New Pharm Steps For HIV...

This article  discusses a new approach in the treatment of multi-drug resistant HIV (MDR-HIV).    Get ready for some links.  It's a biologic medication, called Ibalizumab.  A biologic is a pharmaceutical produced by synthesizing living materials for a medical application.  This particular medication has been in development since the early 2000's.   This antibody was humanized via a mouse.  It binds the CD4, which is affected by HIV.

It's estimated, out of the million + people being treated for HIV in the USA, over 10,000 have MDR-HIV.  This approach may only help a small population at this time, but it's a step.  This drug is administered every 2 weeks intravenously. 

This shows how busy the researchers have been over the last several decades.  Unfortunately, it isn't a quick process.  Even now, it could be years, before this medication is widely available.   That's if everything goes well.  Even if it fails, the research will be invaluable. 

Cya...

Preferences...

Preferences, we have them, especially in who we decide to date or be sexually active.  You may like blondes, outdoorsy types, extroverts or who knows what.   You may hate squeaky voices, body hair or sports fans.  Having a preference does not make you prejudice. 

I constantly see people griping because some people use filters on dating apps.  They filter for masculine, muscular or specific races.  Why shouldn't they?  If they know they aren't interested in being with someone who isn't those things, these filters only save time.  IMO, it's just a convenience.  Those people who cry over it, are pissed off the people they find attractive don't reciprocate those feelings.  Wake up, that's life.  People don't have to find you attractive.  They don't have to date/screw you.   They don't owe you an explanation.

The latest filter is about HIV.  I say let them have it.  Let them use it.  Don't scream at me about there being PReP, TRAP or condoms.   These people don't have to be involved with + people.  Deal with it!  If you're HIV+, then you are, but it doesn't mean anyone else has to deal with you.

People who oppose filters, say they're discriminatory.  I don't like rye bread or blue cheese,  I'm picky as hell on a lot of things.  I don't find religious/overly political folks attractive.  So, yes I am discriminating.   But having preferences, doesn't alone make you prejudice.

Trying to force people to date you, is a social violation & coercion.  It shows how weak & needy you are.  It shows how entitled & aggressive you can be.  You know these people don't want to be near you, but still you're going to force them to deal with you.  Abusive much?

Filters, if you've got'em use'em.  If you don't like people who use filters & preferences, that's your problem.  At least people who use filters are being honest about what they want & what they're looking for.  

Cya...

Sick Again...

Everything seems to be going alright today, except for me.  We went out yesterday to run some errands.  We'd already had handled shopping.  By the time we got back, I felt like hell.  I think it was a lot of sinus drainage & stress.  It left me exhausted, weak & nauseous.  I'm still tired but not feeling so weak or nauseous.   I was going to do some yard work today, but it's getting pushed back.  I need to recover more before I do more exertion.   

Being sick sucks.

Cya...

Suddensuck Strikes Again...

Short post.  I'm running short on time.  I could've posted more, but Suddenlink decided to crap out again.  Yes, F' It Up Fridays are back.  I have no idea how long the net will be up & I have to get going.  I'll try to post more tomorrow.

Cya...

Don't Jinx It...

OK, we seem to have made some headway.   The peach tree is cut down.  The fridge is here, even if it did require some effort to get it into place.   Now, here's hoping it works like it's supposed to.

I don't want to say much more than that right now.  I just want to be happy that it's done.  I don't want to some how curse it into failure or more bad news.

So, yay for us!  The tree is gone & the fridge is here.

Cya...

Blame Game...

This article deals with the falsely accused Canadian, flight attendant Gaetan Dugas.  When AIDS research was in the early stages, what most people wanted to know besides What is it?," was where did it come from & who did this us.   Shortly, due to limited research Dugas's name appeared numerous times & he was dubbed "Patient O".  That was the letter not the number.  But it was a mistake that took hold & from there om Dugas was known as Patient Zero.

The article goes on to explain how this wasn't the case.  He wasn't near the 1st person with HIV in North America.   But people do love their blame games.    We want a target to hate to revile.  Too bad, we got the wrong person.  Too bad, it wouldn't have mattered been if he had been the 1st.  HIV is still here.   I understand the need to know from an epidemiology perspective, but what most people wanted was someone to blame,  

Aren't humans so great & wonderful?

Cya...

Still Waiting...

We're still waiting on our fridge & to get rid of the peach tree.  I've managed to get about half of the bushes trimmed back for the season.  I'll get to the others as I can.  Then The yard will be mostly handled for the season. 

I'm trying to get a hold of my Tulsa specialist, so I can get a blood work order faxed.  Normally, I'd just have my primary physician handle this, but the specialists wants some other test run this time.  I'll be busy in November.  I have several appointments, 1 in Tulsa.

That's about it for me today.

Cya...

Another Monday In October & Some Sad News...

We went shopping this morning.  We had  a few places to hit & it got a little tiresome.  I'm running behind a bit.   I'll catch up soon.  We still have the blasted peach tree & no new fridge.  Both should be dealt with soon,   I hope so.  I'd like to get some of this current mess wrapped up.  That's all for now.  

Cya...

I had to add this on.  I just read after initially posting, that Pete Burns, front man for Dead Or Alive has passed.  I read they think it was a massive cardiac arrest.  If it's all true, then there's another 1 2016 has claimed.

Keep Spinning round Mr Burns.

Recovering & A Word...

OK, we went out last night to a Halloween party.  It was fun, but more stimuli than I'd dealt with in a long time.  There were lights, music, fire, smoke, children, babies, even a dog.  All in all, counting the trip, I lasted about 5.5 hours.   That's about as good as I'm getting on any outing these days.  Even the trip to my doctor in Tulsa usually only lasts about 6.  I'm recovering from the outing well.  I"m not near as exhausted as I am from a trip to Tulsa,  It was good to do something different.  Enough about my night. 

Now more onto topic.  With the rise on PrEP. many people have altered their safe sex practices.  Often people are foregoing condom usage in favor of PrEP.  PrEP is only supposed to aid in the prevention of HIV, nothing else.  Every other STD, STI & pregnancy are real risks with unprotected sex. Since the rise of PrEP & the bareback movement, STD numbers have soared.  Syphilis, an STD that was on the way out, is now a very prominent STD again.   

People,  use a condom. 

Cya...

Heading Out Later...

I don't have much to blog about today. I'm tired from the crap that's been going for the last several weeks.  Thankfully, we have some plans later on today.  We have need something different, not bad or overwhelming.  We need to start replenishing our resources; financial, health, emotional & otherwise.  

Here's hoping today is fun.

Cya...

Disappointed..

There has been a series of disappointments lately.   

• The gas line leaked & cost us $$$
• The sewer line had to be repaired
• The fridge is dying
• The new fridge costs $$
• I couldn't handle all the yard work this year
• The damn peach tree is still standing
• The fridge's arrival has been delayed twice

We've had plumbers & repairmen,   We've had the yard guy that failed to do what he was supposed to do.  We've felt like crap.  We're tired.  We're stressed.  We just needed something to go right & get some of this BS off our plate.

I handled some of the yard work today.   My hands are still vibrating.  I'm typing even crappier than normal.    A day or 2 more & the cutting on the yard should be done, except for the blasted tree.  I may have to buy an ax,   Then we can get to gathering stuff up for send off.

I gotta go.  I'm tired & I need a shower.

Cya...

PS - At least the pharmacy didn't screw up my order this month.  There's that at least.

Another Failure & Another Problem...

Less than a year later, another man on PrEP has contacted HIV.  This man was in New York & his physician has evidence he was taking the medication as prescribed.  It seems the patient encountered a drug resistant strain.  That isn't surprising, those strains are mostly resistant to the medications in PrEP drugs such as Truvada.   Remember this is just the 2nd case reported, not necessarily the 2nd case.  These 2 cases were also of people strongly adhering to their regimens.  What of those that don't?

On to the failure.  The hissing refrigerator mystery is solved.  It was a fine, water leak.  That's fixed, but the compressor isn't.  We had to get a new fridge, there goes a lot of $$$.  It should be getting here soon.  This Fall is so seriously sucking.

I need to wrap this up.

Cya...

More...

I thought the gas was leaking already yesterday.  I even called the plumbers.  I think it's actually the refrigerator hissing at us.  It's been running almost non-stop & making a leaking, hissing noise.  Just 1 more thing to add to the mountain of crap.  Hopefully, it won't be too difficult a fix.  

The repair people are supposed to be here this afternoon.  This crap has me strung out & exhausted.  Fall always bites me in the ass.  I still haven't got the peach tree dealt with, but we've called a guy who can handle it.  That's right tree, we put a hit on you. Hah!  Then the yard stuff can get finished.  After that, it's just getting the winterizing handled.

Hope your having a better day.

Cya...

Insurance Stigma...

Insurance, at the best of times can be a racket.  Brfore the ACA (USA), insurance companies routinely denied coverage to people with previously existing conditions.  They'd blame everything on said condition even if it was unrelated.  This was pretty much legal until the Affordable Care Act.  Now, previous existing ailments can't be used to deny people insurance.

However, these companies will do everything they can to make you choose to shop elsewhere.  This article tells of how several insurers are now being brought to court over a situation they created  that impacts those living with HIV.  They have made HIV meds hard to access, limited their coverage & left them unreasonably high priced.

The point is, if major insurers are trying to get away with this in public, what are others doing in private.  This is just a reminder of the stigma & discrimination against those living with HIV & other chronic illnesses.   This isn't going away until these insurers are forced to follow the law.

Cya...

Not So Fast...

 We need to get some yard work done.  The fall bushwhacking is upon us.  I thought that I'd rested up enough after the plumbing/gas ordeal to get  started.  I was wrong.   I need to get rid of this peach tree.  It doesn't bear fruit & it's near a water line.  I thought I could cut with a hand saw.  I'd done that to other small trees in the yard.  That was a failure.   This peach tree is having none of me & that hand saw.  

I went Walmart to look at chainsaws.  I know nothing about them.  Apparently, neither does anyone working in the garden center at Walmart.  I wound up not getting anything.  We're looking into options now.  

For now the bushes have a reprieve & I'm exhausted.  I spent most my spoons on hauling yard tools to the front, attempting peach tree murder & going to Walmart.  A lot of expenditure for little gain.

More tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll know more & feel better.

Cya...

Recovering...

The plumbers left on Friday.  We've had gas all weekend.  Yesterday was easy & the hot shower was great.  Today though, I think it's catching up on how stressful this time actually was on us.  I'm tired & really don't want to do much of anything.  My body & mind are playing catch up.    This event was trying & we tried not to show it too terribly much.   But, now that it's hopefully over, the walls are crumbling & we're spent.

Have a good day & take care of yourself.

Cya...

Peeve...

I hate it when people who write about HIV research blow things out of proportion.  I'm not talking about the actual researchers, subjects or even the investors.  I'm talking about journalist who jump the gun or over eager bloggers looking to be edgy.  

We've had several points of interest in HIV research this year.  All of them are important, but none of them are in themselves cures.  Yet, that word, "Cure," is tossed around almost constantly.    Every step in this research is important, even the failures & dead ends.  But touting something as a cure is detrimental to the research & those who might actually believe what these authors write. 

Even if a cure was thought of today, it would be at least a decade before it got through all the funding stages, research, trials & FDA.  Every time some writer promotes some bit of research as the cure, it could wind up hurting the researchers' reputation, it could cost them their positions/funding & it could lead to a lack of investors willing to fund this kind of research.  

False reporting harms morale.  It's nothing but click-bait & glory grabbing.  It helps no one & could harm many.  Don't worry, if a cure is developed, we'll know about it.  It'll be all over the news.  Until then, be content to write about the research as it progresses or stop writing about it altogether. 

Cya...

They're Here...

The plumbers are here & the noise hasn't stopped.   There are saws, drills & even a back-hoe.  I have no idea how long this will take or what lies ahead in order to get the gas turned back on.  But, I'm seriously tired of cold showers.  

The plumber commotion has the cats freaked out.  Right now, the water is in flux.  We still don't know how that will play out.  I seriously hate this.

Hopefully this will be over soon.

Cya...

Running...

Life goes on in the midst of all this gas leak/plumber BS.  It's tiring, but things keeps moving forward.  I have to go pick up my roomie later.  We have some errands in Fort Smith.  Not much, but enough to be a day of it.

I'd normally go shopping tomorrow, but the plumbers are supposed to start.  I also need to drop by the cable office & give them back their blasted cable box.  I don't use it anyway.  

With time being short, I went shopping this morning.  I was busy.  Add to that, half the people looked sick.  Great, just what I need,   Hopefully, I avoided them well enough.

I will be so glad when things get back to normal.  More tomorrow.

Cya..

F'ery & More...

I finally got everything dealing with the van taken care of with social services.  Took forever.  I wish they'd just tell you when someone is out of the office for a few days.  

The #@$% plumbers will allegedly start on Friday morning.  We'll see.  They say it'll cost between 2 - 5K.  Great.  

It's been a week of no gas & cold showers.  I'm tired of this crap.  My nerves are shot.  I hate this.

Cya...

Waiting & Coming Out...

We're waiting for the plumber to show up.  I doubt he'll accomplish much today.  We just need to get this underway.  He's supposed to be here soon, so  I'm not getting into too much at the moment.  Watch him not show up at all.  I hate waiting.  

BTW, today is National Coming Out Day.  Yippie!  Best Wishes to all.

Cya...

Worn Out...

I didn't see anything new in the articles today.  I'm glad about that.  I'm not in a place where I could write about them well.  

We went shopping & it was excessively busy.  My roomie's new insurance is handled.  I'm still trying to find out when the plumbers will be here.

This situation has left us both frazzled & spent.  I have things I need to do, but I can't get to them because of the gas/water issue.  I hope this gets underway soon.

Cya...

Hot Water Please...

OK, the gas thing seriously needs to get fixed.  These cold showers suck.   The 1st time wasn't bad, it was a warm day.  But, the temps dropped last night & this was fairly unpleasant.  We're having to microwave water so we can wash dishes.  Luckily most of the laundry can be done on cold.  It might not get as clean, but it's better than nothing.

Come Monday, I still have to get hold of Social Services to tell about the change in vehicles.  I need to call the plumber & get some idea of what time to expect them.  I hate waiting.  If I were a plumber, I'd have a large enough crew to work 24/7.  There's certainly enough work for it.  

That's all for now.  

Cya...

No Change...

OK, we still have no gas & no real idea of when this will get underway.  I hate dealing with plumbers.  I despise people who don't respect the value of other people's time.  If I had known Wednesday what an effort it was going to be for these people, I would've called people over from Fort Smith.  They would've charged more travel, but at least it might be underway.  This buy local thing doesn't always work out the way it should.  Sometimes local stuff just sucks.

Hopefully this will soon be underway & not cost an absolute fortune.  I need this to be dealt with soon.   I'd like some facsimile of normal life back for a bit.

Cya...

PO'ed...

I'm so damned angry & exhausted.  The plumber eventually got here & said not only do we have a gas issues, but water pipes problems as well.  I have no idea what this will take to fix.  The sub-plumber couldn't even give me an estimate.  It'll be at least Monday before we can get the work started.  

I'm to the point, I wish the damn gas leak had just ended it all.  I can't keep this shit up much longer.   It's taken all I could muster, just to get myself out of bed in the morning.  I managed this morning, because I thought this could be resolved today.   I'm really getting to the point where I just hate my life.

Thank you Fall for always being the absolute worst time of the year.

Cya...

OK, No More Please...

• The gas is still out
• The plumber won't be here until tomorrow
• I slept for crap
• We went shopping
• Walmart sucked
• Cold showers & microwave meal are in order
• The white car is no longer mine
• The van is now mine
• The roomie has a newer Buick
• In process of reproting the car change to Social Service People
• I'm tired, spent & anxious

More tomorrow, maybe, depending on how the plumber thing goes.

Cya...

No Gas...

In the midst of everything else we're trying to get handled, the damned house has a gas leak.  The gas company came & shut off our gas.  So far, we haven't got a hold of a plumber.  Not from lack of trying.  I'm spent.  We still have more to do & I'm tired.  I have no idea how much this is going to cost.   I hate this.

Cya...

In A Hurry & Agreement...

This week is going to be rushed.  Next may be crowded due to yard work.  Bill time & brush time.  I'm feeling mostly better, except for some hours in the later day.  I think the city is burning brush & it's killing my sinuses & eyes.    I've got to run to Fort Smith in a bit, so this will be short.

Yesterday, I posted rather unphased bit about a new therapy that seems to have eradicated HIV from a British man's blood.  This article agrees with me.  It talks about how it's premature to talk of a cure for HIV from this approach.  It's a good read.

More tomorrow.

Cya...

Maybe....

It's been all over the web since yesterday.  Apparently, a British man, undergoing a new therapy has  had all traces of HIV removed from his blood.   I'm not citing this because it's basically everywhere, just Google it.  

No, I'm not sounding too excited about this matter.  We've been here before.  We'll likely be here again. Don't get me wrong, a cure would be amazing.  However, it'll be months, possibly years, before they can be certain there's no HIV remaining in this man's body.  HIV won't be an easy win.  

This is a wait & see game now.  I say the odds are against it.   Even if it does work, it could take years for it to get to the average person.  Its efficacy may only be reliable in certain people.  There are tons of questions still to be answered.

So, we wait.

Cya...

Reactive...

There've been a few articles out about how Indiana has been reactive to it's health situation concerning HIV & its approach to handling the state's drug problems.   This is a very accurate statement.  Indiana is hardly alone in this matter.  Most states, especially those more rural & Republican, have been doing next to nothing or playing catch up since HIV came on the scene in the 1980's.

If Indiana had been more proactive maybe much of it's problems with HIV & drug addiction could've been prevented.   But that would've required adequate education on the matters of sex, HIV/STD's & addiction.    It would've required the state to have done more to remain more financially solvent.   It would've required the citizens of Indiana to get past their on biases & prejudices to prevent this situation.  

Instead, the state like most, wanted to cut corners & point fingers.  It wanted to outcast & shame.    It choose to dumb down it's people instead of educate them.  Indiana did everything possible to cause the situation they found themselves in to occur.   In that way they were proactive. They made the proverbial bed & now they have to get out of it. 

A very important thing here is to remember, choosing to do nothing is an active choice.   There were choices here at many levels that could've prevented this outbreak.  This didn't just happen.

Cya...

SuddenSucks Strikes Again...

OK, yesterday's errands went fairly well.  My roomie got a new-to-her car.  The van will soon be with me & the little car will on it's way.  The day was tiring.  When we got back, I went to my room to catch up on things & it happened.  Suddenlink crapped out again.  The internet was gone until this morning. 

I'm still trying to catch up with stuff I was going to do yesterday.   I got on Suddenlink's Facebook page & apparently their service was out all the way to Texas.  This happened last Friday as well.  Several past Friday's in a row, their service has either been spotty or completely out.  I guess they have a new custom, "F@#* It Up Fridays. " with Suddenlink.  

I need to get caught up, so this is it for now.  More tomorrow, as long as the nets working.

Cya...