September Out..

September is going out the door.  For that I'm thankful.  My birth month is usually pretty awful for me.  As usual, it was full of stressful crap.  Unfortunately, thanks to the missing doctor issue, some of it's rolling over into October.  I still have no fix for that matter, but I have some ideas that may work.  

Anyway, good riddance to September.  I'd say be better next year, but you never are.

Take care.

Cya...

Last Friday Nerves...

This is the last Friday of September.  It's the last time we'll go shopping this month.  I really need October to be better than September.  I'm not sure how much more of this I can handle.  I'm not trying to be dramatic, but with all the crap happening this month, my nerves are shot & I'm spent.

The doctor situation is still on going.  There are so many steps to getting a new primary care.  The problem is right now I can't even seem to get past the beginning of it.  I'm still waiting on a yay or nay from the 1st person I contacted.  Until then I'm stuck.  If I haven't heard by Monday, I'll call.  If there's still no answer, I'll assume it's a "no".  

Even after that, there's all the initial stuff of dealing with a new provider.  There's the background & history, the current issues, insurers, etc...  This is a lengthy process & I'm not even out of the gate.  I'm so tired of being nervous.

Cya...

High & Low Point Uggh...

 

I have an article & some crappy news.  I'll start with the article.  GlaxoSmithKline & ViiV Healthcare are have released a long acting injection of of Cabotegravir, sold as Cabenuva.  This news has been out for a bit.  It's a bimonthly injection given at the doctor's office for treating HIV.  They're currently working to extend the time between doses.  However, the news is that they're trying to have this medication be something that is self administered at home every 3 months.  They'd like to see that by the end of the decade.   This is doable.  The base meds are there.  With a little improvement & using current at home injection pens, this could happen.

On to the crap news.  At this moment, I no longer have a primary care physician.  I called to confirm my upcoming Monday appointment (it was the Wednesday before) & was told he had taken medical leave, retired & was not coming back into the office.  Now, I'm scrambling to find a new doctor.  It will probably be a nurse practitioner since there are very few actual doctors left in my area.  I have some ideas, but I'm not sure at this time.  I didn't need this stress.

That's my life at the moment.  More stress & another long term relationship ending without so much as a good bye.  

Hope things are better for everyone else.

Cya...

National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day...

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.   Here are 2 posts on the matter, the CDC's &  HIV.Gov.  Both have information on how HIV affects Gay men  the issues surrounding the point.  Both sites are good sources of info on these & other matters.  

Today's the last trash day of the month.   Just a few other errands for us today.  

Take care.

Cya...

  

Maybe Nothing...

 

Unless something changes there may nothing for us to do today.  That means no car drama, bill paying, shopping, appointments, etc...  People need days like this occasionally.  There's no need to fill every moment.  A lot of people need to learn that.  

Next week will be hurried & rushed, but it'll be the 1st of the month with appointments as well.  That's all for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Last Week...

 

September's winding down & that leaves 3 months in 2023.  I don't expect of the remainder of the year to be better.  It'd be nice if it didn't get any worse.  I think all we have to do this week is our typical stuff.  That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

STI's Soar, Condoms Ignored...

 

This article & others have detailed the constant push PrEP & treatment over condom usage.   In the early 2000s, Syphilis was nearly eradicated.  The transmission of it & many other STIs wear declining.  That's no longer the case.  Many are roaring back & some are becoming drug resistant.   Now they're push a post application to prevent these STIs.  It's an antibiotic called doxycycline, also referred to as Doxy-PEP.  

So instead of pushing condoms, they opt for expensive medications before & after.  Who's benefiting here?  That's easy, the drug companies are raking in the cash & many health professionals are getting incentives to promote PrEP & PEP over condoms.  They've turned this into medical fashion & condoms are so passé.  

More cash is spent on meds.  More diseases occur needing more meds.  Therefore more is spent on meds.   Only the pharma companies gain.   Condoms are relatively cheap & work against STIs, not just HIV.  They're also birth control. 

Doxycycline isn't expensive, but it is does need a prescription.  There's a doctor's visit.  Also another drug in your system.  This med is a Tetracycline antibiotic.  It's old school.  How long before it's ineffective against these STIs?  Certain people shouldn't take Tetracycline, younger & pregnant.  It has a host of interactions & reactions for some people.  I tolerated it fine, but some don't. 

Between PrEP, Doxy-PEP, doctor visits & lab work; you could easily spend between $25K - 40K annually depending on your med needs, residence & insurance/assistance.  Whereas condoms sold in quantity are under a buck a piece.  There are places that will provide free condoms.  So if you're a F'Bunny & needed like 3 a day everyday, that'd be like just under 1,100 condoms.  Amazon & other online suppliers sell packs of 1K condoms for $150 - $200.  So a little over that is still just a fraction of PrEP cost without doctors or drug issues.

Choosing PrEP over condoms or choosing treatment as prevention are incredibly stupid options.  They don't work better than condoms & cost a fortune.  But by all mean buy that pharma CEO his next gold toilet & ivory back scratcher. 

Cya...

Autumn...

 

The equinox is here & so is Fall.  Summer's over & what little light we had this year will lessen.  I never look forward to Autumn.  It overs very little I want & leads into the darkest times of the year.   Still, here it is.

This week has been handled.  So far, there's nothing to do this weekend except recover from the last several days.  Hopefully everything will stay calmed down this week.  The following week is the 1st of the month & I have appointments.

For those who love, Fall has arrived, enjoy.

Cya...

Rain & Jumping The Gun...

 

It rained again last night.  When I was younger I loved sleeping during thunderstorms.  It was some of my best sleep.  Nowadays, not so much.  Almost every clap of thunder, high wind wind or rush rain wakes me just a little.  Then I wake fairly dehydrated.   I guess all the moisture in my body wanted to join the rain.   This could happen the next couple of nights as well.  The dark mornings aren't helping any.

There have been some reports out recently about a great, new approach to curing HIV.   None of those articles are being completely accurate.  Those titles are click bait to get readers.  They detail monoclonal antibodies & their associated therapies.  This approach was used in COVID vaccinations.   While a good start, they aren't curing HIV.  These therapies are targeting many ailments from cancer to alzheimer's & now HIV.  Maybe someday this will lead to great things.  But that isn't today.  Click bait is always annoying, but with medical info it's disgusting & potentially dangerous.

That's all for now.  Need to get a shower before we go shopping.  Hope the mechanic calls soon about the car.  Take care.

Cya..

The Weeks Lingers...

 

This is turning out to be a long week.  It rained again last night & the house was closed up.  I woke to dark & muggy.  The house is airing out & the sun's finally peeking through.   We have to run the car in later today.  The AC controls are messing up.  I know it's getting cooler, but this might actually impact the heat as well.  I hate dual climate control in cars.   They always break.   It'll be nice to have this week behind us.

That's it for today.   Take care.

Cya...

Plan Issues...

My roomie & I made plans to attend the film we saw yesterday back in either late July or early August.  Everything was fine until a couple of weeks ago when the plan was coming into being.  We saw there were a couple of collisions possible with other things going on, but we had wiggle room.   The closer the day got, the more things tried to interfere with us seeing the movie.  An appointment time got changed.  A friend needed my roomie roomie do an errand for her.  The car had issues.  Everything conspired against us seeing the movie, even the weather.

My roomie couldn't have done the favor for her friend, it was during her appointment time.  Still she had to explain that matter.  The appointment ran a little later than expected.  The weather was iffy.  By the time the day was here, we were stressed out about going to see a movie.  It was turning into a long day for my roomie.  I was worried we'd get over there after all the crap & the movie would suck.

The movie was fine, things went well, still we were exhausted & stressed.   It was not as good a day as it could've been if things had just butted the hell out of it.  But that's not our life.  To make matters more insulting, we crunched our plans to accommodate something later in the week for someone else.  After the day was nearly over & we were spent, my roomie gets news.  The person with the later plan cancelled.  We didn't have to crunch our week.  A lot of good that info did us then.

The movie was good.  The rest of the day not so much.  It didn't have to be that hard.  We still have plans for the week, but they're in town & should go fine.  They're things of necessity, not some little bit of diversion for us.  At this point, everything else needs to soundly go screw itself & stay out of our business.  Way to go Sucktember.

Cya...

Outings...

 

My roomie & I have outings today.  Her's is the earlier of them.  After that, we're going to see a movie.  Hopefully, things go easily today.   Neither of us need any drama.   That's about it for this morning.  For some reason this week has caused a bunch of anxiuosness.  That didn't need to happen.

Take care.

Cya...

Busy Week...

 

We're going to have an abnormally busy week for us.  Our rushed days are generally at the beginning of the month.  But between appointments, car issues, visits & possible other ventures, this time there's a lot.  We'll do what we can.  If something doesn't get handled now, I guess we'll catch it next week.    I hate it when you try to make a simple plan & then absolutely everything else decides it has to crap on your parade.  

That's all for now, we have to go shopping & then the week begins.

Cya...

Comparing...

 

The whole world seems set on comparing woes & privileges.  The reason for the examination of differences doesn't matter.  The end is always the same. He/She/Them/They have it better than me or mine.   This can be about any kind opportunities, resources or hardships.  

I'm not saying some don't have more means in this life, they do.  There are millions of people in this world who have things far worse than me.  However, there are also millions who have it considerably better.   Would I like things to be better?  Absolutely.  But thinking about what others have & focusing on what I don't will only make things worse for me. 

People call for equality, equity & justice.  That sounds great, but it's not the world we live in & won't be anytime soon.  So what about the now?   This isn't a post with answers.  I know that I would like my life to be better.  There some things I probably need to be better.  There are plenty of people around who have it better.  Does focusing on that help me?  No, it doesn't.  It'll bring me down when I'm just trying to stay afloat. 

Again, I don't have any answers.  But I do know constantly comparing yourself or your situation to others won't help.  Envy like hope, is just a thief.  It'll take from you, but never give anything in return.  Maybe, I'm not even in the middle of things.  But, I know I'm not on the bottom of the pile.  

Cya...

More Than Treatment Is Needed...

 

Treatment as prevention is not working.  IMO, it was never a solid concept.  It was a push meds.  Awareness, education, testing & other preventative measures should never have been marginalized so  pharmaceutical companies could hawk more drugs.   

While deaths from HIV/AIDS have lessened transmissions have risen.   This article provides some info on that matter.  This is a concise piece with maps.  I normally wouldn't quote this much, but it's the entire point.

Situation & trends In 2022, the global number of people living with HIV was roughly 39.0 million, compared to 26.6 million in 2000.

Even if meds have prevented the deaths of possibly millions.  The virus has spread & grown by a ⅓ globally.  How?

The WHO African Region remains most severely affected, with 1 in every 30 adults (3.2%) living with HIV and accounting for two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide. In 2022, the number of people living with HIV reached 25.6 million in this region.

⅔ of the people living with HIV in the world live in Africa.   It's a huge continent, but how is it that a single place could account for that number?  While this area continues to need more medication.  It also has a vast need for other approaches to help stop transmissions before they happen.  What will work?   I don't know.  Africa has faced this & other deadly diseases for generations & little seems to have lasting impact.  There are too many cultural, religious, economic & other health issues.  Many of these hinder, if not completely prevent, the fight against HIV.

What should be done?  That's a good question.  I don't have any answers.  But I do know that treatment alone has failed.

Cya...

The Why's Of It All...

 

A lot of people, including myself occasionally, ask the perpetual question, "Why?".  Why am I here? Why did that happen to me?  What's the why of any of these things in my life?   The 1st hard pill is that a lot of what happens in our life are due to consequences of our own decisions.   Mind you, I said a lot, not all.  I'll also say our decision making process was shaped by those around us, who may not have been so great at the concept.

I'm not trying to let us off the hook for everything.  There's a lot of stuff we should know by a certain age.  It just may not be what everyone else knows.  Especially not those few who actually had good parents.  The rest of us are trying to cope with generations of bad decisions bearing on our worlds.

Back to the why's.  Why are we here?  That's generally due to the sloppy, selfishness of previous generations. Your parent's couldn't use birth control or decided they just had to have a baby. (Never a good idea)  You had no part in why you're here.  So there is no good reason for it & searching for that purpose will probably just drive you insane.

Now on to crap happens.  It does & it happens to everybody.  It's just some people due to their own machinations or those of the people around were mostly sheltered from the fallout.  A lot of us are on own & have no such protections.

We need to ask why.  That's the only way we can ever see if there's something we could do to avoid the same crapfest further down the road.  Sometimes you can, but not always.   Really asking the why's & trying to deal with them is hard & exhausting.  

All I can say, is bad things will happen.  We can only deal with them & try to avoid them the best we can with what we have.   We should try to live in a place that allows us solace, not somewhere constantly testing our ability to survive.   Survival isn't living.  It's taxing & some day our skills to do so will fail.

My hope for most of us is safe harbor, even if just long enough to breath.

Cya...

Dark, Slow & Wet...

 

We had an unexpected little bout of rain this morning.  I barely noticed the rain, but the darkness made an impact.  The sun's trying to come through.  All it's managing is an annoying, orangish glow through the clouds.  

I'm about, but just barely.  This kind of morning isn't easy on me.  It was cool enough to not have fans last night.  I started with the little table fan, but midway though the night, that got to be too much.  

That's all for this post.  Take care.

Cya...

Nothing, Trash & Blank...

 

There isn't much going on here today.  It's trash day & we have a couple of small errands.  Some days you just hit a blank.  You think I don't want to write about that again.  Today's like that.  I didn't find any articles to discuss.  I'm in the same iffy mood I'm always in these days.  There isn't anything going on except waiting.  Anything else I could post past that, would be ranting or depressing, possibly both.  

So this is it for now, take care.  I hope this month is treating you kindly.

Cya...

September Being Sucky...

 

My birth month never disappoints.  September always finds a way to change its name to Sucktember.   There'd already been a power pole issue, a nervous doctor & a water outage.  As of yesterday, there was several hour internet outage & when we went out, we noticed the AC wasn't working on the driver's side.  We called to make an appointment for the car.  It'll be a week from Friday.  At least it's not the middle of August.

There's been a lot of stress & now more stress, plus money spent.  Next week was already fairly full, so of course everything wants to add to the mix. Oh yes & everyone on the net was touting their 9-11 banners to look patriotic.  There's always that next thing.

Add to all of this, it rained last night.  It's dark this morning & I'm having a hard time waking up.  It's always easy to spot September.  It's usually near the top of sucktastic months & it's a gateway for the dark.  Very little good happens during this month.

Cya...

Another Monday...

 

It's another Monday. Other than some shopping, there shouldn't be much going on today.  There may still be some warmer days, but it looks like fall temps are here.   That's about it for now.  I need to get around & we'll head out soon.

Take care.

Cya...

Feels Like September...

 

The Fall Equinox may be almost 2 weeks away, but the temps are feeling pretty autumn like.   Depending on how today goes, we may be out the 90°+ range for the season.  I hope the temps don't fall too quickly.  It'd be nice to have an actual transition period.   That hasn't been happening much around here.  

Last night was cool enough for just the small fan.  It was mainly just to stir the air & tone down outside noise.  It was nice when I woke up.  This is probably the best I've slept in a while.  I sleep alright during the Summer, but it's very light & I wake at any noise.  During the Winter, I sleep too deeply.  I wake feeling  stiff & groggy.

So Fall is here.  I'm trying to be OK with it.  Not like I have a choice in the matter.  Still, I hope it goes well.  It'd be nice for some of 2023 to be decent.

Cya...

Republican Hate...

 

Republicans in their drive to fight abortion have taken aim at PEPFAR.  This piece goes into some the details.  PEPFAR is a program started by President George W. Bush.  Yes, this program to fight HIV was started by a republican.  They weren't great then, but now the party is nothing but bastards, buffoons  & monsters.  They are willing to let HIV spread & people die to further their fight against abortion.  That doesn't sound very pro-life.  There's no such thing as pro-life at this time, there's only pro-birth & suffering.

This doesn't aim at the fight against HIV in the US, but it's only a matter of time before they try.  Conservatives are evil & will do anything to get their way.  

Cya...

Lights Boom Clap...

 

It was cooler last night, but I didn't sleep that well.  It stormed some.  After a bit, there was a series of lightning flashes followed by a lot of loud thunder claps.   It woke me up a lot.  Steady, rumbling thunder I can sleep through.  This wasn't that.  

Anyway, I'm up now.  I need to finish getting around.  Then we can go pay bills & hit the store.  That's all for now., take care.

Cya...

Blips...

 

I had a blip on my last bloodwork.  My new specialist is the nervous kind.  He's reminds of a little dog trying to prove how big he is while checking off all his little boxes.  Anyway while I haven't had many, this isn't my 1st blip.   An undetectable viral load is under 20 copies per ml.  For some older tests that threshold is 50.  Mine was 28.   I'm still considered virally suppressed.  That's anything under 200, again those numbers were higher with older test.

This is a short piece over blips.  There are a lot online.  If you have a number slightly above undetectable wait until your next test.  It's likely to have gone back down.  As seldom as most people get test, 1 - 4 times annually, it's likely blips are more common than thought to be.  You're dealing with a virus & your body, nothing is static in this equation. Fluctuation is normal.  That's why testing is important.

That's it for now, take care.

Cya...

More Suck & Appointment...

 

There have been some serious stessers lately.  It took over a week for the power company to fix a cracked,  nearly in half, utility pole near us.  A good wind would've broke it & we'd been without power for who knows how long.  We kept reporting it, they didn't seem to believe us even after being photos.    

It finally got fixed & then yesterday, the water nearly goes completely out.  There was a leak in the city lines.  It took a long time for that fix.  I was worried about not being able to shower this morning.  Not to mention how to flush the toilet.

My telemedicine appointment is in a bit.  I need to get around & get cleaned up.  That's all for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Off Schedule...

 

Due to holiday mail & my telemedicine appointment, this week will go a little different.   We couldn't handle things on Monday & I'll be busy tomorrow, so today's the day.  There's not much to do, it's just not happening when it normally would.  I hate Monday holidays that screw with the mail.

Take care.

Cya...

Forked Attack On HIV...

 

This article is about research in using Venetoclax in tandem with normal HIV regimens.  Venetoclax is normally used to treat various blood cancers.   This is a good piece, definitely worth the read.  This approach will target the dormant virus while the primary regimen continues fighting the active.  Venetoclax won't completely kill off the virus, but it does target the virus' ability to reactivate or reproduce.  While it doesn't completely stop either, it does delay it by weeks & any delayal is good.

This is an interesting & something to keep up with.  There will definitely be more developed off of this approach.  Another step has been taken in the fight against HIV.

Cya...

Lost A Post...

 

I'm not sure if Blogger is critiquing my post or what, but it lost this morning's.  I'll post this for now.  It's the 1st Sunday of the month & Labor Day Weekend.  Yay! a holiday on Monday.  We really needed the mail to be screwed up at the beginning of the month.   

Not much is going here.  We'll do our 1st of  the month stuff this week & I have a telemedicine appointment.  I think that's about it.  Oh & it's supposed to get warmer again.  Didn't need that either.

Take care.

Cya...

Holiday Starts...

 

It's going to bad start to bill pay week.  The day we'd normally handle this in on Labor Day.  The branch office of the bank at Walmart should be open.  It's not optimum, but it'll do.  I have a telemed appointment this Wednesday.  

That's it, another birthday has come & gone.  I wish I didn't have them.  They just remind me of how little I have left.  Facebook wishes, computer sent cards & automated emails/texts aren't the same as a IRL person taking the time to acknowledge you.

Sometimes people just want to be seen even if only for a moment.  They say someone isn't truly gone until no one remembers them or says their name.  I wonder what occurs when that happens to a living person.  When no one any longer acknowledges or remembers them.  When no one ever says their name again.  Do they stop?  Do they just cease to be outside their own little area?  I have a feeling too many of will find out the answers to those questions.

Cya...

Hello September & New Year For Me...

 

September's here & I hope it goes better than last year.   It's also my birthday.  We went out yesterday.  The outing was a bit nicer than the meal, but we hadn't been to the place in a couple of years.  

Fort Smith restaurants are pretty bad about inconsistency & sliding downhill after a bit.  I can handle a place being consistently meh better than I can if it's erratic.  Especially if the chance of getting poor food comes with a high ticket. It's been over a decade since we've had anywhere over there we could hit more than a few times before it turned to crap.  1 out 3 Wendy's has been our most consistent place over the years.   Not exactly a place for birthday fare. 

I have a telemedicine appointment next Wednesday.  I wish they'd just do this over the phone.  It's just going over labs.  I know what they are.  Still, I have to go somewhere & listen to someone tell me what I already know.  

So far my roomie is the only person I know that has or will say something about my birthday.  There have been some people on Facebook & some computer generated cards from businesses, but that's it.   I guess the worse thing about later birthdays for me is never really wanting anything for them anymore.  Even if I did want something, it'd be something I got myself & that makes it sort of pointless.  

There was a message on my voicemail this morning.  I figured it was either spam or some computer wishing me a happy birthday.  No, it's why I always get calls.  It was about my HIV & the specialist reminding me of my appointment.  I appreciate the reminder call.  But still did the 1st call I get on my birthday have to be about HIV? 

Try to do well September & Happy B-Day to me, woohoo.

Cya...