adherence to the ARV's is 100%. Never skipped a dose. Never been late. How do I do it? I have 3 timers in the house. Two in my phone: its regular clock alam and an app alarm. In the house I have an alarm clock. These 3 give me the exact time, that is 10 minutes before my 10pm schedule to take my so called "vitamins". I promised myself not to miss or be late for my schedule. No excuses, whether I am home or I am out for dinner or a movie or even while travelling. I know my obligation. I became...

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HPV Vaccination

When I was in RITM last month, while having my vaccinations, Ate Ellen told me that I should get an HPV vaccination too. So by next week I'll be getting it together with my hepa B 2nd shot and my meningococcemia vacinnation. I researched about HPV and this is what I got from the net: What is Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV)? Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common virus. Most sexually active people in the United States (U.S.) will have HPV at some time in their lives. There are more than 40 types of HPV that are passed on...

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Never Give Up!

I know it's hard. You just found out that you are HIV positive or your doctor just told you that you have AIDS. I feel your sadness and shock. I've been there before. I was bedridden. I also had feelings of regret, of anger. I was mad at myself. But look at me now. After 4 months of rest, I am back to work. I am functioning as a normal individual again. The reason for this is simple. I fought. I fought hard to regain my life back. I fought hard to be strong to face the reality and to heal myself. I fought hard, even though there were uncertainties,...

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Lose 16 Pounds

I gained 20 pounds of body fat when I started to take ARV's. I devoured food basically, like 7 meals a day because I was thinking that I need to look healthy and that the HIV will make me thin. The ARV's that I am taking are such a help as they stimulated my appetite even more and for 3 months, I kept on eating and gaining weight. Since the 1st of January of this year, I started my workout and diet program again. I guess it is an intense program because I was able to lose 4 pounds already because when I weighed in this morning, I was down by...

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Ocular Manifestations of HIV

This morning I woke up with mild pink eyes (i.e. sore eyes here in the Philippines). My previous doctor in PGH -SAGIP said that the eyes can also by the  weakened immune system. So I did my research and I got this article from the web: Ocular manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are common. Approximately 70-80% of HIV-infected patients will be treated for an HIV-associated eye disorder during the course of their illness. In general, the CD4+ T-lymphocyte count has been used to predict the onset of certain...

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Third Monthly Report

Today is my 90th day of taking ARV's. It is my 3rd month of getting treatment for my HIV. If people will ask me how I am, as promised that I will tell the honest truth, this is my current status. Up to now, I still wake up at 2am (4 hours after taking my pills) and I feel hot especially on my back. I am already in front of the airconditioner but still the body heat wakes me up. Occasionally I feel itchy in the areas on my back, my upper arms and upper chest especially when I feel hot. Applying a moisturizer helps and frequent showering with...

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Living Positively With HIV

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Alarming Rate

According to the Department of Health National Epidemiology Center, there were 212 new HIV Ab         sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry. This was 89% higher compared to the same period last year. Most of the cases (94%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range:17-73 years). The 20-29 year (58%) age-group had the most number of cases.  Fifty-eight percent (124) of the reported cases...

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Just Waiting

When I got sick, I promised myself to help one person every month to support him or her with the financial burden of getting the initial lab tests and or CD4 test. They are really costly especially if one is self-supporting. I know the problems facing those people who haven't told their families yet about their disease and the problem of financing their health is one of them. I've been there before but was lucky enough because Tag and I saved a lot on an emergency fund that covered all my hospital bills and medical expenses. We came to realize...

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New Year, Second Life

Yesterday was my 89th day of taking my ARV's and was the day that I went back to work. I was so excited, that I was trembling and sweaty when I entered the office. I couldn't believe that I was back.. I can't believe that I was there. I rubbed my eyes, almost pinched myself. I was back to circulation. Days ago, I decided to live my life again. My support system was great but I have to stand up on my own now. I need to feel that I am no longer sick and that I have overpowered the virus within me. My long rest have empowered me with much knowledge...

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