TB

[Anh map 2,098]

Just a reminder. If your S.O. or family members are diagnosed with TB make sure they take all the prescribed medicine. Not doing so will result in a much stronger strain of drug resistant TB that is very difficult to conquer.

We lost Linh's brother to this completely treatable disease.

Edited November 23, 2010 by Anh map

[ScottThuy 140]

OMG Roger.. I was just asking you about them last week... Our condolences to your family... Didnt she have 2 brothers with it?

[engineer21 51]

I'm so sorry for your loss

[ScottThuy 140]

I hope James or Nicole reads this.... she should be going through the same treatment he did...

[johncali9 6]

Hello anh Map

sorry to hear that

johncali9

[Huong and Phung 0]

We hope Linh feel better. Sorry to hear about the news. Get well soon.

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Anh Map, hope chi Linh is doing better.

Love from Loi and Suong

[Kevin and 10]

Sorry to hear. I hope the family is doing well.

[toddandhien 2]

We were deeply saddened when Linh called the other day on her way to VN with this terrible news. So sorry for your loss.

Todd and Hien

[Tommy Tran 0]

We're sorry for your loss Anh Map. Condolences to chi Linh family. You'll be in our thoughts and prayers.

~Q.T.

[Anh map 2,098]

I'm bumping this primarily for those that have joined in the past few months.

Linh is back in VN now to say goodbye to her other brother who will soon succumb to complications resulting from TB.

Two guys who did/will not see their 25th birthday because they did not take their treatment seriously.

Don't take diseases that we see as rare or "extinct" casually. Be sure that your Vietnamese SO and their family get proper treatment and don't allow them to make excuses for not following through on the treatment. The price is just too high.

[hniHnitsuJ 8]

I'm bumping this primarily for those that have joined in the past few months.

Linh is back in VN now to say goodbye to her other brother who will soon succumb to complications resulting from TB.

Two guys who did/will not see their 25th birthday because they did not take their treatment seriously.

Don't take diseases that we see as rare or "extinct" casually. Be sure that your Vietnamese SO and their family get proper treatment and don't allow them to make excuses for not following through on the treatment. The price is just too high.

I am so sorry Anh Map, another brother of Chi Linh.

[Mike n Huong 1]

Our family feels sadness for your loss. Our condolences.

We lost my wife's cousin to the same thing a few months ago. He was 37.

Our prayers are with you.

[james&nicole 2]

I'm sorry to hear of another loss to your family. TB is a tough one. The treatment process is long and debilitating. It is easy to get discouraged with the side effects and the hassle of going to the hospital everyday to get the meds. There can be a tendency to stop taking the medicine when one feels better. Stick with the treatment plan all the way until the end. As Anh Map says, not doing so can lead to a stronger form of tb. Believe me you don't want to have to take the second line meds, they are expensive and the side effects are much worse.

If possible keep an eye on the doctors. The district hospital told my fiancée 3 times she was better even though she was still coughing and getting worse. In fact that hospital cleared her to go to Cho Ray for the formality of the visa clearance. At that time she had been taking their meds for one year. The strain of tb she has is resistant to the meds she was taking, so we wasted a year of treatment and probably allowed the tb to get stronger.

Cho Ray got the case and within two weeks they had her on a much stronger regimen including injections every day. After a few months of shots five times a week her backside looked liked someone had worked it over with a sock full of golf balls. Add to this headaches, fever, chills, hand tremors, fatigue, nausea, ringing in the ears, and various skin problems including itching severe enough to cause her to scratch her skin off. There were times she could not drive her motorbike the 20 minutes each way to the hospital, so someone had to take her. There was an additional $80 charge per month for these meds.

Fast forward six months and Cho Ray finally has done some testing to see if the new drugs are working. She has had positive sputum results this whole time. The tb is resistant to some of the new drugs. They need to add newer stronger drugs at this time. These drugs are not readily available and will have to be purchased through IOM at a cost of $4,400 cash.

Treatment with those is started and within 3 or 4 months drug induced hepatitis stops treatment altogether. The liver failure makes her very sick with severe flu like symptoms. I went to VN last week to help out. She is feeling better since stopping all the meds but the tb is still with her. She still has positive sputum results but her chest x-ray has shown some improvement. I spoke to the docs at Cho Ray and at PNT. The treatment will continue, they have isolated the drug causing the liver problems and hope to introduce it again at a later time.

So as it stands after two years of treatment we are still at square one. This is the new plan--after her next negative sputum result (hopefully in one or two months from now) Cho Ray will continue the injectable drugs 3x weekly for 6 months and continue the oral drugs for 12 months after that. If her monthly chest x-ray and sputum results show no new growth of the tb she may be eligible to get her visa in 18 to 24 months. If she has even one positive sputum result the 18-24 month clock starts over again. Best case scenario she gets her visa clearance in about 2 years.

As you can see it is a long and arduous process. Your loved one will need a tremendous amount of support and encouragement. And don't neglect yourself, if you need help get it. The strain on the family can be quite taxing. And there are no guarantees. Hope this helps.