Almost time to say goodbye...

I have to say that beyond most of my classes I have had in my educational experience, this is by far one of the most memorable. I think that can be chalked up to the simulations for one, and the men's panel was the second. My biggest regret now at the end of the course is not having the opportunity to get to the women's panel....I would imagine that it was a much different tone but none the less, I am sure it was fantastic. One thing I do fear happening when I get caught back up in another semester and life gets back to normal, is that all this information will slowly start to fade and the passion will leave. I guess that is how it is for any class, but I would really like to hope that this course has motivated someone enough to make a career out of battling HIV. Maybe if Teach gets a chance to read this, has anyone else ever gone into this field and made a name for themselves? Is there anything I could have done without? Probably not because all of the assignments that we were to do ended up being huge parts of the course and without all of the work and constant reminder there really would have been no way to get a great experience in this class. Does more work always equal a better experience? Certainly not...but it seems that this course walked a fine line between being obnoxious with the amount of work and the perfect amount to make the experience memorable....obviously with the memorable experience coming out for the whole semester. I was wondering, how was blogging for everyone else? Looking back on all your posts over the semester, do you wish you maybe had a chance to partake in the chat or the pen pals? I think after knowing that some of the panelists were the pen pals, I might have enjoyed that interaction between an infected person. I only have myself to blame for that, but in the end I am not completely disappointed. On to next week, and now for a little more medication information:

DID YOU KNOW?

It seems that most of the medications

First time I have set foot on campus in a while

This was for the men's panel. I figured I would wait until I got back because I knew that it would give some good material to write on. First off, I want to say that it is a great privilege to have the opportunity to get such an open and honest point of view from some very real individuals. I was one of the people that didn't ask any questions, but I probably should have. There were a few that popped in there but my nerves got the best of me and I just wasn't able to make the leap. I think one thing that I found very interesting was the stress that they all put on education. I think by now we know that it is a necessity to have this moving forward in the future in order to really break down the spread of the disease, but all of the panelists seemed extremely compassionate when it came to making sure that education begins earlier and done the right way.

I think this class has definitely calmed my nerves in regards to dealing with patients that have HIV. There was someone that i had the other day who was HIV positive, but he was also a diabetic. Because of this I had to draw blood out of him a few times a day. Its interesting to know what is in that small drop of blood, and just how it can totally change a person's life. Getting back to the men's panel, watching the guys up there and seeing just how some of them seemed to be in great health was encouraging when it comes to the medication that is available to them. I have noticed this with a few other people that I have taken care of and its great that in the past 30 years we have come a long way in terms of how live can be sustained. One thing that I really was hoping would have been different was their outlook on if HIV will ever have a "cure". We are only 30 years into this, and I think it that given enough time the world will eventually find a way to put an end to this virus.

DID YOU KNOW?

This next bit of information came as a little bit of a downer because I know how much I love garlic on just about any dish I eat. It turns out that with certain types of medications that are taken with garlic supplements or higher levels ingested it actually hurts the medication's potency and overall amount in the body.

This can be found @ http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec2001/niaid-05.htm

Big Brother

So, this week we have had quite an interesting QOTW. In regards to the chip I couldn't help feel like that would be the beginning of the end of all of our personal and private lives. You hear the urban legends that they implant chips into you anyway when you go in for a surgery, but this way with a tracking system that keeps records of your movements, we would be taking a gigantic step into a very frightening future. I would think that this practice would lead to a very slippery slope and we would end up with our entire lives being broadcast for the government to watch whenever they want. Don't get me wrong, I am not a person that does wrong and needs to keep my privacy but it is just creepy to think that they would have the opportunity to keep tabs on you whenever they wanted to. I also couldn't think of anything crueler than putting people into a camp just because they have HIV. Has anyone watch the movie District 9? It would remind me of a setting such as that where the whole camp would eventually turn into a slum....especially in a country where it might not be as developed as ours. It certainly wouldn't stand out as a five star resort....and who would pay for it? I have to say, now that the M&M simulation is over I am glad that they have finally developed medicine that people only have to take one pill for their HIV medication a day. Sure, there are still a few that they might have to take, but the "one pill" eliminates most if not all of the struggles that positive people would have trying to make sure that they get their medication regimen down.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are many different information outlets for the side effects of medication for HIV available on the web. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services has published quite an extensive breakdown of just what can happen to you when you take this medication to fight off HIV. The DHHS lists some of these side effects as "extreme liver damage, multiple bone problems, and skin rashes which can actually become life threatening". For a deeper look into these dangerous drugs check out http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/contentfiles/SideEffectAnithivMeds_cbrochure_en.pdf

What if I was diabetic?

Yes, the title is a tribute to the M&M simulation that we are going through this week. The candy and the phrases "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand" and also the line from Tommy Boy "Your brain has a thick candy shell.." suddenly have a new meaning to be attached to them for what could be the rest of my life when I eat an M&M. This is NOT an easy simulation on the days that I work!! Working at a hospital for 12 hours and constantly taking care of patients' needs can make anything else that has to get done extremely difficult. The days that I have off it seems to be no problem, and with time at work I have been keeping to my schedule. I also meant the title line to have a little bit of irony because it doesn't say "What if I was HIV positive?". Recently at work I have just missed a few people who have visited the hospital and were involved in community based AIDS programs. The first one was a minister who lived in the Baltimore area and ran a house for people to live at, with the catch being they were all HIV positive. The second was a woman who worked at a home for small children with AIDS who have been abandoned. Both times I was taking care of other patients, and by the time I had heard about their involvement in the community it was already too late and they had left. All of this is leading up to the men's panel, which I am waiting with a great anticipation. Now please enjoy a wall of M&Ms on the way down to the "Did You Know? section....

DID YOU KNOW?

So in the light of our M&M simulation this week, I decided to look up the first HIV medication that was the one pill once a day to treat the drug. The article was first posted in 2006 in response to the FDA approval for the very first type of this drug. The drug is actually a combination of three different types of HIV medications and is known as Atripla (Zwillich, 2006). I think that as we are going through this simulation this week, we all should be able to appreciate just what this actually meant for people who had to go through the regiment every single day to take care of their bodies in the only way that was available to them. The three different drugs that are incorporated into this pill are the Sustiva and another already dual pill called Truvada, all three of these drugs are important in the bodies fight against HIV (Zwillich, 2006).

More information about this pill can be found either in the source referenced, or in this article from the NY Times posted at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/health/09aids.html?_r=1

Source:

Zwillich, T. (2006). First One-Pill-a-Day Drug for AIDS. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/news/20060712/first-one-pill-a-day-drug-aids

A Fine Line

Thinking about the QOTW for this run, it becomes incredibly difficult to make these decisions...because who is to say what is the proper thing to do? I start to see each question with two very different sides that can be viewed as correct depending on which side that you are on. Perhaps this is why HIV continues to be a controversial issue regardless of how much education that someone has on the subject. This week begins the third simulation, and I have to say that I am looking forward to the experience once again. The first two that we had to do were a great touch to this class, I just wish that there were more than three during the whole semester. I still find it a little "funny" when I tell people that I am taking an HIV studies course and you can immediately tell their discomfort. Sometimes it is even as visible as someone shifting in their seat as they even think about the subject. After my last blog I had the chance to read a few of my classmates' submissions and there were a few that watched an episode of Oprah that had HIV as a topic of conversation. If you have not had the opportunity to hear about some of the discussion, I think it would be in your interest to look up a little of the show if you could. It is a shame that this is sensationalized, but it does expose some very common misconceptions about HIV.

DID YOU KNOW?

I have been discussion the wonderful drugs that can be used to help treat HIV, but one has to remember that these medications do not come without side effects. It appears that side effects can actually affect women more because their systems hold in larger quantities of the medication while only achieving the same benefits as men (Side Effects, 2003). One of the first side effects that someone might experience while taking HIV medication is something called Lipodystrophy. This condition presents itself when the body itself becomes misshapen and this can happen by either fat loss or gain in many different regions of the body (Side Effects, 2003). This becomes incredibly dangerous for those who are susceptible to heart conditions or strokes (Side Effects, 2003). The side effects from HIV medications also present themselves on the exterior of our bodies on the skin as rashes, but this type of side effect can be medically managed by controlling the specific types of doses that one takes and by speaking with one's doctor the right treatment plan can be set forth (Side Effects, 2003). Other conditions that are focused a little more on women are menstrual irregularities and bone problems. There are certain types of medication that will cause Anemia in both men and women, but women need to be especially careful when there is a greater blood loss during the time of menstruation and this could lead to an accelerated Anemia (Side Effects, 2003). Osteoporosis is already a condition in which some women need to watch out for, but being HIV positive will put these women at an even higher risk (Side Effects, 2003). Fortunately this can be combated with regular treatment plans such as "bone density scans, getting enough calcium and vitamin D, exercising, curbing smoking habits, and reduction in alcohol and caffeine intake"(Side Effects, 2003). One last item to be discussed is the effect of HIV medications on child birth. According to The Well Project, studies have shown that the medications for HIV does not cause birth defects thankfully, but there are specific risks that must be watched out for on both the mother and the babies perspectives (Side Effects, 2003). The outlook becomes better and better as time goes on for people who are HIV positive, and with a doctor who will work with you to find out your specific medicine regimen that you can take to stay healthy, longevity and a fuller life becomes more and more possible.

Works Cited:

Side Effects. (2003). Retrieved fromhttp://www.thewellproject.org/en_US/Treatment_and_Trials/Things_to_Consider/Side_Effects.jsp

Just to follow suit

During this last week I really am wishing I had the opportunity to attend the women's panel discussion. What was everyone's thoughts of the evening who went...if anyone reading this did go? Outside of that, the last few QOTW have been quite interesting. The show that sparked Teach's question this week got me thinking about other mainstream programming and how so many of these shows could actually be used for a pretty nice source of propoganda or education for many different health care related causes. It is a shame that you do not see these very popular programs taking advantage of their share of the public spotlight to help dismiss some of the negative stigmas that are attached to diseases like HIV/AIDS. Perhaps I just don't watch enough of them, but I have never heard of any primetime programs addressing the virus in the manner that some of the movies we watched did....not that everyone could handle the extent to which we were exposed, but it would be nice for people to actually catch a glimpse of it.

I guess it is just part of the culture that we live in. I remember when I was searching for the videos that we neeed to watch online, I found a channel that was broadcasting the "Common Threads" movie. I quickly realized that the channel was all centered around the gay lifestyle and their programming reflected many different facets of it such as the reality of HIV in their population and what the community was doing about it. Because HIV affects all people regardless of their background, it would be nice to see if the mainstream culture could take a lesson and begin to become pro-active with dealing with such major issues as HIV. Also as a side issue, I wonder if we will hear anything in the news about South Africa and their AIDS situation as the next World Cup moves closer to the time. I think if we did it would be out of the regular ignorance that we see in our society still today. That's about all for now, hope you found this just a little bit interesting.....

DID YOU KNOW?



In light of our QOTW I have found some information regarding current HIV medications and renal transplants. With the discovery of the highly active antiretroviral therapy that was made to be available to people in 1996, there have been many more opportunities for people who are infected with HIV to actually have surgeries that can benefit them, when in the past it would be viewed as a waste (Tebas, 2009). I wanted to make sure that the whole article was brought through to here in case people couldn't access this information. It specifically talks about renal transplants in these paragraphs:



"A number of studies have demonstrated excellent outcomes in HIV-infected patients who undergo renal transplant. In one of the latest prospective studies performed in the HAART era, patient and allograft outcomes were reported among 18 kidney transplant recipients at a median follow-up of 3.4 years. Patient and allograft survival was 94 and 83 percent; these results are similar to that observed in the general kidney transplant population. One of the findings in the most current studies of renal transplantation in HIV-infected individuals has been the high frequency of rejection that frequently required the use of thymoglobulin. These individuals have had a remarkable and prolonged decrease in CD4 cell counts, which fortunately has not yet been associated with opportunistic infections." (Tebas, 2009)



"Preliminary results from multiple retrospective and some prospective studies show that clinical outcomes do not significantly differ between HIV-infected transplant recipients and HIV-seronegative patients enlisted in the UNOS database in the short term; the one-year survival rates appear comparable between the two groups." (Tebas, 2009)



This article also goes on to speak about other transplants such as heart and liver with some what similar results to the renal transplantation. Even though these surgeries are happening it is not without its problems. Medications that these individuals have to be on after their transplant so their body does reject the organ can have a strong reaction to the antiretrovirals for HIV and because of this it is very important to make sure that the medicine regimen is being monitored as closely as possible (Tebas, 2009).







Works Cited:



Tebas, P. (2009). Solid Organ Transplantation in HIV-infected Individuals. Retrieved from http://www.utdol.com/online/content/topic.do?topicKey=renltran/20766

A quiet week

I took the opportunity this week to return to the interview that we had to do with three different people a few weeks ago. One of my younger brothers has been vocalizing a worry about HIV since I talked with him. I think it is because he is a little more promiscuous than most people, and I try to curb that behavior with different facts that I have been learning. The slides from our statistic module has helped out, but I think overall the interaction with someone that he trusts is helping out. I can see that it scares him to death just thinking about the possibility of him acquiring HIV, but I have to make sure that he knows it is a very real possibility if he continues with reckless abandon. I've been trying to share some of the films that we watch with my family as well, but it just seems that there is no interest in them watching it. Its hard to see them turn a blind eye to the videos because of their incredible message that they carry with them. I almost feel that this would be most of our countries reaction when asked to watch these movies, and it is a shame because people need to see what can happen and what does happen when this disease enters someone's life.

DID YOU KNOW?

I have been discussion HIV medications over the last couple weeks and what I have come across is recent information about the amount of people who are actually receiving this medication. The UN has published that almost half of all individuals who are afflicted by HIV/AIDS are getting the medications that they need (Emerging, 2009). Other findings from this same study show that last year there was a total of 9 million dollars spent on AIDS relief and about ever 23 cents per dollar went towards the medications, but this is all said to increase by as much as 50 percent because people may start being treated earlier and also it is found that because of drug resistance different methods will be pursued (Emerging, 2009).

Source: Emerging Diseases. (2009). Aids Medication Coverage Increases 10-fold in 5 years. Retrieved from http://www.pediatricsupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=44207

DYK pt. 2

As of 2006 in Japan, it is found that they share many of the same rights when it comes to the confidentiality of HIV and living with the disease. In Japan they view HIV and a person's privacy as basic human rights that must be respected in all fashions when it comes to situations such as employment and medical treatment (Noda, 2004). It is noted that as an actual governmental policy that the government is to work with the "Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour, and the Ministry of Justice" to try and eliminate all discrimination against people whom have HIV and to protect their rights (Noda, 2004).

Source: Noda, P. J. (2004) Japan's Response to the Spread of HIV/AIDS. Retrieved from http://www.jcie.or.jp/thinknet/pdfs/hiv.pdf