HIV? On medications? Has your quality of life improved?

Has it been a difficult road while coping with HIV? Are you experiencing challenges due to the drug therapy you were prescribed? Come to an open discussion with experts on HIV therapy and ask questions related to your progress. A forum and panel discussion on HIV & medication side effects called Has your quality of life improved? will be presented by BCPWA. Tuesday, June 3rd @ 6pm in the Best Western Chateau Granville. (corner of Granville & Helmcken) Open to persons living with HIV and any other participants. Dinner provided. Please RSVP by June 1st to 604-893-2274 or email zorans@bcpwa.org.

Using marijuana? Are you HIV positive? Are you harming yourself?

Some people feel smoking marijuana offers relief from depression if you are HIV+, while others say it is harmful to your system. It's important for you to consider possible health risks before using marijuana. Immune function, lung complications, mental well-being, the worsening of asthma and possible increase of lung cancer over and above smoking tobacco are some of the harmful effects from smoking marijuana for someone HIV+. Marijuana may also increase your risk for certain infections, including herpes and a variety of other bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Smoking marijuana has become a popular treatment for HIV related weight loss improving the appetite and weight maintenance. Other studies show the use of marijuana does not increase the HIV disease progression or loss of CD4 cell counts. It has been the drug of choice for many who are living with HIV. The benefits to some offer immense relief from the day to day struggles of this disease. So, ask yourself the question. Is using marijuana worth the risk for you? Or is it an added ingredient to your wellness? Does the usage of marijuana affect your HAART therapy regime? What are your thoughts?

Abacavir. Part of your HIV therapy? Experiencing hypersensitivity?

Abacavir is a nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor with activity against HIV, available for once daily use in combination with other antiretroviral agents. It has shown positive results, few drug interactions, and a favorable long-term toxicity profile. Abacavir hypersensitivity reactions occur in 3% to 8% of patients starting the drug. Allergy to abacavir is strongly associated with the presence of the HLA-B*5701 gene, and a test has been developed to monitor patients for its presence. Symptoms of hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir include combinations of fever, rash, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms that become more severe with continued dosing. A test to predict who will develop a severe allergic reaction to the anti-HIV drug abacavir is said to be accurate and found in the April 1st edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases. What is the alternative to taking this drug if you are experiencing hypersensitivity? Have you experienced hypersensitivity reaction? Did you need to switch medications? Give us your thoughts.

Will there ever be an AIDS vaccine? Or are we chasing a ghost?

It is now years later! About 33 million people in the world are infected with HIV and some 26 million have died of AIDS since the pandemic began. Is there ever going to be an AIDS vaccine? Or is HAART a better solution? With HAART, you can recover from HIV/AIDS and live with HIV for a very long time. Putting funding and belief toward HAART may be saving lives rather than the waiting and false hope of a vaccine. A substantial minority of scientists admit that an HIV vaccine may never be developed. Some say it will take another 20 years of research before one is discovered. Others believe that a vaccine against HIV is further away than ever and admit that effective immunization against the virus may never be possible. A mood of deep pessimism has spread among the international community of AIDS scientists after the failure of a trial of a promising vaccine at the end of last year. It just was the latest in a series of setbacks in the 25-year struggle to develop an HIV vaccine. However, we do know HAART is an effective way to control the HIV spread and allow people infected to live longer and healthier. Should all efforts be put into prevention? What are you thoughts?

MRSA. What is it? Does having HIV affect MRSA risk?

The HIV community is watching carefully as MRSA breaks out among ‘men having sex with men’ and ‘injection drug use’. What is MRSA? MRSA , "methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus", is a bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose of healthy people. If the skin is cut or broken, the bacteria are given the opportunity to infect. MRSA looks similar to a large pimple or boil. MRSA can cause a wide variety of infections ranging from mild skin infections to serious infections such as pneumonia or sepsis. People with a weakened immune system should follow the same preventive measures to prevent being infected, including washing their hands frequently, covering wounds with bandages, and refraining from sharing personal hygiene items. Treatment is by incision and drainage of the wound. Then antibiotics may be used for up to ten days. Have you known about MRSA? Is it the next health problem for people living with HIV?

Can you talk to your doctor? Does he provide the care you need?

Do you have a doctor who does not listen to you? Do you feel you are caught in the middle of a medical world not interested in your needs? Finding the right doctor is of great concern to people living with HIV. It is a matter of expecting the right care and knowing your doctor will provide it. Empowered communication with your doctor is personal and important. Perhaps you have encountered problems and need information pertaining to the things ‘your’ care should involve. A community forum called “Doctor Visits: Are yours what they should be?” is being presented by the BCPWA Society in the Best Western Chateau Granville (corner of Granville & Helmcken) at 6pm on Tuesday, April 22. Open to persons living with HIV & other interested participants. Free dinner included. If you wish to attend this you need to rsvp to paulk@bcpwa.org by april 17th. If you have any comments or share experiences, please do so on this blog.

Could HAART treatment strategy reduce HIV?

A new strategy to battle HIV might reduce the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. Dr. Julio Montaner, of the B.C. Centre for Excellence, suggests using HAART as treatment for HIV could lower the number of cases around the world. HAART reduces viral loads of HIV in the patient's blood until it is undetectable, and as a result they become less infectious. A patient going on HAART soon after testing positive to HIV lessens the transmission of the virus. Montaner adds, "It's time that we start talking about it, and the Center would like to lead that discussion because if that is the case between better prevention and strengthening of our treatment programs we may be able to, at least in the short term, control the spread of HIV." Convincing people who have already tested positive to HIV is a very heavy task. Why would you want to take medications when you are not sick? Is this one more way of prevention? Or is it suggesting something else?