HIV Clinic

Thursday is my last day at the HIV clinic. We actually got today off thanks to Hurricane Ida (my preceptor wasn't going to be able to be in Montgomery anyway, and she didn't want us on the roads if the weather was really bad). It's been a crazy, busy rotation, but it's been really good. While I don't think that HIV is my niche in the pharmacy world, it has been a great learning experience. Here are some notables:

1. Crack addicts that are hoping to weigh 100lbs on a good day. The nurse practitioner estimates that 75% of the patients use marijuana. All kinds of alcohol abuse and smoking.

2. An 80 year old with dementia. She forgot she had already taken her HIV medicines last week, and took them again (with the HIV medications, that is not great).

3. A middle aged man with controlled HIV, but the medications has caused abdominal obesity, humped back, and his neck looks like an inner-tube is sticking out from his head (instead of going in where the neck should be, it goes out). The picture below is not this man, but it looks similar. My patient's may have looked more pronounced.

4. Crazy male approx 25 years old. Drinking hydrogen peroxide in hopes of miracle cure (sounds crazy to me - but he believes that natural substances God put here are beneficial - I don't know when hydrogen peroxide became a "natural" substance). Yet, he won't take his meds.

5. My first day to see patients: 21 year old college student. Well dressed. Involved in athletics, fraternity, student organizations. His hometown is several hours away (5+ away). He has a very poor relationship with his family. He's working on a degree in hotel and restaurant management so that he can provide for his younger brother. Only one person in the world knows he's HIV positive - and that person lives 2 hours away in Atlanta. They talk occasionally.

6. Female 27 year old with a young son. Last CD4 count (measure of her body's immunity) was <10. They start treating HIV patients when it gets down to at least 350. Good counts are 800-1,000. Hers is <10. And she's dying. Literally. She's got all kinds of infections, and she's under hospice care. Grew up in foster care; therefore, she has no family to take care of her son. She's lost over 50 pounds in the last 4 months. And she doesn't seem interested in fighting or taking her meds.

And so many more stories. Some are funny. Some sad. Many of these patients will live for years because their HIV is well controlled. Others will not. It's made me thankful. For health insurance and the capability of obtaining prescriptions, going to the doctor, having the tests I need. It's made me thankful for my health. And for my friends and family. Can you imagine not having anyone that you could trust with that kind of a secret? What a lonely life that would be.