Immunization

After ARV, my doctors now prescribe an immunization for me. A different kind of vaccines. Hepa B vaccine which will be having a 3 shots the 0-1-6 the Pneumococal for anti Pneumonia for one shot that lasts for five years, and a flu vaccine shots every year.


Scheduled of my 2nd month CBC and SGPT test, i go to RITM and got my blood extracted to find out if my hemoglobin is lowering due to ARV, if my SGPT or liver enzymes is rising because of ARV and Izoniasid.


I got also a one shot of vaccine for my 0 schedule. Then 2 shots after a month and last shot after 6 months. Then Booster nalang.


The Hepa B vaccine is for free at RITm but the Pneumo costs me 1500 and the flue costs 600. And theres another vaccine that i might to have, the meninggo and anti cancer vaccine.





"Loving God means keeping His commandments, and really, that isn't difficult."


                                                                                                           -- 1 John 5:3

Oh Gaining Weight

After i found out that im an HIV carrier, and one of the possible symptoms is te remarkable of loosing weight i decided to increase my weight, from the initial records of my at Makati med of 65kg after a month it became 68kg at ritm after a 2 weeks it became 69kg after a month i was 72kg and my last visit last month i was 75kg i dont know this month if what will be my weight mow. Everybody notices that i draggle gain weight. And that makes me happy and even healthy :)


"Keep on praying."

-- 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Go on in Life

As days, weeks and months passed by. Im getting ok. Everything is under control. Im ready to face the life of full of trials. I pursue my business, but still i want to work as an employee to practice what i've learned in school. I applied severals companies in our provinces. I dont want to get away from home again. I want to be always with my parents. But after several interview still i cant landed a good job. Im still afraid if theres a company which conducting an HIV screening. But i found out that according to the law of the Philippines nobody can initiate and of an HIV screening without a consent of the patients. So i tried again.


While waiting for the surprise in my life on my career breakthrough. I run my business as a sort of income.


And still waiting for the company to hired me.


I dont want to give all the burden to my sister who finances my medical needs. I want to get employed for a self support.


Go on in Life. I met some of the friends all the and keep me happy and strong. I attended some reunions and party to forget what i am going through. I attended Christian prayer meeting to ask for a divine help. I enjoy attending to that service, especially you meet different kind of people who believes in Jesus. After that service i feel relief,
I feel strong. And i feel blessed.


Thats how i run my life with a battle.






"Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you."


                                                                                                                --Proverbs 4:25

The side effect of ARV

After a week or two of doing the baseline tests, and thank God they are all negative. The doctor was then ready to give me my very first ARV. Plus the cotrimoxazol that is an anti bacteria capsule that can fight bacteria that coming into my body since my cd4 is very low. The capsule is too big, every time i try to drink it, im about to blow.


The cocktail that doctor was gave me were lamivi/zidovi+nevirapine. All these type of ARV has a sudden side effect depends on the reaction of the body. They are strong kind of ARV that strictly take on time and on scheduled. She explained that Lamivi/zidovi may cause anemia, or lowering of the red blood cells and/or hemoglobin. And the nevirapine is very high allergen medicine. She strictly inform me that i need to monitor my conditions from time to time. Since i was then on a trial period they gave just a 2 bottle for the two types of capsule good for 2 weeks, and will take once a day, if after two weeks nothing harm was happened another two weeks and additional 2 capsule at night.


The first day that i took arv, i got nausea, and i vomit the night 30 minutes after i took the med, i got panic cause i don't know if ill have to take again or if its enough, because they say that capsule or tablet medicine dissolve in stomach and absorb by body for the minimum of 3 hours, meaning the tablet that i just took was now on my vomit product, so i have to take another one just to make sure. 
I have my Thermometer wherever ill go and every after 30 minutes im checking up my body temperature as connotes that will ever i feel hot, ill have to run to the hospital, for first week my highest temperature that i got was then 36.9, and that was just one time. The rest were playing around 34-36.0 degree Celsius. I don't have any rushes and body aching. The only worst side effect that i felt that time was the nausea. I hate the feeling especially when im vomiting, all of the food that i ate that day will be thrown away. 
The next 2 weeks nothing serious side effect was took place. And my nausea was gone. I feel good and great. My nausea last for a week. And they took another sgot and sgpt for my liver. Because it its needed to find out if theres no harm effect on my liver because they just found out that ARV can increase to the damage of the liver. As i got my sgpt and sgot, they advice that i need to take the two capsule twice a day.since my hemoglobin is still high.




"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor sitteth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers." 



                                                                                                      --Psalms 1:1 (ASV)

My Positivism

After a months of grieving, self-pity, anxious, and asking God why i messed up? I totally moved on. Instead of understanding things with my own thoughts why i would not let God to do his will upon me?
I commit myself to the Lord, i attended Christian services even though im a Catholic, and read some Christian's book and of course the Holy Bible and that Help me a lot in moving on. Thought me of everything that i should learn and the things i wanna know. In that situation i learned that everything's happen for a reason, and the reason why this happen to me is the challenge for me to found out. I know theres a big plan that God created for me, and working in Other country is not part of His will. I accepted that peacefully, even though all through this years, i made myself a worthy of success, and my thinking of working overseas will be my success im wrong! God uses situation that i might hurt but in the end of the day theres a reason why!
Now, i begin to start all over! My thinking of working overseas was reformatted in my thoughts and heart. And the contentment of being loved by my family is there! I am contented to work here with my parents and siblings. Half of my siblings are on abroad, i should be here to take care of my parents. I know i cannot gain the salary that i should get when i work abroad, but what is important is that iam contented and at peace! And i am willing and able to follow God's will for me. My success is to accept Christ as my savior, not to be fame or to be rich. But to have a happy, loving and peaceful family in spite of what our we going through. Having true people and true friends surrounds me, thats my new appreciation of success.
And i started to accept the fact that it is hard for me to creat my own family because of my Bday Gift, but in fullness of hope im still praying, to have a wife and a children. But if thats never be happen, i accepted it full heatedly.
Anyway im living my life for Christ not for my self. But the main point of it all is that im at peace and contented. Sound cliche but thats the truth.
Now iam starting to find a new job that can practice my profession but will not compromised my health. And ill have to have the quality of life that i should have. With the support of everybody, I CAN. For with God all things is possible!





"All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them."


                                                                                                                ---John 12:26

ARV TREATMENT

After knowing that my cd4 cells are below normal i have to take ARV.


What is ARV? (Antiretrovirals) cant cure AIDS, ARV are jus anti retro, which means they stop or trying to stop the duplicating of Hiv within your blood, . HIV cannot make copy of itself because of ARV. So theres a possibility na bumagal ang progress ng HIV into Aids or not all. If such ARV was fit for you theres a chance na tumaas ang cd4 mo. If you loose weight then you will gain after ARV. In my case i didnt loose weigh. I gained instead since i found out that im a PLHIV. Rinessetahan ako ni doc ng ARV cocktail and they are Zidovidine + lamivudine. And efavirenz. But before i conduct in a treatment i met some counselor, sinabi nila na diko naman kelangan gumastos ng malaki para sa treatment ko. May free arv treatment daw ang DOH so i ask if where and there are three hub San Lazaro, PfH and RITM.


Aun dun ko napagdecide na since di naman ako ung gumagastos para sa helath ko i need to be practical. From then on nagpaalam ako sa doctor ko sa makati. Naiintindihan nya naman kung bakit ako lumipat ng hub. And sa RITM kelanan kong ulitin lahat ng baseline test ko before ARV. So panibagong gastos nanaman.
After a week at everyday ata nasa Alabang ako. My vital and baseline are all ok. Ang dami ko pa palang kulang na baseline before conducting ART. So negative naman lahat ng result. I dont have any Opportunistic Infection. Kaya aun nagstart nako mag ARV, pero ibang cocktail ang rineseta skin sa Ritm. They are Lamivi+Zivodi And Nevirapine. Sabi ng doctor this are the most effective an yet cheap ARV. Ang prob lang daw sa nevirapine ay maraming nagkaka allergy kya nagpapalit pa ng ibang cocktail. Then pinacounsel ako sa isang representative ng pafi, regarding sa pag undergo ng ART (antiretroviral therapy)
I was so afraid that time knowing na madaming side effect ang ARV. At mas nakaktakot saw ang side effect nito.
And kelangan daw ng matinding disiplina in taking of it. Kasi di pwedeng paiba iba ng oras. Strictly on time evryday.


So then, nag take nako binigyan nila ako ng tig isang bote ng 2 cocktail nasa trial period pa daw kasi ako and i have to monitor my body and the side effect. Baka daw di ako hiyang sa ARV na to.


Every then minomonitor ko ang side effect. And others effect.








"Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and i will be whiter than snow."



                                 --Psalm 51:7

My CD4 count and Viral Load.

After a week of waiting. Ayun nakuha kona ang viral load ko. And its quite worrying kasi nasa 600,000 ang viral load ko which is very bad. The next step is to know about my cd4 count, anyway, lets define viral load first.


What is viral load?
VIRAL LOAD is a blood test that measures the amount of active HIV in your blood. The higher the value of viral load test, the more active HIV is present. The quantitative HIV viral load ranges from 400 - 750,000 copies.


Scary no? Eh ung sakin 600,000 na, 150k nalang pwede nako mag bingo.


Then i got my cd4 panel result sa SACCL. The result is 69 :(
Anyway what is CD4 muna? And bakit eto important?


Cd4 cells - these cells have molecules called cd4 on its surface. These "helper" cells initiate the body's response to infections.
Normal values of cd4 cells ranges from 600- 1200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood. Less than 200 the immune system is severely weakened and the Hiv+ person is at much greater risk of opportunistic infection.
200-500 treatment is recommended.


So imagine? Cd4 cells ko 69 lang? So i got worried when i saw the result at dali dali ko pinuntahan doctor ko sa makatimed. And shocked din sya ng makita nya. And she said "this is impossible, your too young, and wala ka namang signs of opportunistic infection."
If doctor was shocked, what more about me? Haha ni hindi ako nagkasakit o simpleng sipon. So nakita din ni doc ung cbc ko. And they are all abnormal. Sabi nya pang chronic disease na tong result na to. At di daw sya naniniwala para makasiguro nag CBC ako sa makatimed at mismong araw na un nakuha ko result. And they are all normal, so baka ang cd4 ko mali din.


So she recommend na magpa cd4 panel ulit ako kasi sa iba na, so she recommend NKTI sa may kamuning they offer it much cheaper than MMC and st. Lukes. So aun nagpacd4 ako. After 2 days they emailed us the resukt, and it was 184.
But atleast nasa 3digits pa sya hehe. Then start nako rinesetahan ng ARV ni doc.




"God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble." 



                                                           --Psalm 46:1