schlarry wrote: ↑Sun Apr 09, 2023 4:20 am

Freightdog wrote: ↑Sat Apr 08, 2023 7:43 pm

schlarry wrote: ↑Sat Apr 08, 2023 7:18 pm

Ozinasia wrote: ↑Sat Apr 08, 2023 12:25 pm to this day he has no idea how he got it and thinks it was from medical procedure he had in Thailand 12 years ago (emergency appendices) he is heterosexual not at all gay.

If I had a $ for every time I've heard this...

Do some people still harbour views that this (HIV) is a gay disease?
Isn’t that akin to leprosy being considered a poor disease? Sadly, even consistent with some of the attitudes expressed in Cambodia the COVID only affected lower and poorer classes.
It’s just as well that ignorance doesn’t have borders.

Could you kindly show us where my post in any way implied that I thought he was gay? I was referring to the medical procedure claim, which has been used by heterosexual people as well, to discount the possibility that one was infected by normal sexual activity, be it with any gender party. Strange that you assumed.

re: ignorance, try reading carefully, first, LOL

Talking of reading carefully…. Or is it that the italics and slightly larger font don’t show up on your device?

good luck to you, but please take care, hospitals in Cambodia do not take kindly to hiv patients and will give you sub care treatment if you need visit them.

I watch US tv news on my android box an get US commercials, seems there's lots of meds out there for hiv nowadays, where people are living normal lives.


PS: i do believe that most people associate aids with gays an intravenous drug users.

I spoke with him last night on skype he has a short window of opportunity to sell his flat same offer was made to his Neighbours and its good, he sees this as his way to leave UK for a better life here in Cambo but at his age its a huge decision and he is scared to death. He says with his pension and the cost of living his life isn't easy heating bills alone are astronomical. with what he has been offered he believes he can live out his autumn years in relative comfort here, but his HIV concerns him. The reason for the two month clinic visits is blood tests apparently they test kidneys etc, etc because well mostly early in the treatment and not so much now the meds were changed according to his blood tests. Probably age has a lot to do with it. Yes I have been reading up on hospital care here for HIV and it appears your correct Phuketrichard so looking for a smaller clinic maybe I did email Sihanouk Hospital Center as referred earlier but no response yet as expected. I am sure there will be a foreigner friendly clinic around, one will turn up hopefully, he is a good guy if I can make his move here more comfortable I'll do what I can.

Not completely relevant to Cambodia, but maybe helpful nonetheless.

Last year I helped my 18 year old Thai niece who had HIV that she got from some partner. She had shunned medical help because of the 'shame' in Thailand of being HIV-positive. On my return from Laos (I was 'stuck' there due to Covid rules) and discovering her pitiful condition, I tried to obtain HIV medication for her from private clinics in Thailand. I found that (in Thailand) you cannot obtain any HIV medication without it being prescribed by a doctor in Thailand. This is the case whether you are Thai or a foreigner. In Thailand, foreigners often obtain their HIV medication from the Red Cross Centre in Bangkok, but even they cannot provide this medication without a local doctor's prescription (I visited them personally to confirm this).

For my niece, time wasn't on her side and the local hospital refused medication because they said that she was 'too far gone'. (Being Thai, she was under the 30 baht scheme, so no cost for the medications). The Red Cross Centre in Bangkok intervened on my behalf and persuaded the government hospital to admit her and treat her with both HIV and TB medications. Sadly, she died in my arms a few weeks later. The medications were very strong and by then she weighed 21 Kg

So.... your friend needs to find out if he is able to obtain his medications in Cambodia over the counter. I suspect that the process will initially require a prescription from a local doctor. Is there an HIV/AIDS organisation in Cambodia who can help to confirm this?

By the way, I am in the UK right now for hospital investigations, after living in south-east Asia for 21 years. The place is hellishly expensive!!! I fully understand why your friend wants to move to a lower-cost country

schlarry wrote: ↑Sun Apr 09, 2023 12:24 pm @ freightdog, who is a selective reader, never wishing to admit he might have projected his own bias:

quote from OP

"Old mate, aged 70 now has been receiving HIV treatment for 10 years in UK to this day he has no idea how he got it and thinks it was from medical procedure he had in Thailand 12 years ago (emergency appendices)

But keep on trying to save face by blaming me. So now you know what I was thinking? Wow.

Buddy benefits?

@OP: good luck.

You daft clot. If you take the time to actually read the ‘nested’ quotes, you will see that I was not blaming you at all, rather, I agreed with you- “If I had a $ for every time…”
and highlighted another long since disproven belief.

It was hoped that you might realise this without having to hold your hand through the process.
Try reading it again. If you get the same answer, maybe get someone to read it for you.

Ok part of problem now solved , last night he gave me the names of two of the three medications he takes daily.
I was near Central market where there is a line of pharmacies so I (rater bravely and I admit a bit self consciously ) walked up to the first one and showed my phone with the two names and Photos and asked can get these please ... she walked away came back with both $8.90 each no questions asked , well I bought them because I didn't want to say I don't need them now and just wanted to leave to be honest but the girl there was super friendly and smiled !!
In UK I am told they are several times that price but not sure if that included the cost of the clinic.
In any case so now we know buying them isn't a problem just visiting a clinic for two monthly blood tests.

Now one thing you would need to check is if those medicines are genuine or some fake copy made out of baking powder in a backstreet in Calcutta...

Ozinasia wrote: ↑Sun Apr 09, 2023 11:05 am I spoke with him last night on skype he has a short window of opportunity to sell his flat same offer was made to his Neighbours and its good, he sees this as his way to leave UK for a better life here in Cambo but at his age its a huge decision and he is scared to death.

That indeed seems a huge decision, maybe giving up a good safety net. At 70yrs old, it may not matter. However, is Asia a stable enough environment should things go downhill?

A recently departed forum member’s situation comes to mind.