February Leapt...

It's a leap year, so here's our +1 for 2020. It's a sunny morning, that's a perk.  It's the last day of February.   This month really flew by.  I'm sort of glad though, it was cold & wet.   Other than some house stressors, it went alright.  So March doesn't have to make up for a lot of February's missteps. 

This article is about HIV in rural areas.  While cities & metro  areas have been more apt/able to confront HIV.  Rural areas are still a challenge.  There've been numerous outbreaks in rural areas since 2015.  Many of them not sexually linked.  May were due to drugs & bad economics.   Conservativism, religiosity & ignorance played big parts in these spikes.  

That's all for today.  Take care.  Goodbye February.

Cya...

Warm Morning...

After today there might not be any more nights in the 30's.  Unless there's another cold snap, Spring is basically here.  We're trading freezing temps for trees assaulting our faces with their pollen orgy. 

We'll be heading out in a bit.  There's not much  going on today.  I didn't see any new articles.   Suddenlink crapped out last night.  It took over 30 minutes just to talk to someone who was useless.  Luckily, the net is back up this morning.

That's about it, take care.

Cya...

The New Virus

I wasn't going to post about the coronavirus, it's not HIV, but here we go.  Let's start here, the CDC's site over the virus.  Or the wiki page over the virus's current state.  Now, is a time to be informed, not embrace scary rhetoric.

There are 2 reasons I'm writing about.  Google either & you'll find them in abundance.  1st, that idiot, Trump, has put Mike Pence in charge of handling the matter.  The same asshat that botched Indiana's HIV outbreak due to his conservative ideology & indulgent assholeishness.  That's not good.

2nd, things are getting very retro about the virus.  It's like when HIV 1st appeared.  There's a lot of fear, anger & ignorance.  Some people are targeting those of Asian decent (any) & accusing them of being responsible for the virus.  The "Other" has come back into play.   Those people are spreading the disease, not us.  It's their fault.   Asians are the new Gays.

Read the links.  Mike Pence is a dangerous fool & shouldn't be in charge of anything.  Viruses don't discriminate.   They simply effect what they can.  It's how they survive.   Stop putting value judgements on the spread of illness.

Take care.

Cya...

Still Here...

I'm not going to post much over this article.  There's little I could add.  It's interviews with long-term HIV survivors.   I hate the word survivor, it's more like we endured HIV than outlasted it.  The piece asks how or if the world has changed in regards to HIV/AIDS?  What they would tell people about living with HIV?  They asked the subjects about their concerns & what they would want others to know.

This was a good read.  If you're interested give it a look.  Some of these people saw the horror show of the early AIDS years. 

Take care.

Cya...

Cloudy Morning...

Another cloudy day, it might rain later.  It's supposed to chill down tonight.  The next few nights could be cold.  This may be the last round of freezing.  

It's almost Springtime.  The weatherman says that happens March 1st.  The Equinox is the 19th.   The time change happens the 8th.  Soon, it'll be time to call the lawn guy & see if he's available.

I hate Winter, but this season was pretty light.  The bugs didn't seem bothered.  The grass took a nap but never died.  Trees have budded & bushes are flowering.  Like it or not, Spring's almost here.

Take care.

Cya...

Windy Morning...

I woke to a windy morning.  It looks to stay that way for a while.   Maybe a few days.  There wasn't much in the way of articles today.  We have shopping to do in a bit.  Other than that, February is winding without too much more us to do.  

I'll check for more articles tomorrow.  Take care.

Cya...

Ads...

Websites have to pay the rent, but they've gone overboard with all the paywalls & ads.   The paywalls stop you fla-out.  Some sites have just a few ads.  Others that demand you turn off your adblocker usually have dozens.   1 site had over 100 ads in a minute.  You can't read the article for the ads.  They  interfere with reading, can overwhelm your browser & can spread malware.

If you see an article I haven't posted about.  I either didn't see it or it was ad heavy.   I try not to post from ad-ridden places.  There's no use in citing an article you can't get to due to ads. These sites want you to pay for access.  To cover just HIV articles would mean for dozens of sites.  I can't do that.

These sites need to make revenue.  They don't need to overwhelm.  They're basically ensuring you can't access info about HIV.  These are mostly smaller sites that will never garner enough revenue from this tactic to withhold info over something like HIV.

Take care.

Cya...

Long Week...

I know a lot of people do far more than we do.  A lot of you probably do more in a day than we do in a week.  I get it.  I'm glad you can.  That's the deal with being disabled, you can't.   

I don't have the endurance I had before HIV.  Each round of things like pneumonia, illness, stroke, etc... knocks me down more.  I'm astounded how quickly I get winded some days.  Others I can do more.   Often, I pay for any overdoing it the next day. 

This was a long, busy week for us.  Did we do everything we would've done in the past?  No, but we did what we could.   It was tiring.  Part of it was stressful & annoying.   Still, it's done.

Having less endurance, dealing with fatigue, having to worry about overdoing it, getting ill easily, getting injured...  Those things are part of our lives now.   There's a fair amount of pain, aggravation & fear as well. Everything changes, things get harder, people judge & nothing ever gets better.  That's life for us & this was a long week.

Cya...

Another Strike...

Earlier this month, I posted about a court decision against the drug maker Gilead.  It was over patent  ownership concerning the drug, Truvada, currently used for PrEP.  This piece covers round 2, where Gilead lost again.  I'm sorry for using articles with paywalls, but I can't find this anywhere else.  

Since a notable amount of the funding & research was covered by government agencies, Gilead is not the full owner.  At this rate, they might not be the owner at all.  They may only have rights to use the formulation.  That could mean the cost for all drugs based on Truvada & it's formulations might see a serious price drop.  

The car issue seems to have been low tire pressure.   We've been up & out early every day this week.  It's not our normal schedule & it's been tiring.   The weather shifting & allergen development has added to the week's difficulty.  Last night was cold, 22 or so.  Tonight won't be quite as cold & then we'll warm up a bit.  There may still have a few more freezes in  store for us.

Take care.

Cya...

Car Stress...

Apparently the car has a tire issue.  Not sure what's wrong yet.  But as we got home yesterday the sensor said "Tire Pressure Low."   Of course it was after the mechanic had closed for the day.  We'll be running the car in pretty soon.   

We're both worn out by stress.  We're over Winter's grey blahs.   Things need to brighten up  & take  breather for a bit.  

Oh well, that's all for now.

Cya...

Earlyish Morning...

Up early,  I have a telemedicine appointment.   At least the sun's shining.   I didn't see much in the way of articles.  This is about it for today.  This appointment should just be a lab review.  

More tomorrow.

Cya...

PS - The car got new rear brakes.

AIn't No Sunshine...

Short post.  I really needed a bright morning.  I didn't get it.  It's gloomy & threatening to rain.   We need some rain, but I'm sick of the grey.  I have a telemedicine appointment tomorrow.  We need to have the car looked at, it squeals.  Things are piling up & want them gone.

On a positive note.  I saw the little blue flowers yesterday.  Those tiny little things in the yard, tell me Winter is almost over.  Some trees are budding, soon they'll have leaves.  There are tiny flowers about.  We'll have a few more cold overnights, but I think the serious cold is over.  Now, it's just the rainy drear.

Take care.

Cya...

Unknowable...

Some people have a problem with the idea there are things out there they can't know.  I will never know what it's like to be a woman or anything associated intrinsically with it.  I'll never be Black, survive Auschwitz, have only 1 high school or a  myriad of other things.  These are things I can only imagine.

I know things others don't about life.  Lessons for which I paid dearly.  Knowledge that came with consequences & scars.  Unless you've faced the same, you can't understand.  I hope you never do.    Children of alcoholics/addicts never really get past it.  They never recover from having parents choose everything over them. They never forget be abandoned.  They won't get over or past it.  If you've had a decent life, you won't get it. 

The point is, we judge people for having unknowable aspects of their lives.  Most people never asked for this.  They endured harsh & sometimes horrible things for that knowledge.  Stop judging them for something you can never understand.   Quit trying to force them into your idea of what a person should be or what life is.

We're all just dancing as fast as we can.

Cya...

5 Years Later...

This article is about Austin, Indiana's emergence from an opioid induced, HIV  outbreak.  I've posted about several rural towns that have faced this & most due to drug usage.  Most of that brought on by a horrible economy.    

In this town of just over 4,000,  235 tested HIV+.   Think about it.  That's the 200+ they know about, roughly 6% of the population.  The last stat I saw for the US was just over 0.3%, a huge difference.  

It's a good article, give it a read.   It details struggles of the townspeople & governmental failure.  Also, an ongoing resistance to doing what's necessary to prevent this from repeating.  Most of that resistance comes from conservatives, both political & religious.  We need to do better.

Cya...

Curriculum...

This article is about pharmacy colleges integrating the National HIV Curriculum.   For the 1st time in the midwest some university programs will incorporate the curriculum.   This is a big step.

The curriculum allows students & professionals to be better trained in HIV, medications, co-issues etc...   This an online program that can be used during training or for part of a continuing education for professional training.  This program is free & provides CME/CNE credit. (continuing med/nurse ed)  There is no point in not utilizing this resource.

Take care.

Cya.

V-Day...

Happy Valentines.   I didn't find much in the way of articles this morning.   There's been some shuffling in the house lately & it's been a little tiring for both of us.  The cats aren't happy about it either.  

I woke to 1 of the coldest mornings this season, but at least it's sunny.  We'll head out shopping in a bit.  Other than that, I'm not sure what we have planned.  No heavy stuff for the holiday.

Take care & eat chocolate.

Cya...

Stroke Day...

Last year I posted about Trump's SOTU speech.  I didn't know shortly, I'd be at the hospital.  I had a hemorrhagic stroke, a bleed on the brain.  I was flown to Tulsa & was in the hospital for 2 days.  I missed Valentines & cheap chocolate day.

I'm still here, but not fully recovered. I may never be quite the same.  I had a reaction to a statin I was put on as a precaution.  I no longer take the med, but I can still feel it.   Here's hoping for no repeats.

There's a commercial for Descovy, Gilead's new PrEP med.  The drug's base is in other HIV meds.  It's very similar to Truvada, but less toxic.   The issue here is  Descovy was released as PrEP med excluding those born women.  Meaning, this was only tested on those people born male, Men & trans-women.   How could they leave out half the population?

This article talks about how Gilead found it difficult to study the med in women.  For some reason the FDA bought that argument.   Let's leave women's medical needs in the dark again.

This piece from December 2019, talks about how Gilead is finally pursuing additional data on Descovy's usage in women.  Gilead wanted Descovy to target, "a broad range of underrepresented populations."  That translates as trans women & minority men. 

Watch the commercial for Descovy.   There are only 2 white men in the spot.  The rest are of color or trans.   There are as many trans-women in the spot as white men.    Are they saying that women & white males are less important?  Are they saying  these populations are more needy for whatever reason?

Descovy's rollout was a mistake.  Leaving half the population out of a medical study like this was ridiculous & abhorrent.  Catering to any population on a matter that affects everyone is always dubious.  Is it preferential treatment or an accusation?

Take care.

Cya.

PS - Here's hoping for no hospital trips in 2020.

More Teen Issues...

Several pieces, including this article, have addressed the lack of testing & status awareness of sexually active, young males (13- 18).  It's estimated somewhere around 15% of all HIV cases go undiagnosed.  It's thought that number could be over 50% in this population.  

This article covers a study of sexually active, young men (MSM).  Less a quarter of had been tested for HIV.  It's likely that would include other STI's as well.  Personally, even though not seen as risky, I'd wish they'd data on straight interactions as well. 

This is a scary number.   There needs to be a way for these kids to get tested without outing them or scaring them away.  If not, HIV will never end.  The reality is teens have sex.  It's not a judgement, it's a fact.  Accept it or more people will contract HIV.

Cya...

Youth Issues

This piece talks about how less likely HIV+ adolescent patients are to achieve & maintain viral suppression than adults.  The number is notable.   In the study only 12% of teens were suppressed as compared to 65% of adults.

Several factors affected these numbers.  Adherence was the most notable.  Regimens can be hard on adults.  For teens, it's probably harder.  It also went into how soon treatment began.  Lack of teen adherence is an issue.  It could mean more instances of HIV being transmitted.  Give the article a read.

Cya...

50+...

This piece is about HIV in people 50+.   This is a huge percentage of those with HIV.  Stats have it over 50%.  Still, many this age are convinced it's not something they need to worry about.   It's not just them, many medical professionals don't think about testing someone that age for HIV.

Articles about aging populations contracting HIV & other STI's are common.  They felt people that age were safe from diseases for the young, including medical staff.   Many are diagnosed late.  That means the chance of a full recovery is low & these people are at more risk for just about everything.

HIV, STI's & other communicable diseases don't discriminate.    Age, race, gender nor social status matter.  Under the right circumstances, you can contract any of them.  Age is not a shield.  Be informed about HIV.

Cya...

Unwanted Forecast...

The sun's peaking through the clouds & that's all I'll get of light today.  The forecast calls for rain & storms through Wednesday.   I need this grey crap to be over.  I'm getting overwhelmed by the drear.  There are moments in the day when I feel OK, the they're gone.

I didn't see any articles today.  I've got telemedicine next week & my roomie has a thing as well.  That's about it for plans.  Hopefully, this will be an easy month, even if it isn't bright.

Take care.

Cya...

A Hop Northeast...

This article isn't deep, but it talks about dealing with HIV stigma in rural Missouri.  Not here, but close enough.  It's an interview with people who work at their county health department with HIV cases.  They give some idea of the stigma & ignorance people are still face today.  Give it a read.  

Take Care.

Cya..

Busy Morning....

I won't call this a bright morning, but it's better than what we've been having & it's supposed to warm up today.  I just I'll have to take what I can get.  It's better than dreary, wet & cold.

Nothing much in articles this morning.  We've have a busy morning ahead.  We need to go shopping & pay the remaining bills.  Before that, I need to get around & shower.    We'll see what else comes up after those things are handled.

That's about it for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Ownership & Labs...

I got labs drawn yesterday.  The 2 basic tests (CBC & CMP) came in mostly within normal ranges.  The 2 HIV specific tests will take longer.  My telemedicine appointment is in 2 weeks.  

The weather's still unpleasant, but we didn't get any  snow.  We didn't need icy roads & downed power lines.   Then again, no one ever does.

This piece goes into an ongoing battle between the US government & Gilead over who actually owns the data that led to the development of PrEP drugs.  Much of the research was backed with tax-payer money.   HIV activists have pushed for the company to lose it's patent.   

Gilead resists & raises the costs of Truvada annually.  Initially, the drug cost under $700 a month, now as high as $2,000.   If Gilead loses, the outcome could be interesting.  How will the drug be handled?  Does Gilead already have something ready to replace a lost patent?  How will other drug companies react?  This will be worth watching.

Cya...

More Grey & An Article...

This morning is dismal.   It's still raining & grey.  This crap is the forecast for the month.  There's been about an inch of rain in the last 24 hours.  

There are articles about about a failed vaccine trial.  None were that informative.  This piece, talks about the rising price of HIV regimens.  From 2012 - 2018, the cost  rose on average 6% a year.  

Costs always impact adherence & not just with HIV.   During those 6 years the costs have risen between 35 - 53%.  That's 3 - 6 times faster than inflation. These costs are falling onto the patients.     

The rising cost & shrinking availability for assistance will only be detrimental in the fight against HIV.    Remember, this is just the HIV meds.  Many HIV+ people have health issues other than HIV, high blood pressure, cholesterol, cardio issues, etc...

Sorry, no good news today.  

Cya...

Yuck...

I didn't do as well as I would've liked yesterday.  It was a weird weather day.  I didn't sleep well.  The warmth has left us & now we have grey skies & rain.  It's supposed to be like this for days.  We may even have snow.   The 1st half of the month is supposed to be grey & rainy.  Just great.   February isn't looking to be my month.

That's all for now.  Stay dry.

Cya...

Feb Bill Day...

It's the 3rd, so it's time to pay the bills  What doesn't get handled today, will be later in the week.  Early week starts can throw things off.  It'll get handled.

We also have to shop.  I might swing by & get blood drawn if my lab orders are in.  If not, I'll get them in the next couple of days.  

The weather jumped again.  We almost hit 80 & the humidity dropped.  My body hated the sudden shift.   It'll be warm again today & then drop back into more seasonal temps.  We're supposed to have rain Tuesday & Wednesday.    That'll mean grey skies.

That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

The 2nd...

This is February 2nd of & the groundhog is supposed to predict the weather.  He's usually wrong.   Mostly we're expecting to be near or slightly above normal for mid Winter temps.  

Today's date 02,02,2020 is the first palindrome date in over 900 years.   Interesting, but rather useless trivia.  Still things like that are what make the news.

I'm tired & cold.   It's bright outside & supposed to be much warmer today.  I don't think it'll matter.   I've been sick & nervous for too long.  Sometimes I feel like I'm about to shake apart.  Anxiety, SAD, post stroke issues &  real life crap are overwhelming me.  I worry that even on the brightest, warmest Summer day, part of me is going to be tired & cold.  

My roomie told me not long ago, she thought I could be alright on my own if I had to be.  I couldn't.  This is very hard now.  By myself, it'd swallow me up.   

Life feels like an ebb tide dragging me farther from shore.  I'm sort of scared, but I'm not sure I have the strength to really care.  I care about my roomie & our cats, past that, not much.  I know I can't be alone & I can't do a nursing home.  That doesn't leave many choices.  Some day I may have to face that.  I hope not.

Sorry for being so down, but it's where I'm at now.  I can pull myself back for a bit.  Then everything grabs at me & I stumble.  I think I'm out of answers, quick fixes & my lucks seems to have left me.  I hate waking up.

Cya...

Hello February...

A new month is here.  Monday will be bill day.  I'll get blood drawn this week & mid-month there'll be a telemedicine appointment. It's sunny this morning, that makes it easier on me.  January ended on a weird note.

I could talk about a things that made me question people last month, but I don't see the point.  That was then & I can't control other people.   It turns out most people just aren't that decent.

So here's to February, may it be a better month than last year.  

Cya...