HIV/Aids

[skirtlifter]

There seems to be some very knowledgable people out there. Perhaps someone can run through symptoms to look for if AIDS is suspected

Cheers me hairy shipmates

[Guest]

just out of my head:

 

when freshly infected you might have a fever and night chills similar to a flue for a few weeks, painfully swollen glands. then symtoms disappear.

for a few years no symptoms at all.

 

beginning of full blown AIDS is marked again by fevers, nightchills, diarria, sudden weightloss, permanently swollen glands. infections of the soft tissue of the mouth, also skinrashes.

 

then is high time to get treatment. on the positive - nowadays there are lots of medicaments which in the optimum case can prolong life nearly indefinately with relatively few side effects (well, better than the effects of all the different infections you will get, and die from, if left untreated). i even have met one who nearly died, already blind, down to 30 something kilos and now, with medicaments, is symptom free, normal weight.

 

here in thailand there are also ways to get those treatments anonymous but still under professional supervision.

[Tiger Moth]

Wonder if you could enlighten me with respect to someone being HIV positive and then having AIDS.

 

If I am not mistaken, famous athlete in the US, Magic Johnson, became HIV positive around 10 years ago. Also, I believe he has not at yet developed AIDS. In addition to medication, he works out several hours per day and claims that this has contributed to his health. I saw him on TV in an exhibition basketball game recently and he seems to be as healthy as anyone his age could be.

 

So, my questions really relates to becoming HIV positive. Doesn't HIV positive precede AIDS? And isn't it possible to delay the development of AIDS indefinitely with medications and treatments available today?

 

This is not a veiled attempt to make a point. I really don't know the answers to these questions even though this seems to be the case for Magic Johnson.

 

Thanks

[Guest]

absolutely.

there is though a certain uncomfortable sideeffect in that development of those antiretroviral medicaments. it has been observed that in certain risk groups the behaviour went back to very risky behaviour since AIDS became a managable desease.

also, people have to be very strict in their daily doses. if they stop because they feel healthy the virusload will com back, and the same medicaments will not work anymore as they have created a resistency. another set then has to be taken.

 

that is why those medicaments have to be taken under strict supervision of a medical professional.

[SingaporeSteve]

Tiger Moth - HIV is the virus that ultimately leads to full blown AIDS by breaking down your immune system. This is measured by a series of tests measuring your CD4 cells (good infection fighting cells, if you like) and the level of the viral load in your blood (i.e the amount of virus running around your body).

 

Technically, you are considered to have AIDS when your CD4 count falls below 200 (normal level is approx 650-1000. alhough this varies by each person). Once your CD4 falls below 200, you are at a greater risk of opportunistic infections which ordinarily your bodies immune system would fight off without any problem.

 

Current medicines are designed to fight the virus and clear it out of your body so that your CD4 count can recover of its own accord. The current western medical regimes are extremely powerfull at doing this. Therefore although they do not clear the virus completely from areas such as the brain, they can eliminate a large amount. However as Fly says, you need to keep taking the medicines for the remainder of your life to keep the virus down. If you stop, the virus will re-group and figure out a way of overcoming the medicine that you had been using. That is why there are multiple medications to fight HIV infections.

 

Cuirrent analysis indicates that people that take these medications correctly now have a near normal life expectancy. Therefore the odds of Magic Johnson progressing to full blown AIDS are unlikey if he continues to take his medicines correctly. If he were to stop, he would likely die within say 5-10 years as the virus destrys his immune system.

 

Cheers

[Tiger Moth]

thanks to you and fly for the informative replies

[Guest]

and to add here - fortunately now here in thailand antiretroviral medicaments (GPO-Vir - a generic medicament made in thailand, the cheapest on the market worldwide) are available on the 30 baht health scheme. plus HIV infected get a very small monthly allowance.

the story of the development of that medicament, and the legal battles those developers had to go through against the multinationals were unbelievable (including deathreats against the developing team), but they have succeeded in the end.

[lembeh]

 

Two points:

 

1. No one would/should wait till developing full blown AIDS before starting a antiviral regime. It would/should start immediately after HIV positive status is diagnosed. The chance of successful management is much higher.

 

and

 

2. A significant number of people, even following the correctly prescribed regime of the latest therapy are "non-responders", who the drugs do not help.

-j-

[Guest]

>>>2. A significant number of people, even following the correctly prescribed regime of the latest therapy are "non-responders", who the drugs do not help.<<<

 

 

the developers of GPO - Vir told me that about 10% do either not respond or develop too severe side effects (dunno of course if that was just a positive guestimate or correspondents with your numbers). it appears though that they have developed now different kits in case the patient does have problems. i was just told that by the doctor who treats a family member of my missus who was tested positive a few weeks ago (infected by his exwife).

[SingaporeSteve]

flyonzewall said:

>>>2. A significant number of people, even following the correctly prescribed regime of the latest therapy are "non-responders", who the drugs do not help.<<<

 

 

the developers of GPO - Vir told me that about 10% do either not respond or develop too severe side effects (dunno of course if that was just a positive guestimate or correspondents with your numbers). it appears though that they have developed now different kits in case the patient does have problems. i was just told that by the doctor who treats a family member of my missus who was tested positive a few weeks ago (infected by his exwife).

 

Fly - GPO Vir, is not considered a leading edge medicine for HIV treatment - the drugs used are old and have considerable side effects - the most obvious one of which is facial wasting as well as Liver problems. For someone with no other options due to cash restraints, GPO Vir is worth taking as it will prolong your life but for someone with cash, there are many better treatments. Also in Thailand, GPO Vir is in danger of being given to anyone with HIV/AIDS regardless of their CD4 count and Viral Load. If you have a very high viral load, GPO is NOT the best medicine as will not likely lead to virus supression in the short/medium or long term - its simply not strong enough. Current favourite treatment for high viral load is Kaletra which is available in Thailand albeit at a far higher price coupled with another 2 medicines to create the triple therapy scenario.

 

Cheers