Question
A chat facility?
16 September 2008. Related: All topics.
I wondered if I may make a suggestion about this site? Firstly i-Base is a fantastic resource for people with or without HIV, and this must be the most informative site in the UK. Having said that as somebody living with HIV, I would find it really useful if there was an on-line forum or live chat facility on here. The Body (an equivalent to your site in the US) has this facility and it has been very well received. It allows people to talk to others about their experiences and obtain valuable peer support, something that is somewhat lacking in the UK. I would be really interested on your views about this.
Many thanks for all you do.
Answer
Hi there and thanks for yor nice words.
We completely agree that a chat and forum is something useful and really lacking in the UK at the moment. Hence, we are considering it very seriously and have made the first steps. It takes some time to properly plan and organise it though-moderation, technicalities, IT, etc. We see it ready and active in 3-4 months from now.
So, a bit of patience, please :). In the meantime, I would suggest the treatment forum of the UKCAB (UK Community Advisory Board) if you are not a member of it yet. It is quite active and covers a very diverse set of aspects of living with HIV. The site is: http://www.ukcab.net/
Take care!
Hi Green, are you able to get any ARVs to replace the ones that will expire? The biggest risk of taking expired ARVs is that it is no longer guaranteed that they will work as well as they usually do. A month after expiration is not likely to be a problem but it is important to be aware of this. Taking expired ARVs will be of more benefit than of taking none.
Lately I am using ARV that will expire in February 2022 (and they have been fabric on March 2020). I have to take this ARv until 14 March. It is safe to use these arv during february and two first weeks of march? Cause I have read that ARV have a short lifetime (18- 24 month).
Thank you
Hi Mandy,
Your baby will be fine, the gripe water won’t increase their risk of being infected.
Hi I recently had a baby and my viral load is undetected I was breastfeeding for two weeks then stop the biggest mistake my mother did she gave the baby grip water 1mm for 3_4 day can that infect the baby, the baby was given a serup when we got discharged abd takes it daily
Hi John, thanks.
The CD4 count can very a lot without this being a real change in your immune system. Technically, this can be one-third higher or lower and the doctor will see the result as being the same. If the first result was lower than average and the second result was higher than average, this make the difference seem larger.
However, as the CD4% also increased, perhaps your immune system is now a little stronger.
Great that your have had the COVID-19 vaccine – this is strongly recommended for HIV positive people. This is unlikely to have affected your CD4 count though.
This is good news, so it is good to celebrate, but don’t be worried if your next count goes down a little.
i did bloodwork in January my t-cell count was 333 22%. i did blood work again May 25th my t-cells are 748 30% my question is with such a change do you think the vaccine for covid19 that i had in March had anything to do with it?
Hi Mirko,
If you take steroids they’re likely to interact with your ARVs, however the best thing to do is to talk to your doctor. Please see here: https://i-base.info/qa/6547/comment-page-1