Steve5380 Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 Is it really true that HIV is now just a chronic condition and HIV + people can live as long as normal people as long as you can afford the treament?Or are we just trying to sound positive and encouraging? Someone above said nobody dies of full blown AIDS nowadays ... is that also true? But what about drug resistance? Won't the person eventually run out of medications to try? And won't the immune system get weaker as you grow older? What about the long term effects of anti-retroviral medicines ... any long-term toxicity? How many of you here have taken the medicines for more than twenty or thirty years? How fast does drug resistance occur? Anybody can share? I know people who were detected HIV+ more than 25 years ago, and are now on a drug cocktail that keeps their virus level undetectable. They have been taking about the same drugs for over a decade without building up any resistance to these drugs. Years ago it was convenient to change drugs as they became better tolerated, with lesser side effects. Today this advancement is slower, new drugs mainly add convenience. It seems that the important thing is to keep the HIV virus undetectable, since it can cause damage otherwise, like affect the kidneys. Without the virus around, the CD4 cells get a chance to increase again in number and when they exceed 200 (in their units) there is no AIDS by definition. Sometimes their number increases very slowly, but even if they are below the AIDS threshold there are ways to prevent the opportunistic infections with other medications. Low CD4s also happen to people who undergo organ transplants due to the medications they have to take to suppress their immune system, and they learn to live with it. With the virus undetectable, HIV infected persons become much less contagious too. It is true that HIV has become a chronic condition without major health risks when proper treatment is followed. The famous diving champion Greg Louganis has also been living with HIV for over 25 years and seems to be doing fine. forbiindiantop and Hotspunk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wozzit Posted June 16, 2015 Report Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Like Steve5380 in the previous post, let me try to give u some information based on my experience with friends who r HIV pos. As far as I am aware - n until my next test - I am neg.Yes HIV is now a chronic condition - provided u get checked regularly n know roughly when u became infected. Starting meds early is one key to living a long n active life. One of my Chinese friends in Hong Kong was diagnosed in 1996. He has been on meds ever since. If anything he leads a more active life than he did before. He loves life n relishes it.Like all viruses, the HIV virus mutates. Drug therapies have kept up with this n I believe there is no reason to believe they will not continue to do so. One key is to ensure u r not infected a second time by a different strain. So protection during sex is vital for both u n ur partner.Yes, people do still die of full blown AIDs. Most are in under-developed countries in places like sub-Saharan Africa where there r social stigmas about sex n disease. However from time to time chat room sites like BW tell of guys in Thailand who have been afraid to go for testing n then to tell their families. They will usually go home when they are too sick n then die. I am sure the same is true in some other countries.I do not believe the immune system is compromised after continuous HIV drug treatment. I am sure others will correct me if I am wrong. In most cases, after treatment over a period of time the virus becomes virtually undetectable. But that does not mean u r cured - merely that tests no longer pick it up. It is still lurking somewhere in the body.A vaccine against HIV is one of the absolute priorities for the world's health authorities. It won't cure those presently Infected, but it should ensure that generations to come do not have to go through all the pain n agony that so many have suffered. In the meantime, drugs will continue to be developed for those infected.Learning u have been infected usually brings immediate fear bordering in some cases on terror. The important thing eventually is to realize u can live with this virus. If u adopt a positive (sorry but that is the most obvious adjective) outlook on life n the future, there is every reason to believe u can n will enjoy a full, exciting n productive life.Steve5380 mentions Greg Louganis. Another celebrity infected with HIV is Magic Johnson. I can remember the media conference he gave when he retired as a basketball player around 1991. His wish then was to see his kids grow up. Not only did his announcement banish the view that HIV was a gay illness, his career since then has flourished by leaps n bounds n he is the best advertisement there is for adopting the "positive" attitude to life with HIV. Edited June 16, 2015 by wozzit Hotspunk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotspunk Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Dear Thomas, Steve5380 and wozzit have given you great answers to further your understanding of HIV/AIDS.Allow me to share my perspective as a person living with HIV (PLHIV). 1. HIV is a chronic manageable condition in today's context. With medication, very few of us die from HIV in Singapore, where medical care is excellent. Many of us are living near to normal lives, and I know of positive friends in their 70s, living in Australia and enjoying their retirement. 2. Full blown AIDS is actually the reduction of your healthy immune system to such a low level, that opportunistic infections (OIs) affect your body and your body cannot fight off infections such as PCP (pneumonia) and cytomegalovirus (CMV), as examples. Do google OIs, PCP and CMV for in depth information. 3. Your immune system naturally gets weaker as we get older. But a positive person is no worse off than a negative person nowadays, if he a) maintains a healthy diet, b) exercises, c) gets adequate rest/sleep, d) avoid stress, etc...What's more with our doctors monitoring our condition every 6 months, we are more able to quickly detect any health problems along the way, than negative people who do not go for their annual check ups, etc. 4. This is linked to your next question on Drug Resistance. Drug Resistance occurs two ways. One, a blood test (resistance test) is done by your doc to detect if the strain of the HIVirus you acquired is resistant to any of the drugs available for treatment. That way, doctor is better able to select the appropriate cocktail for you. For my case, my blood virus was resistant to Efavirenz already, so when I took this drug out of 3 drugs, my viral load was not able to be suppressed to "Undetectable" levels. Once I switched meds to a second line treatment regime, my virus was effectively suppressed within a year and I remain undetectable ever since. The second way, one can develop resistance to one's medication, is if you default on taking your medication daily. Without medication in your body, you are allowing the virus to replicate and become immune to that type of medication. So don't stop and start (taking medication). Every new combination you progress to, will be more expensive, because these are newer drugs. Some may not have generic versions. 5. I celebrated my 13th year on cocktail medication in April and am doing fine! My friends in Singapore have been on treatment much longer than I. They are still partying and enjoying life, though we are all growing older now. Many are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. We will not run out of medication. Currently, there is a battery of 20 over drugs and can be combined into various cocktail combinations. Some cocktails come in the easy to take 3 in 1 pill, taken once daily now. Easy. 6. As for your question on the long term side effects/toxicity of the medication (antiretrovirals or ARVs), yes, I'm afraid there will be some. These affect our liver and kidneys most. Hence, our doctors monitor our condition every six months with a full blood count, as well as test for liver and kidney function. But hey, any medication we take on a long term basis, for whatever medication condition, will affect our organs anyway Thomas, do read my posts on the available medication for HIV treatment. I specialize in selling generic medication to many Singaporeans. Why am I doing this? As we all know, medication in our hospital pharmacies are crazy expensive, because these are classified as non-standard drugs and hence there are NO subsidies. Unless you are unemployed, or earning below subsistence level, our friendly medical social workers will make you go through rigorous means testing, before providing you any subsidy (full or partial). Some of us draw down on our medisave the maximum amount allowed $550 per month, until everything is gone. Thank you MOH. Yet others, form groups not different to what you saw on the movie Dallas Buyers' Club and bring in cheaper, but as effective generic medication either made in Thailand or India, for our own support group members. Regards,Hotspunk. Edited June 17, 2015 by Hotspunk forbiindiantop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 If u have full blown aids, does it mean u will die.would taking medicine only then ok ma? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotspunk Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) A friend's CD4 level dropped to single digit/ almost zero (200 and below is considered AIDS), he took medication and is alive and well and running a profitable international business in the UK now. So yes, he didn't die. But you are not him and we are all built different. Don't wait till your CD4 drops to dangerous levels. Get tested and start treatment early, as advocated by the doctors, and avoid greater damage to your immune system. Do pm me and we can contact each other from there... Edited June 17, 2015 by Hotspunk forbiindiantop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 A friend's CD4 level dropped to single digit/ almost zero (200 and below is considered AIDS), he took medication and is alive and well and running a profitable international business in the UK now. Is this the exception rather than the rule? Can someone whose CD4 dropped to AIDS level be reversed with medicine and live for decades? Doesn't that mean that as long as you take medicine you don't have to suffer from AIDS anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornyallthetime Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Hi Edited June 18, 2015 by hornyallthetime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve5380 Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 It seems that the status of HIV has reached a point that those who think that the plague was sent by God to punish the sinning homosexuals, have to recognize that their God is being defeated by the drug companies that develop the antiretroviral medications. And when one observes the marketing techniques of drug companies, it is clear that their God is being defeated by their Devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wozzit Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 It seems that the status of HIV has reached a point that those who think that the plague was sent by God to punish the sinning homosexuals, have to recognize that their God is being defeatedIt is quite extraordinary in this year 2015 that there r people around who still blame gays for the emergence of HIV. That is nonsense. Perhaps more to the point is that after the discovery of HIV in humans a conservative religious right wing government in the USA did everything in its power to avoid recognizing the existence of the virus n to deny reasonable research funding for several years - despite the pleading not only of its own doctors n specialists at the Center for Disease Control but also its own Surgeon General! Had the Reagan administration heeded the pleas of its medical community, a vaccine might have been developed years ago n many millions of lives saved.The religious right has a lot to answer for! Hotspunk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve5380 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 The religious right has a lot to answer for! Yes, but they also think that the one they have to answer to is exclusively their God. So it may take a while until they die and they find themselves in one of the levels of hell. Or at least in purgatory for some centuries... But there seems to be some enlightenment coming out from some organized religions. Pope Francis seems to be making up some with his new encyclical "Laudato Si". Hotspunk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hiv med Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 I paying 500 per month fROM my medisave account.Med needs trial n errors for right types for u...Lucky ones can take cheaper med, others need to pay more.If u dun hav $$$ to pay, can apply with social workers @ hospital, no need worry, they won't c u without ur med to survive...Hiv guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newbie Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Hey 26 mths http://www.blowingwind.org/forum/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/smile.pngYep of course I remember you. Been always wanting to thank you for the advice earlier on. Yeah actually to clarify I an also taking Ricovir (the generic Truvada I was referring to since it's essentially the same chemical composition, just that I didn't remember the brand name when I typed my post) it's really cheap to get it from BBK Red Cross. Do drop me a line if you've gotten an account and want to chat ya ?All the best and take care. I hope to see you eventually post as 260 mths and beyond http://www.blowingwind.org/forum/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/biggrin.png:DAm new here and felt very lost. What should I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sum1outhere_03 Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Hi newbie, can you elaborate about your "lost"? is it regarding HIV? you can read more from this website: http://afa.org.sg/knowmore/faq/ forbiindiantop 1 Will you be my valentine's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotspunk Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Dear Newbie, You can also go to the classifieds ad forum and read more info about HIV treatment on my posts.Link provided here: http://www.blowingwind.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=39812 Cheers, Hotspunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ana Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Hi ! Can anyone give me the address of AFA ? i want to go for the test ! Thank you so much ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate69 Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Hi ! Can anyone give me the address of AFA ? i want to go for the test ! Thank you so much ! Google please. forbiindiantop 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mx67 Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 I just back from BKK and was there to seek treatment from Bumrungrad Hospital, which I found out was the most expensive hospital in BKK. Here my sharing if anyone who like to seek treatment in BKK Bumrungrad Hospital. Reach BKK airport take the free bus service provided by the Bumrungrad Hospital. Went through registration and seem the doctor, took about 3 hours includes going for blood test, urine test, etc. Cost includes tests and consultationFirst day (20 Sept 15) $21,680 (SG$867)Second day (21 Sept 15) $14,357 (SG$574)Third day (23 Sept 15) $8,840 (SG$353) include medication for 3 monthsTotal cost for 1st treatment $44,877 (SG$1,795) Once I am stable with the medication, I will seek consultation and buy medication from BKK Red Cross. If anyone know how to go about at the BKK Red Cross, please share with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted September 24, 2015 Report Share Posted September 24, 2015 Red Cross or snake farm is "Sa Pa Ka Chad" in Thai, Locate on Angreedunang Rd. it on the junction opposit Surawong Rd. (So sorry for very poor english) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mx67 Posted November 16, 2015 Report Share Posted November 16, 2015 any runner here who sell HIV medication? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jacob D Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 In BKK me and my friend trust Dr.Natthakhetat sathorn international clinicTel/Fax +66 (0) 20093877sic56216@hotmail.comcost for tests and meds are cheap. Hi need doctor address or contact in BKK or JB for HAART treatment. Anyone can help? JB can tryJohor Specilaist Hospital39 B Jalan Abdul SamadDr SingaravelooTel - 02-07 225 3000 ext 4854(not an up to date info) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jacob D Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Try visiting Dr.Natthakhet at Sathorn International Clinic,He's from Red Cross.Price at clinic is nearly the same as red cross, much much cheaper than Bamrungrad and than in Sing.Never had to wait, (nobody will see you queueing to get hiv medication) he's friendly and takes time to explain. Got a feeling that he's also PLU. I just back from BKK and was there to seek treatment from Bumrungrad Hospital, which I found out was the most expensive hospital in BKK. Here my sharing if anyone who like to seek treatment in BKK Bumrungrad Hospital. Reach BKK airport take the free bus service provided by the Bumrungrad Hospital. Went through registration and seem the doctor, took about 3 hours includes going for blood test, urine test, etc. Cost includes tests and consultationFirst day (20 Sept 15) $21,680 (SG$867)Second day (21 Sept 15) $14,357 (SG$574)Third day (23 Sept 15) $8,840 (SG$353) include medication for 3 monthsTotal cost for 1st treatment $44,877 (SG$1,795) Once I am stable with the medication, I will seek consultation and buy medication from BKK Red Cross. If anyone know how to go about at the BKK Red Cross, please share with me. I just back from BKK and was there to seek treatment from Bumrungrad Hospital, which I found out was the most expensive hospital in BKK. Here my sharing if anyone who like to seek treatment in BKK Bumrungrad Hospital. Reach BKK airport take the free bus service provided by the Bumrungrad Hospital. Went through registration and seem the doctor, took about 3 hours includes going for blood test, urine test, etc. Cost includes tests and consultationFirst day (20 Sept 15) $21,680 (SG$867)Second day (21 Sept 15) $14,357 (SG$574)Third day (23 Sept 15) $8,840 (SG$353) include medication for 3 monthsTotal cost for 1st treatment $44,877 (SG$1,795) Once I am stable with the medication, I will seek consultation and buy medication from BKK Red Cross. If anyone know how to go about at the BKK Red Cross, please share with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Newbie Posted November 17, 2015 Report Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi Jacob,Checked his website and his operating hours for weekdays is only for 3 hours from 17.00 hrs to 20.00hrs.As for hiv patients , there will be a need for pre blood test every 6 months. Wonder how many days they need in advance to do the blood test and obtain result for prescription purposes.Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jacob D Posted November 18, 2015 Report Share Posted November 18, 2015 Weekdays it's really 17.00hrs to 20.00hrsSat and Sun 8.00hrs to around 18.00 or 19.00hrsWe did see him weekday and once during weekend,He told us that lab tests done at his clinic is sent to medical school lab and results come back in 3-7days by email to clinic and our emails. After I first heard about this place (I decided to go there because there are too many people in red cross now), I was requested to show previous results and had consultations then the follow/up lab test was done, everything was alright so i started to get medication from him and planned to do blood test again in 6 months. I introduced this to my friend in Singapore, who is very discreet and doesnt want any possibility to be known he's taking hiv medications so he travelled here, also for the lower price here for real medication. One of my friend also on PrEP program with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mx67 Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) Anyone know of any runner selling Ricovir-EM 200mg/300mg and Edurant 25mg? I need about 3 months medication before my medical appt in BKK. Pls help, thanks Edited November 19, 2015 by mx67 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostintranslation Posted November 19, 2015 Report Share Posted November 19, 2015 I think AFA has runners? Just call them and ask, I'm sure they can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mx67 Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Beside AFA, any other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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