- The Chemistry Guy
- The Chemistry of everyday life, an HIV blogger. Twitter: @tcghiv | Email: tetrahydroziline@gmail.com
Showing posts with label RITM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RITM. Show all posts
Latest CD4 count
Visited Research Institute for Tropical Medicine last Friday for medicine refill and CD4 testing. Been a long time since I last went here. I came in very early at 6:45 am for CD4 testing. They recently changed the cut-off time for blood extraction to 7am-8am only. At this early, I'm already on the 9th spot from the line. The process changed and improved a bit from the previous topsy turvy scene. Their process is more effective but less efficient. It took me roughly 8 hours waiting in vain. CD4 results are released within the day, in most cases 11am, after lunch otherwise. Since I am about to refill, they told me to wait for the doctor since she will be the one providing the prescription. You will encounter a very long and pain-on-the-ass wait. I'm gonna to another post about the crucial wait-for-results experience.
So far, I'm thankful for the result. In time for Thanksgiving day.
From 406 units of CD4, it went up to 740 units.
This, perhaps, is one of the reason to be happy. Somehow, still thankful.
And oh by the way, I'm trying to resurface again. Struggling, but trying.
Follow me on Twitter @tcghiv
Four Hundred Six
Just like what my previous post was described - deteriorating, so as my new CD4 count. Last week I went to RITM to have my CD4 count and refill of meds. It was quite a busy day for them as the clinic was bombarded by old timers and new patients. They have a new system for those who are due for their CD4 test - to have it scheduled prior to you arrival at the clinic. I have heard this from a friend of mine and immediately sent Ate Beth an SMS to have my appointment o more than a week before my preferred date.
Come that day, I called in sick to my boss and went straight to Alabang. My home is quite near RITM so there was no need to struggle for an early morning call time - they have a cutoff time for the test which is 10am. I arrived like 9am and it was crowded. They have asked if I had my appointment BUT they cannot seem to find my name on that piece of 'office desk calendar' appointment sheet. Just to find out that they mistakenly wrote my code as R11-XXX which should have been R10-XXX, ayaw pa nila ko payagan to take the test kasi wala naman daw sa list yung 'code' ko. I insisted that I have called a week before this day and they admit they commit an error. So the mere difference of R10 versus R11 would have put my leave into waste.
This was also the day when I saw an old friend of mine. But I did not pay attention too much to him as he was aslo busy with his anniverasry exams.
My tests were done and I'm now waiting for the prescription of my ARV's. When this guy came in almost 10am, just before the cutoff time for CD4 testing, he didn't know about the appointment and schedule setting prior to the test but after a while they allowed him to take the CD4 test. I was just a mere observer that time and only one thing came into my mind: I have scheduled myself a week before this day to have my CD4 test and almost on the brink of not taking it and wasting my leave to nothing when this guy came on an instant and he was allowed to take it? That was just too unfair. This guy was like a BFF to them. Ok fine, I now know where should I place myself.
Nonetheless, I was still grateful that I had the test and they gave my 3-month supply of ARVs - STILL. Contrart to what others have said a week before that they now only give 1 month supply.
That day was really a frustration, my first time to experience after 2 years of going to them. Everytime I go to RITM, I always wanted to stay even after my appointment as I wanted to mingle with other patients and staffs, now It's like the opposite. I wanna get myself out the minute I finish my deal. I just hope this won't take too long to change.
Anyway, my CD4 streamline is now:
1st: 282
2nd: 610
3rd: 608
4th: 406
1st viral load: 110,000+
2nd viral load: 86
The results were just texted to me, so I don't have any validity whether this tremendous drop is real or not. I'm just worrying why in the world this happened? Am I too stressed and depressed or my ARV's are no longer working? With the viral load still *NOT* undetectable after taking the potent Efavirenz for almost 2 years... I'm just worrying to much.
Deteriorating
I went to RITM last Friday to have my CD4 count and refill of meds. Nothing much new with them aside from the topsy-turvy process they are implementing. They don't have the right and proper system in accommodating patients, they even proposed a 'scheduled' trip when requesting for CD4 test, which is not really effective. They also implemented a number system, just like those of a bank. When the number of patients are at large with the addition of the staff, the small ARG clinic is not at a crowd. There are also some staffs that are quite new to me.
I'm just wondering if 'charts' are confidential to an extent that even the owner can't view it? I'm trying to view my chart for the results of my past tests when this new staff said 'hindi pwede tingnan' - 'you can't see those'. I was like... Hello that's my chart and I think I have the right to view it? I'm not really sure if there's an unsaid rule about a patient can't check his chart thingy. I f that's the case, I just hope that only medical professionals see it and if the rule is exercised it is consistent. Staffs are now masungit and aburido which is bit annoying.
*I totally understand this but I just hope na *only* certified medical staffs like nurses and doctors can view it, not the volunteers na hindi ko naman din kilala so start with.*
*I totally understand this but I just hope na *only* certified medical staffs like nurses and doctors can view it, not the volunteers na hindi ko naman din kilala so start with.*
One thing I noticed was their file management system. Their system is really prone to file and pertinent paper loss. Documents like Philhealth papers are too much important to get lost.
I understand that cases are increasing so much and it causes difficulty in handling the situation, this is a great opportunity for process improvement. They don't have to do it overnight but I hope they have the initiative of gradually doing it.
They all changed overtime after transferring the ARG clinic to that location and when they substituted a different nurse for Ate Ana.
With these issues I have told and the lurking anomaly with the staff who disclosed a fellow poz guy's status publicly on Twitter... I think I'm leaning towards transferring to a different health institution or perhaps hoping they'll realize what needs to be done and act on it.
The exclusivity of the RITM as a treatment hub is slowly deteriorating.
Anniversary CD4
This was supposed to be July but due to uncontrollable weather disturbances, my acute bronchitis and some procrastination this was moved to September... Yes, two months after.
I decided to have it done on a Friday so I can be absent from work and go on a long weekend... which happened to be a boring one.
I woke up at around 730am, prepared some stuff like my backpack, the disguising bottle of my ARV and the pertinent papers - PhilHeath papers and Makati Med lab results.
Fasting started 12 midnight prior to that morning so I was that hungry, I even opted not to brush my teeth - this will just make me hungrier. LOL
Arrived at RITM at like 830am and as advised, OPD and ARG clinic has been relocated to another location... I got lost, of course am no kiddo so I asked the Kuya and Ate Jaguars to lead the way.
In all fairness, the new office site is more conducive - bigger floor area, a bit separate from the animal bite section and smells like provincial breeze. So, OPD and ARG combined into a bigger room.
When I entered the room, came along a new face - perhaps this was the new nurse in replacement of Ate Ana : Ate Mameng. I heard some stories of her being bitchy or should I say grumpy or masungit to patients. Well, I tried to call her several days before my scheduled test and she sounded nice so no big deal about it.
It was my turn and she was preparing the test requests, I already know what tests should be done but as I scrutinized the request, I wasn't able to understand some handwriting and asked her what are those...
Unfortunately in a grumpy and masungit manner, she answered - "ano ka ba, buti nga libre na yan". Knowing me being a reactive person and adding my hungriness I uttered in a respectful but sarcastic manner - "Alam ko po, gusto ko lang malaman kung anong klaseng exams to para alam ko" She then explained everything in detail... still in a grumpy manner.
Haay, alright... I'd try to widen my senses and understand, maybe she's no longer young and hormones are on the loose. but with all due respect.. I'm still thankful for her since she accepted the job of helping those in need.
Checking my peripheral vision, there was a guy smiling at me... I tried looking at him and to my surprise, he looked familiar. It took several minutes for my brain cells to work - I'm hungry, ok?. Hindi ko siya pinapansin and when I stared at him I said - "kilala kita!" He said the same thing. Ok, another small world instance not knowing a friend of yours is also sero-converted. Not a big issue.
Blood extraction was first in line and it took 4 vials of blood to complete the test. Still a lot! Time to get back to the new clinic and request for medicines, Ate Let and Victoria prepared the needed papers and sent me to the doctor on shift. Got my meds and Ate Mameng told that there was a free Hepatitis booster vaccine, I grabbed the opportunity so I took it. Till now, my shoulder is pain because of that.
I was making tambay at the clinic and letting time pass by, I can feel Ate Mameng is starting to be friendly in a manner that she makes small talks.
My intestinal walls can no longer hold the acids and my tummy started to make rumble so I decided to go home and perhaps buy some snacks on the way.
It was a tiring, hunger-full day.
Four in the afternoon, I texted Ate Let for my cd4 results..
My new cd4 count as of September 09, 2011 = 608
It went down by 2 points. From 282 to 610 to 608. I was expecting that it will reach like 800+ but to my dismay it went on a semi-plateau behavior. Just steady - whatever happened, I need to change my lifestyle again so next time it will be higher. Oh well, fluctuating numbers.
Non-Calibrated
I heard over the news about this guy who tested HIV + sa San Lazaro Hospital last 1998. This guy then had another screening test both at SLH and RITM and now tested negative. Here: LINK
What happened? Yeah, he's right it could be a switch in the blood samples.. non-calibrated machines and reagents. But who knows. Disregarding the results, this guy already suffered from the burden of being reactive.
Nowadays, it said to believe that 99% of the screening tests are accurate.. So it means that this could be the 1%?
I know there's this celebrity who said, "Don't always trust those men wearing white scrub suits" I think that was Kylie Minogue when she was diagnosed with cancer.
Having Second opinions really matter. But what I am puzzled with is the confirmatory test. As far as I know both ELISA and Western Blot tests are the gold standard of protein analysis.
The good side of this, at least there's a big relief on his part. Magpapa-party talaga ako! :)
Ta!
Intellectual Question
a comment from a reader which I decided to post my answer. It's a very good and intellectual question kasi...
Here's the comment/question:
@ chemistry guy- out of topic- medyo now ko lang nababasa ang majority ng blog mo and other poz blog, my question is ----- How come the poz guys seem to know each other ( and i don`t mean knowing each other coz they are going to the same treatment hub )??? I mean from infection control point of view, is it because the source of infection are a few same guys??? also parang meron pa na 2 poz guys in the same office ??? medyo alarming ito, do people from ritm aware of this ? are they doing tracking of the poz guys partners??? kasi important ito from epidemiologic standpointEric said...
you can answer me via email- xxxxx@yahoo.com
Here's my answer.. It's opinionated ok? of course I'm still open to AFI's :))
Speaking for myself.
Gay world is so small. A constricted space. Idagdag mo pa ang world of Internet. Which makes it a can of sardines.
Most of poz guys, nagkakakilala sa blog world, sa treatment hub and other websites. It's their means of searching for companionship since we all know, for sure, that others will have a hard time understanding our situation. The best way for it is to look for someone na kapareho ng sero-status mo. Simple as that.
Regarding epidemiology. The role of RITM is provide treatment for those poz. They also track statistical values for record purposes. If you are thinking na baka nagkakalat lang ng virus, it's up to the person whether if he's responsible or not. Which is alarming nga. I stand to that. May mga kilala akong ganyan.
:)
I think this is the reality. There's no way but up, HIV infections will surely increase. The only thing health institutions, Government and us, the general population , is to slow the infection rate. There's no known vaccine or cure yet. I don't know, maybe meron na pero tinatago lang ng mga Pharmaceutical giants so they can still earn billions sa mga ARV's nila. Sad to know, hear and say. But others are doing crazy things. Still keeping the plague at its fastest rate. Sounds cliche, just like the zombie or any post apocalyptic movies. Fingers crossed, maybe 10 years from now maging ok na din lahat.
Nice to know you Eric! Sorry kung pinost ko ha..
Ta!
I think this is the reality. There's no way but up, HIV infections will surely increase. The only thing health institutions, Government and us, the general population , is to slow the infection rate. There's no known vaccine or cure yet. I don't know, maybe meron na pero tinatago lang ng mga Pharmaceutical giants so they can still earn billions sa mga ARV's nila. Sad to know, hear and say. But others are doing crazy things. Still keeping the plague at its fastest rate. Sounds cliche, just like the zombie or any post apocalyptic movies. Fingers crossed, maybe 10 years from now maging ok na din lahat.
Nice to know you Eric! Sorry kung pinost ko ha..
Ta!
Getting Dizzy
I went to RITM last Tuesday to wave goodby to my Nevirapine and say hello to Efavirenz. I went to the OPD clinic and stumbled upon my entrance is Ar, my one of my crush, Ar, as you can remember from the Self-Empowerment seminar. The so suplado, quiet and mataray guy. He still looks good and have a great built. Sorry, pero hindi ko siya pinapansin kasi I felt really awkward and I knew for myself na susupladuhan lang nya ko just like what he did before. So, hanggang tingin na lang. A guy then saved me from awkwardness and gave me a little chit chat, he's R. Got a cd4 count of 2 and got some illness. There's a guy by the corner and I can see on my peripheral vision that he's staring at me. I was curious so I took the seat in front of him. He's R. A newly diagnosed guy and will commence his arv treatment the same day as to my Efavirenz. magka tukayo sila ni earlier R. So to avoid confusion, let's name the earlier R as R-cd4-2 and this R as R-arv. He's still staring and I felt na kinikilala nya ko. So am I, he's kinda cute, good moreno tone and got braces! He's familiar... Really familiar!
He's on his way to the pharmacy to have his arv's. I rushed towards him at sinabayan ko sya sa window, we gave our booklets and prescriptions and while waiting for the meds, we finally got the chance to talk.
Him, 'kelan ka na diagnose?'
Me, 'March of this year ako, ikaw?'
Him, 'bago lang ako, May. You what familiar ka'
Me, 'yeah! Familiar ka din, nagmeet na ba tayo?'
Him, 'yes, i think so... Db you're into photography?'
shocks, kinabahan na ko. Kilala nya talaga ako.
Finally. Puzzle solved.
A night stand guy from the past.
Shet! I felt guilty, ako kaya nakahawa sakanya? the scenes were still fresh, we did it safely. He got a cd4 of the same amount as minde, around 280+. I told Ate Ana about it and she said na wag ka mag worry. For sure hindi ako ang nakahawa at sa iba nya nakuha kasi mababa na din cd4 nya. wag ng magsisihan.
Yeah, she's right. Enough. We can't do anything about it. Lets' move forward.
He went home and I went to the lounge. Tambay lang. Palipas ng oras. Saw some old friends and made chikas.
Now, Im taking Efavirenz. What the heck! Ang lakas ng tama. The morning after I took
it, it really made me felt dizzy and out of myself. Feeling may lagnat at biglang bumangon. That's the exact way to describe it. So far no vivid dreams, and I am getting ready for it. Hahaha, browsing through some Enchong Dee photos eh.. Grrr naughty!
2nd day, lesser effect. I had 8hrs sleep and it's a bit tolerable. Super menthol candies does the trick.
Gawd! Pls spare me from these..
Im getting dizzy nanaman.
Ta!
He's on his way to the pharmacy to have his arv's. I rushed towards him at sinabayan ko sya sa window, we gave our booklets and prescriptions and while waiting for the meds, we finally got the chance to talk.
Him, 'kelan ka na diagnose?'
Me, 'March of this year ako, ikaw?'
Him, 'bago lang ako, May. You what familiar ka'
Me, 'yeah! Familiar ka din, nagmeet na ba tayo?'
Him, 'yes, i think so... Db you're into photography?'
shocks, kinabahan na ko. Kilala nya talaga ako.
Finally. Puzzle solved.
A night stand guy from the past.
Shet! I felt guilty, ako kaya nakahawa sakanya? the scenes were still fresh, we did it safely. He got a cd4 of the same amount as minde, around 280+. I told Ate Ana about it and she said na wag ka mag worry. For sure hindi ako ang nakahawa at sa iba nya nakuha kasi mababa na din cd4 nya. wag ng magsisihan.
Yeah, she's right. Enough. We can't do anything about it. Lets' move forward.
He went home and I went to the lounge. Tambay lang. Palipas ng oras. Saw some old friends and made chikas.
Now, Im taking Efavirenz. What the heck! Ang lakas ng tama. The morning after I took
it, it really made me felt dizzy and out of myself. Feeling may lagnat at biglang bumangon. That's the exact way to describe it. So far no vivid dreams, and I am getting ready for it. Hahaha, browsing through some Enchong Dee photos eh.. Grrr naughty!
2nd day, lesser effect. I had 8hrs sleep and it's a bit tolerable. Super menthol candies does the trick.
Gawd! Pls spare me from these..
Im getting dizzy nanaman.
Ta!
Post Seminar Period
The Self-Empowerment seminar was really fun, i got the chance of meeting new good friends and ease my longing burden regarding the condition. I was even trying to back out when I knew Becky wouldn't come.. Courage really pays.
I can't say that I am already empowered just the day after the seminar, there are still a lot of realization to make. The seminar was an eye opener for me and it really gave me the opportunity to see things differently.
The fun part of the seminar was about the personal introduction and the dear friend part. Tears were also shed but not too much as what I expected. The mixture of dynamics of the team made the experience a perfect one, there's the funny and loud type, the matured ones, the suplados, the kiddy jugglers, the reseverved ones, the smart and witty and almost everything you can think of. You would know who can be of a long term friend and who's not, but regardless.. it was fun!
Disclosure was one of the most tackled issue on the seminar. You take the risk of disclosing everything for you to gain either love or hate.. Basically that's it.
And because of that, I decided to spill my condition to an ex-date of mine. Last night he texted me after he got my number attached in my message for him in a personal website. I can say na bati na kami since i felt the his warm welcome of a new friendship. At first I was really hesistant and awkward of spilling the bean, i went along the bushes and got lots of uhm's, ahh's' and eh's.. He now knows, and he' relaxed. It was a pretty straight forward conversation, i know he's intelligent and he would understand everything.. He did! He was even grateful coz i let him realize my condition now. But after a while he's not talking to me anymore.. Maybe it's a two-faced risk for me.. None the less, i did my part.
What's in store for me after the seminar? Im not sure... I can't tell, i would know when i cross the bridge and get there.
Ta!
I can't say that I am already empowered just the day after the seminar, there are still a lot of realization to make. The seminar was an eye opener for me and it really gave me the opportunity to see things differently.
The fun part of the seminar was about the personal introduction and the dear friend part. Tears were also shed but not too much as what I expected. The mixture of dynamics of the team made the experience a perfect one, there's the funny and loud type, the matured ones, the suplados, the kiddy jugglers, the reseverved ones, the smart and witty and almost everything you can think of. You would know who can be of a long term friend and who's not, but regardless.. it was fun!
Disclosure was one of the most tackled issue on the seminar. You take the risk of disclosing everything for you to gain either love or hate.. Basically that's it.
And because of that, I decided to spill my condition to an ex-date of mine. Last night he texted me after he got my number attached in my message for him in a personal website. I can say na bati na kami since i felt the his warm welcome of a new friendship. At first I was really hesistant and awkward of spilling the bean, i went along the bushes and got lots of uhm's, ahh's' and eh's.. He now knows, and he' relaxed. It was a pretty straight forward conversation, i know he's intelligent and he would understand everything.. He did! He was even grateful coz i let him realize my condition now. But after a while he's not talking to me anymore.. Maybe it's a two-faced risk for me.. None the less, i did my part.
What's in store for me after the seminar? Im not sure... I can't tell, i would know when i cross the bridge and get there.
Ta!
Great Weekend
I just got home from an overnight training seminar held by RITM.
Self-Empowerment training.
Im doing this blog while my memory is still good like fresh fish from the sea.. excited to dive back into the water.
I registered months ago together with Becky, I was excited then since it's my first time to attend such event. Days were like speed cars and now it's time for the said event. Unfortunately Becky cant't make it because of some personal liabilities. So most likely, IM ALONE!
The day has come and I prepared myself a bit late since I know for myself that everybody is practicing the Filipino Time. lols. I arrived in City State Tower at around 1030am. I passed by the hall and saw a bunch of guys and Dr. D and R. I was a little afraid and totally shy since I think i'm late (it really pays to be early, i wont experience the grand entrance!) lols, i cant go in since i'm way too nervous.. i decided to wait in the lounge and tried to gasp for confidence and right timing, minutes later Ate Beth came (thank you Lord!) she accompanied me inside and there you go...
I sat in the round table and tried to squeeze myself in the filled one.. a girly-gay offered me a space, a sigh of relief for me, tried to roll my eyes on every people in front of me and saw several guys of all ages..
Here goes the characters (i'll try to extract my memory the best as i can):
Ron- a dance instructor from a famous gym center. FF
Da - the sweet and pretty girly-gay.
Re - the reserved and defensive late comer. Has wife but vulnerable to both M/F encounters.
Er - a scary, masungit, suplado, so serious guy. He's cute.
Rom - a previous ship worker
Jo - a playful, child-like guy.. sorta cute.
Ja - a friend of mine, the fedora hat fashionista guy.
Ju - a super quiet type from Palawan.
Ry - the engineer.
Jos - the straight guy.
Ge - hmmm, not really familiar..
Ki - the so mature thinker advertising guy.
Be - from PAFPI?
Lo - H4 guy.
Za - me?
Ma - my crush :D. spark guy, hihih
Activities went well, the introduce yourself part, story of your life, career planning, emotion handling, self image enhancement and all those stuffs primarily designed for empowering people.
The activities were so fun and got the opportunity to learn everyone's struggle in life.
As the night went by, we parted ways on our designated rooms.. luckily, i have Ja with me, and Ma, yikeee. lols.. landi!
I dont wanna go onto details on this.. :D haha
We went to each others room to meet and greet some of the fellow attendees.
Went to sleep and there you go.... :D
2nd day was a great one as expected, lots of fun activities and sharing. Time was running too fast and the day were almost set. some cried and some laughed. it was all fun. It's time to part ways as the older batches or should i say the tenured ones arrived and invited us for dinner. It's not really a good time for Da, me and Ma (:D) to have dinner so we went on a separate way, strolled down RP and went on coffee and had some little chit chat.. chismis!
A lot of realizations were instilled in my mind. maybe i will have this on my next blog post.
but for now, i wont keep this long, it was really a great experience and a fun to be with group.
Most importantly Met new friends of the same wave length and a chance to share ideas and be more socially and emotionally responsible. All thanks to Dr. R and the organizers of the seminar. :)
Ta!
Self-Empowerment training.
Im doing this blog while my memory is still good like fresh fish from the sea.. excited to dive back into the water.
I registered months ago together with Becky, I was excited then since it's my first time to attend such event. Days were like speed cars and now it's time for the said event. Unfortunately Becky cant't make it because of some personal liabilities. So most likely, IM ALONE!
The day has come and I prepared myself a bit late since I know for myself that everybody is practicing the Filipino Time. lols. I arrived in City State Tower at around 1030am. I passed by the hall and saw a bunch of guys and Dr. D and R. I was a little afraid and totally shy since I think i'm late (it really pays to be early, i wont experience the grand entrance!) lols, i cant go in since i'm way too nervous.. i decided to wait in the lounge and tried to gasp for confidence and right timing, minutes later Ate Beth came (thank you Lord!) she accompanied me inside and there you go...
I sat in the round table and tried to squeeze myself in the filled one.. a girly-gay offered me a space, a sigh of relief for me, tried to roll my eyes on every people in front of me and saw several guys of all ages..
Here goes the characters (i'll try to extract my memory the best as i can):
Ron- a dance instructor from a famous gym center. FF
Da - the sweet and pretty girly-gay.
Re - the reserved and defensive late comer. Has wife but vulnerable to both M/F encounters.
Er - a scary, masungit, suplado, so serious guy. He's cute.
Rom - a previous ship worker
Jo - a playful, child-like guy.. sorta cute.
Ja - a friend of mine, the fedora hat fashionista guy.
Ju - a super quiet type from Palawan.
Ry - the engineer.
Jos - the straight guy.
Ge - hmmm, not really familiar..
Ki - the so mature thinker advertising guy.
Be - from PAFPI?
Lo - H4 guy.
Za - me?
Ma - my crush :D. spark guy, hihih
Activities went well, the introduce yourself part, story of your life, career planning, emotion handling, self image enhancement and all those stuffs primarily designed for empowering people.
The activities were so fun and got the opportunity to learn everyone's struggle in life.
As the night went by, we parted ways on our designated rooms.. luckily, i have Ja with me, and Ma, yikeee. lols.. landi!
I dont wanna go onto details on this.. :D haha
We went to each others room to meet and greet some of the fellow attendees.
Went to sleep and there you go.... :D
2nd day was a great one as expected, lots of fun activities and sharing. Time was running too fast and the day were almost set. some cried and some laughed. it was all fun. It's time to part ways as the older batches or should i say the tenured ones arrived and invited us for dinner. It's not really a good time for Da, me and Ma (:D) to have dinner so we went on a separate way, strolled down RP and went on coffee and had some little chit chat.. chismis!
A lot of realizations were instilled in my mind. maybe i will have this on my next blog post.
but for now, i wont keep this long, it was really a great experience and a fun to be with group.
Most importantly Met new friends of the same wave length and a chance to share ideas and be more socially and emotionally responsible. All thanks to Dr. R and the organizers of the seminar. :)
Ta!
I'm ready... but Fate isn't
pretty long entry for today, hope you wont feel lazy. :)
I was diagnosed last March and got a quite low cd4 count of 282, it's been months now and yet im not taking any arv's. I don't know but im not ready yet or maybe it just so happen that there's not much happening in my body now so i dont feel the urge and need of taking it...
Mid April, my furuncolosis recurred for the nth time. not really severe but a couple of nodules.. like 2-4. at the same time, i had something.. (im shy to disclose, haha) so I went to RITM to have it checked and they gave me ample Azithromycins and TMP-SMXs (co-trimaxazole) to cover these ailments. I promised myself that after these wounds have healed, i'll take my arv's na. Days turned into weeks and my wounds were healed, so I targeted a schedule to go back to RITM for the arv prescription. The next day, the morning of my scheduled task, my throat is aching and im having a low-grade fever, i knew for myself that this is tonsillitis but i ignored it and went to RITM... As the doctor and i were talking and she almost handed over the prescription paper, i uttered my complain about my throat, she checked my mouth and saw these very large tonsils! she said...
as she pulls away the paper.. sigh! hawak ko na!!!!
then she gave me co-amoxiclav.
ok fine...
Ailments were gone, my birthday's coming so i decided for myself that i'll be taking arv's after my special day.. of course, it's like a rebirth. for the past 23 years of my life im not taking any lifetime medication, so i'll do this on my 24th year.. i hope this makes sense.
Ok, im already 24, days have passed after my birthday and here we go, as scheduled, I went to RITM today to my arv prescription. I arrived at around 3pm, as expected.. no patients. almost zero visibility. Most of the OPD customer are in the morning. Ate Ana said I can wait in the lounge as there's a miniature line waiting, as I went to the lounge i saw Shola, what a nice way to start my visit today. Not much people in the lounge, just one sleep guy and a new friend i've met during my first visit. so there's no one really to share things out and i decided wowowee na lang. Ate Ana called me and it's my turn... I was surprised coz Dra. Ditangco was there, it means that she will be the one assessing me.. we talked about getting my first arv's, but again i uttered another complaint, my chest is aching and i'm producing grayish sputum. She assessed my condition and decided that i take another sputum test and chest xray. Not again!!! postponed nanaman ag arv's ko.. ok, let's get this done so next week i'll have everything set into place.
I went into the xray room and the technician took my chest image, he was nice, he also greeted me happy birthday.. thanks kuya! i had a sneak peak on the developed film and i saw whitish marks on my chest. OMG what is this!!?? i know it could be either TB or pneumonia... No way!
well, i have to wait for the sputum test results... the only im bothered is, my company will be having it's annual physical exam and they might see that my chest's having problems... hmmm,
PLAN A - expedite everything. first day of the week next week, i'll submit my specimens and check my xray, ask for medications so the week after next week, it may be cleared. and go with the APE as scheduled.
PLAN B - still expedite everything, just like plan A BUT delay my APE and have it 2 weeks after the scheduled one. hmmmm.. i think this is best! :D
going back to Dra. Ditangco, in fairness, she's nice.. my impression of her way before i first saw her was she's masungit and may attitude.. but not, she's indeed nice.
I left RITM with a mixture of Stress - coz of the xray i saw and Happiness - i was able to meet Dra. Ditangco for the first time and of course met my friends.
I went to a big mall in Ortigas to have a massage, stressed eh.. so i hovered over a spa center and took an hour massage.. i think im fulfilled. i guess... :D Took dinner and went home...
I really wanted to start arv's , but fate wont allow me... i wonder why?
Ta!
I was diagnosed last March and got a quite low cd4 count of 282, it's been months now and yet im not taking any arv's. I don't know but im not ready yet or maybe it just so happen that there's not much happening in my body now so i dont feel the urge and need of taking it...
Mid April, my furuncolosis recurred for the nth time. not really severe but a couple of nodules.. like 2-4. at the same time, i had something.. (im shy to disclose, haha) so I went to RITM to have it checked and they gave me ample Azithromycins and TMP-SMXs (co-trimaxazole) to cover these ailments. I promised myself that after these wounds have healed, i'll take my arv's na. Days turned into weeks and my wounds were healed, so I targeted a schedule to go back to RITM for the arv prescription. The next day, the morning of my scheduled task, my throat is aching and im having a low-grade fever, i knew for myself that this is tonsillitis but i ignored it and went to RITM... As the doctor and i were talking and she almost handed over the prescription paper, i uttered my complain about my throat, she checked my mouth and saw these very large tonsils! she said...
uh, uh! hindi ka muna mag arv.. gamutin na muna natin yan!
as she pulls away the paper.. sigh! hawak ko na!!!!
then she gave me co-amoxiclav.
ok fine...
Ailments were gone, my birthday's coming so i decided for myself that i'll be taking arv's after my special day.. of course, it's like a rebirth. for the past 23 years of my life im not taking any lifetime medication, so i'll do this on my 24th year.. i hope this makes sense.
Ok, im already 24, days have passed after my birthday and here we go, as scheduled, I went to RITM today to my arv prescription. I arrived at around 3pm, as expected.. no patients. almost zero visibility. Most of the OPD customer are in the morning. Ate Ana said I can wait in the lounge as there's a miniature line waiting, as I went to the lounge i saw Shola, what a nice way to start my visit today. Not much people in the lounge, just one sleep guy and a new friend i've met during my first visit. so there's no one really to share things out and i decided wowowee na lang. Ate Ana called me and it's my turn... I was surprised coz Dra. Ditangco was there, it means that she will be the one assessing me.. we talked about getting my first arv's, but again i uttered another complaint, my chest is aching and i'm producing grayish sputum. She assessed my condition and decided that i take another sputum test and chest xray. Not again!!! postponed nanaman ag arv's ko.. ok, let's get this done so next week i'll have everything set into place.
I went into the xray room and the technician took my chest image, he was nice, he also greeted me happy birthday.. thanks kuya! i had a sneak peak on the developed film and i saw whitish marks on my chest. OMG what is this!!?? i know it could be either TB or pneumonia... No way!
well, i have to wait for the sputum test results... the only im bothered is, my company will be having it's annual physical exam and they might see that my chest's having problems... hmmm,
PLAN A - expedite everything. first day of the week next week, i'll submit my specimens and check my xray, ask for medications so the week after next week, it may be cleared. and go with the APE as scheduled.
PLAN B - still expedite everything, just like plan A BUT delay my APE and have it 2 weeks after the scheduled one. hmmmm.. i think this is best! :D
going back to Dra. Ditangco, in fairness, she's nice.. my impression of her way before i first saw her was she's masungit and may attitude.. but not, she's indeed nice.
I left RITM with a mixture of Stress - coz of the xray i saw and Happiness - i was able to meet Dra. Ditangco for the first time and of course met my friends.
I went to a big mall in Ortigas to have a massage, stressed eh.. so i hovered over a spa center and took an hour massage.. i think im fulfilled. i guess... :D Took dinner and went home...
I really wanted to start arv's , but fate wont allow me... i wonder why?
Ta!
Friendly Tuesday
A pretty nice Tuesday for me...
I got a new friend, Lucky13, and where gonna meet somewhere in Alabang. A mall to be exact and had lunch. His stuffed pizza, mine's ultimate spicy one... well it's not that spicy for me though.
He's nice... :)
It was also a chance for me to meet friend, she's item 4d. the gayish girl of my "Functional Groups" post. I was excited to see her as the lounge would become more noisy and gayfullness -hahah
gayfullness - state of being more than gay. :D
wasn't able to visit and meet E since they restrict visitors..
Had a check-up, and almost a cliff-hanging event of them giving me arv's!
having a tonsillitis pays off... they need to eradicate this thingy before giving the candies...
The humid afternoon ended and Lucky13, gayish girl and i went to a nearby mall for a small dinner and exchange her usb. Omygawd! i really hate Wellcom's customer service... grrraad! nakaka stress!!!
after dinner, we parted ways.. of course with smiles on our faces.. with new found friends :)
till next time..
Excited State
When Electrons' energy level is above its Ground State, we can conclude that it is EXCITED.
--- how Quantum Chemistry affects everyday life.
Tuesday, April 6 2010 ... A totally different day that marked my calendar.
This is the day of my first CD4 grade ... and not to my expectations, other surprises.
On my previous blog, I can't sleep... I tried to close my eyes, engulf a big grasp of air and relaxed.
But it didn't work, My eyes were closed and yet my conscious mind flew my head of the thing thats
going to happen for tomorrow... in RITM.
Set my alarm clock for 730am and off i go...
Woke up around 6am but it's too early, hey i should be throwing off myself by 730am.
I took my short breakfast, a nice cold shower and prepared my stuffs.
I left the house by 820am anticipating myself to be in Alabang by 9am or so.
Even my ipod can't blur all the things thats instilling in my mind on what's gonna happen
since i'm alone. I don't know if im excited to see the results or excited coz it's another challenge for me to do something on my own... and there you go, Butterflies on my stomach!
Im now walking onto the small and short isle of the building and saw a lot, i mean A LOT of children screaming for mama and crying for the needle shot for their dog bite.. GAWD!
I entered the OPD annex door and saw the nurse who attended to me during my first visit,
a bit of sigh for me coz finally i know someone in the room! As my observant eyes roam the
small room, i saw another friend of mine... another sigh!
ok then, it's time for my agenda... "For Follow-up and CD4 result pls.. R10-xxx"
Results were --- CD4 282
"ok, 282... at least not 2 or 6"
im happy with it, 3 digits is not bad.
If you're gonna ask me, i'd rather take arv's instead.
Side Effects or OI's? ---- Side Effects, of course!
How is it gonna be taking Truvada, Kaletra, Isentress, Atripla, Bevirimat etc taste like?
hahaha, In my dreams... I know, I know... 1st line first.
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