• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

"Ask the Social Worker" (who has worked with HIV/AIDS patients for 20 yrs)

gracenote

All shall be well . . .
Messages
1,537
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
A couple more questions.

How important is it to also treat coinfections along with the antiretrovirals, and do the opportunistic infections respond more quickly when the antiretrovirals are added?

What kinds of adjunct support or protocols (if any) are commonly used along with the antiretorvirals? Is it important to include other "helps" for the immune system and for a body that's been under great distress?
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
i talked to Social Worker yesterday and she said that YES, she would take more questions. she is very supportive of our struggle and very hopeful for us re: XMRV. i will likely talk to her on friday to answer more questions folks may have. fridays are easier days for her.
 

Rrrr

Senior Member
Messages
1,591
A couple more questions.

How important is it to also treat coinfections along with the antiretrovirals, and do the opportunistic infections respond more quickly when the antiretrovirals are added?

What kinds of adjunct support or protocols (if any) are commonly used along with the antiretorvirals? Is it important to include other "helps" for the immune system and for a body that's been under great distress?

great questions! let's see if she knows this level of medial/med detail! -- rrr
 

leaves

Senior Member
Messages
1,193
OEWWW and also; do the antiretrovirals also directly target some coinfections (bacterial/viral/parasitic) ???
 

Hope123

Senior Member
Messages
1,266
OEWWW and also; do the antiretrovirals also directly target some coinfections (bacterial/viral/parasitic) ???

HAART are currently designed specifically for HIV and if they happen to have any other effects, it's partly by providence and partly by how close other viruses are to HIV. From reading this and other forums, I often get the sense that some people think antiretrovirals/ antivirals/ cancer chemotherapy is something very general when in fact, they are often specifically designed after extensive study of the pathogen/ cells and the proteins/ genes/ molecules involved. In the past, when we didn't have the lab techniques we have today, medicines were much more general and thus sometimes had more or more severe side effects than ones we have today. Occasionally, someone will discover a new use of an older antibiotic, etc. but it's not that common.

Ratelgravir is being looked at for hepatitis B/C aside from HIV though.