January 27th, 2006, 20:37
To begin with an apology for confusion caused by my two user names as I have posted both as Kun Jon and Khun Jon due to problems with one of my user names getting deleted. While I have been away in Thailand I see an older post of mine about my HIV+ boyfriend has resurfaced. I did post again subsequent to that thread so the last thing I wrote about my boyfriend was:
"It's very difficult when I'm not in Thailand to get a clear idea of my boyfriend's current treatment. When I was last with him in October he was taking Lamivudine, Stavudine and Efavirenz. This is not the same combination that he started with but I don't know exactly how the treatment changed. He is actually taking nine drugs altogether. I know one is for the meningitis which I can recognise but some of the others are only labeled in Thai and are for tuberculosis and for bacterial infections. Things are further complicated as he has a congenial heart condition that has nothing to do with his HIV status.
He's intelligent but totally uneducated and has little understanding of the different conditions he has. He groups everything together under one phrase ie "I sick". I doubt that he has ever known any blood count figures and they would mean nothing to him. He does have regular blood tests though but he merely reports to me a general statement from his doctor like "Doctor say I better, little bit." He also tells me his weight and is very proud that he has gained so much recently.
His doctor does not speak English but has sent me Text Messages with simple diagnosis so I knew about the Tuberculosis and then the Meningitis.
I would emphasise that my boyfriend is being treated within the Thai health system which is very different from any that a Westerner would be likely to encounter. A small clinic in Ratchaburi Province with no specialist HIV facilities is not a place I would recommend visiting. However the doctors do their best under very difficult conditions.
When he was thought to be dying he was transferred to a charity hospital in Bangkok that dealt only with AIDS patients. He was given very little chance of survival and that was before he developed meningitis. It is a huge tribute to their care that he is back home and getting stronger every day.
I speak to him every couple of days on the telephone and to hear him laugh is the most joyous sound I know. His determination to recover must also have played a part and his bravery has been amazing.
I'm looking forward to seeing him again in less than two weeks."
So having got all that out of the way I'm now in a position to update the situation with my boyfriend as I have just returned from Thailand.
As I explained above my boyfriend is being treated within the Thai health system and he doesn't understand himself much about the various infections he has so sorting out what is going on isn't always easy. But trying to arrange treatment outside of the Thai system and outside of the support of his family would not have been possible. So I fund his living expenses and the Thai fees and some additional medical bills for services that were not available from the hospital. For example he had to have physiotherapy as his legs became so weak he couldn't walk.
I met up with him at his home in Ratchaburi recently and then travelled with him to Hua Hin. It was immediately obvious that he was much better than when I saw him in October. He hadn't actually put on any more weight but his face appeared fuller and he had lost that look of wiriness around the eyes. As usual I inspected his medications. He has one more month on the pills for tuberculosis and has been completely symptom free for a long time. He has been very careful to take his pills and it would appear that the tuberculosis will be completed eradicated. The meningitis is still a problem but he no longer gets the dreadful headaches that made him weep with pain. He sees the doctor again soon and I'm hoping for better news on the meningitis following more tests.
It at first appeared that his Anti-Virals were the same as before but I discovered that the hospital is refilling the old containers and the pills inside are not the same as before. So I can't now say what combination is that he is taking. I suspect that they are now Thai generics rather than the brand named drugs he started on. One of the pills is "New" according to my boyfriend and he now tolerates them very well with no side effects which he had a lot of trouble with at first.
A mouth infection has cleared up and skin lesions that covered his back and legs are now only scars rather than the frequently infected sores of six months ago. Seeing him on this most recent trip was the first time I felt optimistic that he might soon be strong enough to be able to work again sometime and support himself. This is tremendously important to him as he is a very strong willed and independent young man.
For much of the time he is now symptom free and few people would guess just how ill he had been. He still gets very tired but as he also has a heart problem unrelated to the HIV it's difficult to know what causes what.
So overall I had a marvellous time with him and it was a joy to see him so much improved. His rather black sense of humour has also returned. On entering the sea he commented "I HIV, all the fish will die." That comment is also a measure of how much he has accepted his HIV status and how he now doesn't care who knows even though he has suffered from prejudice. At one point the police had to called to his home because of the constant abuse from a particular neighbour. He's coped with it all with astonishing bravery and I just can't praise him enough.
I'll be back when I can to see how he's doing and I hope he will be well enough later this year to travel abroad with me as we have done in the past. I know that might bring new problems but seeing how he has recovered so much from a situation that seemed hopeless only a few months ago I feel anything is possible.
"It's very difficult when I'm not in Thailand to get a clear idea of my boyfriend's current treatment. When I was last with him in October he was taking Lamivudine, Stavudine and Efavirenz. This is not the same combination that he started with but I don't know exactly how the treatment changed. He is actually taking nine drugs altogether. I know one is for the meningitis which I can recognise but some of the others are only labeled in Thai and are for tuberculosis and for bacterial infections. Things are further complicated as he has a congenial heart condition that has nothing to do with his HIV status.
He's intelligent but totally uneducated and has little understanding of the different conditions he has. He groups everything together under one phrase ie "I sick". I doubt that he has ever known any blood count figures and they would mean nothing to him. He does have regular blood tests though but he merely reports to me a general statement from his doctor like "Doctor say I better, little bit." He also tells me his weight and is very proud that he has gained so much recently.
His doctor does not speak English but has sent me Text Messages with simple diagnosis so I knew about the Tuberculosis and then the Meningitis.
I would emphasise that my boyfriend is being treated within the Thai health system which is very different from any that a Westerner would be likely to encounter. A small clinic in Ratchaburi Province with no specialist HIV facilities is not a place I would recommend visiting. However the doctors do their best under very difficult conditions.
When he was thought to be dying he was transferred to a charity hospital in Bangkok that dealt only with AIDS patients. He was given very little chance of survival and that was before he developed meningitis. It is a huge tribute to their care that he is back home and getting stronger every day.
I speak to him every couple of days on the telephone and to hear him laugh is the most joyous sound I know. His determination to recover must also have played a part and his bravery has been amazing.
I'm looking forward to seeing him again in less than two weeks."
So having got all that out of the way I'm now in a position to update the situation with my boyfriend as I have just returned from Thailand.
As I explained above my boyfriend is being treated within the Thai health system and he doesn't understand himself much about the various infections he has so sorting out what is going on isn't always easy. But trying to arrange treatment outside of the Thai system and outside of the support of his family would not have been possible. So I fund his living expenses and the Thai fees and some additional medical bills for services that were not available from the hospital. For example he had to have physiotherapy as his legs became so weak he couldn't walk.
I met up with him at his home in Ratchaburi recently and then travelled with him to Hua Hin. It was immediately obvious that he was much better than when I saw him in October. He hadn't actually put on any more weight but his face appeared fuller and he had lost that look of wiriness around the eyes. As usual I inspected his medications. He has one more month on the pills for tuberculosis and has been completely symptom free for a long time. He has been very careful to take his pills and it would appear that the tuberculosis will be completed eradicated. The meningitis is still a problem but he no longer gets the dreadful headaches that made him weep with pain. He sees the doctor again soon and I'm hoping for better news on the meningitis following more tests.
It at first appeared that his Anti-Virals were the same as before but I discovered that the hospital is refilling the old containers and the pills inside are not the same as before. So I can't now say what combination is that he is taking. I suspect that they are now Thai generics rather than the brand named drugs he started on. One of the pills is "New" according to my boyfriend and he now tolerates them very well with no side effects which he had a lot of trouble with at first.
A mouth infection has cleared up and skin lesions that covered his back and legs are now only scars rather than the frequently infected sores of six months ago. Seeing him on this most recent trip was the first time I felt optimistic that he might soon be strong enough to be able to work again sometime and support himself. This is tremendously important to him as he is a very strong willed and independent young man.
For much of the time he is now symptom free and few people would guess just how ill he had been. He still gets very tired but as he also has a heart problem unrelated to the HIV it's difficult to know what causes what.
So overall I had a marvellous time with him and it was a joy to see him so much improved. His rather black sense of humour has also returned. On entering the sea he commented "I HIV, all the fish will die." That comment is also a measure of how much he has accepted his HIV status and how he now doesn't care who knows even though he has suffered from prejudice. At one point the police had to called to his home because of the constant abuse from a particular neighbour. He's coped with it all with astonishing bravery and I just can't praise him enough.
I'll be back when I can to see how he's doing and I hope he will be well enough later this year to travel abroad with me as we have done in the past. I know that might bring new problems but seeing how he has recovered so much from a situation that seemed hopeless only a few months ago I feel anything is possible.