I’m awaiting delivery of my next two weeks’ worth of medications with a major change in the blister packs. Gone will be Norvir, Prezista, Truvada and Nevirapine, all taken twice a day, and they’re being replaced with ONE pill, Genvoya, ONCE a day containing 4 new-to-me drugs in combination. What
Continue readingTag: medical update
My journey with AIDS…and more!: The flight was brief, the landing less than graceful
I was on my way for a hair-cut this morning when, at the corner of Sherbourne and Gerrard Streets, I momentarily took flight. Picture Peter Pan on his worst day. While still airborne I thought of Craig, of the 24th of April, 2007. But I was still conscious. I managed
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS…and more!: Do You Hear The People Shing?
This coming Thursday I am having a number of teeth and partial teeth extracted as my mouth make-over goes into high gear (This is the work that is more typically done by the fifth year of one’s sobriety but, as I didn’t think I’d live long enough to bother, I’ve
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS…and more!: No offence to ‘black dogs’ but I got real today
Bright and early this morning, before I could slip into dishonesty, I volunteered to my diabetes specialist that I was depressed. Actually it was more like joining in conversation with her as she wondered aloud if any ‘black dogs’ were about. There’s always something cathartic about admitting this after circular
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS…and more!: Medical update: It’s all good
While showing me a graph, with the trajectory of my health over the past few months, my endocrinologist remarked, “I wouldn’t have sold you life insurance in January!” Point taken. It was a rough patch, to be sure. But now… …
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Walking the walk – with assistance
First there was the pre-Christmas illness. Then, while in Perth, I went for only one walk – to the pharmacy – in a town which normally calls out for long walks. I even felt unsteady on my feet roaming around Mom’s big old house. Mom…
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Chasing the HI on a glucose meter
I spent the afternoon yesterday in the Emergency Department of Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital after a drug overdose, albeit accidental, when I tried to eliminate a “HI” reading on my glucose meter with two, then three times the recomm…
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: The certainty of uncertainty
In my ongoing quest to get to the bottom of my annoyingly reduced sleep, I received the results of a recent MRI of my brain when I visited my family doctor yesterday and the report was clearly not written for me to comprehend. Even my doctor was at a loss
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Sleep, no longer taken for granted, will soon be improving – hopefully
Early this month I had electrodes taped to my head, neck, chest and legs, then I was wished a good night for a sleep study to see why suddenly, to me at least, I couldn’t get a decent night of shut-eye. The results, which I received on Monday, showed that
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: A new low
“How long have you been wasting?” the chiropodist asked me a couple of weeks ago as she updated a history on me. The starkness of the verb, however accurate, stayed with me. I’ve always been thin, I said, but my weight has been falling a bit since last fall. Fast
Continue readingMy journey with AIDS...and more!: Ending the week on a positive note
I checked in with my doctor today to get results from my latest blood tests and the news was all good! CD-4: 310 (up from January) viral load: undetectable Hemoglobin A1c: .063 Weight: 144 lbs. So I’m good again until June, by which time I’ll have had some more routine,
Continue reading