Regimen Changes...

 

The earliest HIV regimens or cocktails contained many types of meds & often dozens of pills.  By the time I was taking meds, I was on about 2 dozen a day.  In a few years that lessened by 18 pills.  The med Fortovase was dropped in favor of an adjacent drug Invirase with a Norvir booster. 

After a few more years, another med Didanosine or Videx was discontinued & I was put on Triumeq.  For a little more than a year now, I've been on my latest med, Dovato.

My early meds were replaced due to causing many health issues dealing the heart, lipids, blood pressure, etc.  Some of the early drugs were fairly toxic. thus a lot of testing to see how your body was handling them.  Some of them ruined my hair & were hard on my teeth & skin.  These meds came with a host side effects, many gastrointestinal. 

Now I'm on a 1 a day - 2 drug med.  They're developing PrEP that can be taken monthly or biannually.   There are long acting injectable HIV meds that can last months.  Weekly and monthly oral options are in development.  That would mean between 12 - 52 pills a year.  In the beginning that wasn't even 3 complete days of meds for me.  

The meds are more effective, safer & easier to manage.   Biannual PrEP could functionally put a hold on HIV.  The only threats are ignorance, hate, greed & the orange stain.  If these obstacles can be overcome, there might be a chance to control HIV.

That's all for now, take care.

Cya...

Changes In...

 

There have been a lot of changes in the treatment of HIV.   In the beginning, there wasn't even a test, let alone  treatment.  Slowly meds were introduced, some like AZT came from previous research for conditions such as cancer.  Some like AZT, also proved to be   problematic & toxic.  Early on, doctors thought holding off on meds was the best approach.  Given the issues with the meds, maybe it was.  Unfortunately this allowed the virus to advance & cause damage.

Slowly, with better testing & medications, treatment  shifted forward.  Eventually, it was deemed best to start treatment at diagnosis.  With better timing & meds, people with HIV today will have a chance to live a much healthier life than their predecessors.  

That doesn't mean this is resolved.  HIV meds are still hard on a body.  Even more so, they're outrageously expensive.   The Triumeq I take cost ranges from 3 - 4.5K depending on the seller.  Yes, there are discounts, but that only drops the price to the low 3K range.  That's not counting cost for other meds, appointments with doctors/specialist, lab work, etc... All of that is easily putting the monthly bill for HIV treatment over 4K.  While no longer a death sentence  for most people, their lives will never be the same in any fashion.   HIV is still all consuming.

Cya...

Young Minds...

This piece pertains to the brain development of HIV+ children. It's known HIV can cause neurological damage.   Many had hoped with early medical intervention this damage could be curtailed.  This article is about issues arising in HIV+ children on meds, some since 6 months of age. 

The children were behind those without the virus in most areas of neurological development.  There's the physical, the actual nerves & handling of the body.  There is the psychological or how the children functions psychologically, emotionally & socially.  Finally, there is the cognitive areas.  This is how the child handles & processes information or learning.

These children were behind across the board.  More research is needed to determine the extent.  Then, they can alter the treatment.  This won't be an easy fix.  For some, damage has already been done & most likely won't be reversible.  The updated treatments will likely consist of monitoring, regimens & therapy.   This won't be a simple task.

Cya...