My Continued Journey Living With HIV

My Continued Journey Living With HIV

Hello everyone and welcome to my continued journey living with HIV.

As you may already be aware I switched medication from the once a day pill “ATRIPLA” to the once a day pill “TRIUMEQ” in late September 2014.

Well I am now embarking on yet another medication switch due to complications with severe weight gain after being on “TRIUMEQ”.

I am praying this new combination will give me relief from all the weight gaining so I can get back down to a comfortable weight. At present I have gained 40 pounds since starting on “TRIUMEQ”. Since this is unacceptable to me and to all my doctors, we decided it would be for the best to change medications.

I was very satisfied with “TRIUMEQ” – That was until I started gaining weight rapidly.

As of May 22^nd, 2015 I will be on the following combination:

TIVICAY® (dolutegravir) ‎ and TRUVADA® (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate).

May 28^th 2015 at 10:15 am will be my 6 year anniversary since finding out I was HIV Positive. These few years of my life have had its ups and its downs, but I have managed to stay above water.

Yes, I may have many other health issues now, but I am learning to cope with them. I wish I could say it has been an easy journey, but then I would only be lying to myself. Whenever a person has a disease or virus that you must constantly stay on top of, it gets very tiresome and even lonely during the process.

I have been very blessed and thankful that the medications and health care changes I have made over the last few years, has actually boosted my immune system to a very high level. The last time I saw my ID Doctor my CD4 count was almost 3,000 {yes you saw that correctly} and I am completely undetectable.

I am blessed in deed that my body takes the medicine and does the job it was intended to do. I give thanks and praise to my creator {GOD} for the body that fights back!!!

Since my last update I have been in and out of the hospital with massive kidney stones that had to be blasted. My kidneys have been working overtime to fight off all the toxic medications. I thank God that they still function, even as they have begun to form lots of cysts and still producing stones at this writing. I pray one day they will be made whole again. I have also developed Diabetes and more Heart issues. I refuse to let these new health issues bring me down. With hard work and good medical care I know I will make it through this rough patch.

I pray that all who keep up with me know that the road on this journey may not always be roses but it is a journey/fight that is still on the right track.

Now if I could get the insomnia under control, I will be on the road to a more rapid recovery. Remember my friends that you may HIV – BUT HIV does NOT have to have you!! That is one phrase that I like to keep repeating to myself every day, so my body knows that I have not given up on it!!

I pray that all who are going through this journey of living with HIV, will be blessed and have the peace that passes all understanding that can only come when you allow God to take the wheel.

Stay tuned – More to come from my journey living with HIV!!