Hi all:

I've found out this week that I am HIV+. I need to seek treatment advise and medication. I live in Pattaya and am wondering if there is a good clinic here or (if not) in Bangkok.

I've been getting lot of info from the internet and here is what I found so far:

1. I need to get a blood test to find out my CD cound and my Viral Load.

2. I need to be prescribed medication accordingly.

3. I don't have any insurance - so is there a pharmacy/clinic where I can get my medication at a reasonable cost?

4. Any counselling/support group here in Pattaya?

Please only contribute if you have concrete information to provide... I'm anxious to get professional advise.

Thank you

Well first of all, darling, don't panic. You won't be dead by tomorrow. If you are of limited funds, contact this guy and go and see him. http://www.heartt2000.org/

Google AIDSMEDS,Its one of the best sites on the internet if your hiv positive.It will walk you thru what you need to do and it has a very supportive forum. Goodluck.

So how'd you get it, anyway? Care to share your experience?

How did you find out you were HIV+ to find out for sure you would need to have had a test, that would be done by a medical professional and they would or should refer you to an expert in that field of medicine.

I have a friend who has been positive since 1984 and he leads a perfectly normal life so take care of yourself and best of luck.

1/ I hope that this is not some kind of a bad joke posting.

2/ I agree with Irish, you should have had many things explained to you when you were told that you were positive.

3/ Yes you need to know what your CD4 Count is and Viral Load (this will tell you approx how long you have been positive, and if to start medication) so you will need to go to one of the specialised clinics already mentioned for Pattaya.

4/ The medications have improved greatly over the past 5 yrs or so, if you can get the right one/s it is now down to a once daily tablet. It is recommended by most professionals that starting with meds when your CD4 his fallen to around the 350 mark will have the best long term effect and help, depending on your life stile get your CD4 back up to an acceptable level and your viral load down to undetectable. Again take the advice of the professionals you go to see.

5/ Cost can be the thing so depending where you come from it might, if you have a very low CD4 count be best to return home and seek medical advice there. Normally once your CD4 falls below the 200 count then AIDS related illnesses can and will occer.

6/ Good luck and again if you take the advice of your doctors, and adhere to the right medications then you should not have any major problems and can continue to live a relatively normal life. Just don't leave 'things' until you get sick, go and get advice and start the medication as soon as it is recommended.

Thank all for your replies and yes that's including you Mr. Diec.
{now deleted as abusive - quoted posts vilifying diec gone too - jinks}

First of all I'm not a young man - I'm in my mid 40 and yes I know what SAFE SEX is all about. I came out in the early 80 at the beginning of AIDS epidemic. Honestly I am not sure when or where or who passed the virus to me - I've been practising (mostly) safe sex but (I must admit) there has been a few occasions where I made bad decisions in the heat of the moment. At this time I feel who or how I got it is a mute point. The fact is I do have it and that's the fact I have to deal with.

Mr. Diec - I blame no one but myself (so you are right). I hope it gives you pleasure for pointing your finger in judgement.

I am still in shock and this is a very sobering situation for me. I understand this is no longer a death sentence but it is still quite traumatic.

I have the information about Dr. Philippe and will make appointment to see him this week. Tomorrow I have an appointment to go to Silom Community Clinic which is located on the 3rd floor of Bangkok Christian Hospital. The gentleman there was very kind and informative. I now know that I will get a blood test to determine my CD count and Viral Load. They will also check my liver to be sure it is healthy enough to tolerate the medications. All this is done for free and then I will come back in 3 days to a week to start my medication which is not expensive. There is a generic brand for 900 baht/month and a brand name drug for 2000 baht per month.

I will let you know more about my progress.

whatnow wrote:Thank all for your replies and yes that's including you Mr. Diec. First of all I'm not a young man - I'm in my mid 40 and yes I know what SAFE SEX is all about. I came out in the early 80 at the beginning of AIDS epidemic. Honestly I am not sure when or where or who passed the virus to me - I've been practicing (mostly) safe sex but (I must admit) there has been a few occassions where I made bad decissions in the heat of the moment. At this time I feel who or how I got it is a mute point. The fact is I do have it and that's the fact I have to deal with. Mr. Diec - I blame no one but myself (so you are right). I hope it gives you pleasure for pointing your finger in judgement.

I am still in shock and this is a very sobering situation for me. I understand this is no longer a death setence but it is still quite traumatic.

I have the information about Dr. Philippe and will make appointment to see him this week. Tomorrow I have an appointment to go to Silom Community Clinic which is located on the 3rd floor of Bangkok Christian Hospital. The gentleman there was very kind and informative. I now know that I will get a blood test to determine my CD count and Viral Load. They will also check my liver to be sure it is healthy enough to tolerate the medications. All this is done for free and then I will come back in 3 days to a week to start my medication which is not expensive. There is a generic brand for 900 baht/month and a brand name drug for 2000 baht per month.

I will let you know more about my progress.

Good luck to you, and many of us appreciate your honest posting . It could happen to anyone in our scene.
Await your progress report.

I would sincerely recommend you go and at least have a chat with Dr Phillippe in Pattaya. He is totally non-judgemental, and very very good at explaining things and putting things in context, both for Thais and non-Thais.
He operates out of a clinic in a private house, very confidential.

gwm4asian wrote:I would sincerely recommend you go and at least have a chat with Dr Phillippe in Pattaya. He is totally non-judgemental, and very very good at explaining things and putting things in context, both for Thais and non-Thais.
He operates out of a clinic in a private house, very confidential.

Good advice as you will feel a lot better talking with a professional. It's not an easy matter to come to terms with as we are all different but don't let it get you down too much. You have taken the right first step by having a test for HIV (everyone should get one on a regular basis especially if they aren't in a stable relationship) The medications are now very, very good with little or no side effects. I'm not sure what is available in Thailand and at what cost, but if you can get the latest one a day pill then it should make your life so much more easy.

This is a very good site to read up on the latest events etc., concerning HIV and they will also email you their monthly updates.

http://aidsmap.com/cms1038153.aspx

Again good luck and remember it is no longer life threatening, like diabetes follow your doctors advice, adhere to your meds and keep yourself reasonable fit and you can continue having a normal life...........

{now deleted as abusive - quoted posts vilifying diec gone too - jinks}

Thanks Jinks... nice to see this dick (Diec) of a poster finally deleted.

Once again thank you all for your advise and links for info. I will see Dr. Phillipe this week for sure.
I'm trying to put on a brave face on this - not for anyone else but for me. Like I said before I'm still in a state of shock - and am so numb right now. I don't even have time to cry... not yet at least.

Will report back to you all soon.

Well I have no idea what it's like to go through what you're going through. But like all things, maybe it helps to put it in perspective.

You're about 45 right? So you probably only have in the region of 30-50 years left by average life expectancy.

So what's your life about? Really, when it comes down to it, you just want to enjoy living and feel good about yourself, whether that means contributing or achieving something great. With good treatment, HIV shouldn't stop you doing any of this.

Yeah, it's a bloody horrible thing to get and you want to avoid it at all costs. But now you have it, just deal with it and get on with what you really want to do. Enjoy life and feel good about yourself. Can't let it stop you doing these two things.

Apple founder/CEO, Steve Jobs gave this great presentation about life a few years ago.

In PART TWO at about 2:00 mins in he talks about how he believes death is one of the greatest things in life and how he dealt with being told he only had a few months to live.

Beachlover wrote:Well I have no idea blah blah blah blah blah blah maybe it helps to put it in perspective.

You're about 45 right? So you probably only have in the region of 30-50 years left by average life expectancy.

So what's your life about? Really, when it comes down to it, you just want to enjoy living and feel good about yourself, whether that means contributing or achieving something great. With good treatment, HIV shouldn't stop you doing any of this.

Yeah, it's a bloody horrible thing to get and you want to avoid it at all costs. But now you have it, just deal with it and get on with what you really want to do. Enjoy life and feel good about yourself. Can't let it stop you doing these two things.

Interesting advice from someone in their twenties who starts out by rightfully saying he has no idea, before he barges in with advice about doing something great with their life....rather than wasting it here, responding to nearly everything everyone says on each and every topic.

As sanook already said, it's best to have your blood tested to see where you are in term of the viral load and the CD4 count. There has been a great deal of improvements to anti viral medications up until now. The longer it is before you need to start on any of these medications the better it is for you as new medications are being developed with fewer side effects and a better defence against the virus. Physicians are also prescribing medications earlier now, not waiting for the immune system to deteriorate for a better long term strategy. The best thing you can do for yourself now is to look after yourself. This means eating properly, sleeping properly and not drinking excessively to maintain your best CD4 counts.

Before starting medications, you may want to consider going home and seeing what the professionals back home recommend. You may also want to reconsider your sexual priorities in Thailand and make some serious adjustments in this respect. When you first become positive your viral count is very high making you high risk for sex with others.

Beachlover wrote:{now deleted as abusive - quoted posts vilifying diec gone too - jinks}

Thanks Jinks... nice to see this dick (Diec) of a poster finally deleted.

Dont often agree with Beachlover, but totally agree with the deletion and also jinks explaining why he did it.

Seeing Dr Phillippe now rather than waiting until you get home and make an appointment makes a lot os sense.