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AIDS
treatment side effects
Like
any medication, AIDS treatments may cause side effects. An AIDS/HIV specialist
can recommend ways to minimize side effects. Many side effects depend on the patients
past use of HIV medications. Often side effects-such as neuropathy (pain, tingling,
loss of feeling in the hands and feet), nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and nightmares-can
be minimized or eliminated by switching medicines, or switching the time of day
they are taken, or adding other medications to counteract the side effects.
Chronic
sinusitis
Sinusitis is the inflammation of the lining of the sinuses. Usually, the lining mucous membrane secretes only a very small amount of mucus. However, a viral "cold," hay fever, asthma, air pollution or infection of the sinuses can cause irritation of the mucous membrane. It then starts to outpour relatively large amounts of mucus and the condition called acute sinusitus. Almost everyone has had a small number of episodes of acute sinusitis. Some people suffer from prolonged and/or repeated episodes of sinusitis, called chronic sinusitis.
For
some reason HIV+ people suffer from chronic sinusitis and the answer to most doctors
is to medicate them. Osteopathic manipulation
therapy helps with sinusitis as well as many kinds of muscular/skeletal and
occasionally gastro-intestinal and respiratory problems. If osteopathy can eliminate
an antibiotic or decongestant, it's better for the patient who may be taking 20
pills a day. Ingesting fewer pills equals fewer side effects. For
Women with HIV/AIDS
If
you're an HIV+ woman, consider seeing an HIV specialist like Dr. Sandler. Most
primary care physicians do not treat enough HIV+ female patients and you may not
be receiving the best care possible. Dr. Sandler offers non-threatening and non-judgmental support and HIV/AIDS treatment. AIDS
research
No
stranger to AIDS research and studies, Dr. Karen Sandler has been a principal investigator
and sub-investigator of numerous studies. An investigator is the doctor who is
responsible for enrolling patients and completing the study at her/his test site.
(There are usually many test sites across the country.) The doctor is also assigned
the HIV/AIDS patient's medical care, and oversees data collection and paperwork
processing. Many studies use new drugs for AIDS and HIV, and when the fit is right, Dr. Sandler recommends her patients to participate. This affords Dr. Sandler hands-on
experience that her patients will benefit from in the years to come. If
you are concerned about AIDS treatment or are currently not receiving the best
care possible, make an appointment with Dr. Sandler now. | 
