Re: Digest Number 1097

[Guest guest]

The weird thing about our situation is that we have survived what was a "death sentence" disease, and lived to develop poorly understood, clinically frustrating complications.  It is a very unusual situation.There may be times when health care providers, feeling greatly frustrated about inability to figure out what to do about these lipid problems, throw up their hands and say, "at least you're not dead."   There is truth and great insensitivity in this, at the same time.My cousin in the late stages of breast cancer said to me after chemotherapy and prednisone had made her hair fall out and her girlish figure bloat, "I'm just not pretty anymore."   We're not the only ones who get cosmetic deficits secondary to disease treatments.  Men who have had surgery for cancer of the head and neck look pretty bad, and I've seen no effort to do cosmetic corrections.I honestly feel that the questions of lipodystrophy/lipoatrophy are very difficult ones, and interesting, challenging problems on many levels.There has been some progress in determining which drugs are most likely to create problems.   I wish there were more solutions now, but I don't think that there's any particular predjudice preventing them.I'd really like to have my own butt back for Christmas.......On Aug 11, 2005, at 8:30 AM, PozHealth wrote:My doctor otherwise is an excellent ID doc, and after  seeing what others  within my HIV group contend with concerning their doc's, I  actually feel  lucky. Isn't that sad! I feel as HIV'ers, we certainly are  prejudiced against,  if this was cancer, there would be all kinds of studies,  pain remedies and  better solutions - PAID FOR BY INSURANCE, which would help to  find solutions, or  at least make us more comfortable. Barrowpozbod@...