• 🇬🇧󠁿 🇸🇪 🇿🇦 🇮🇪 🇬🇭 🇩🇪 🇪🇺
    European & African
    Drug Discussion

    Welcome Guest!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
  • EADD Moderators: Shambles

HIV , Heroin

xiferz

xiferz

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
30
Location
SW England
After searching around and not finding anything about this i decided to ask about peopels experience of the attitude of healthcare professionals to heroin users. Before the nhs started sticking needles in my arms every few weeks i would not have considered injecting myself. but here i am anyway with a compromised immune system and the only access to the only drug that get me by means a daily gamble. When i mentioned this to my GP i got the exact reply i expected. Are these people truly interested in helping others? I'll be visiting the HIV consultant in a week or so and want to talk to him about it but howto make these people understand i have no interest in methadone 'treatment' or in quitting H altogether.
 
Hi mate. Not really sure what you're getting at tbh. Are you saying you have HIV and are currently an IV heroin user? Which came first? What attitudes have you already received from the healthcare professionals? Do you want them to condone your use of heroin without insisting you go into methadone treatment? I think we need more info dude.

In my experience, the attitudes of regular GPs and hospital doctors & nurses to heroin users isn't very good - I get the impression they consider us to be a waste of time & vital resources (especially if you OD). Conversely, the staff at drug treatment centres couldn't be more different (well, I only have experience of my local centre, but I would expect most of them to be similarly sympathetic).

If you can try and define exactly what you want to know then perhaps one of us can be more help. :)
 
In my experience, healthcare professionals in the UK are generally quite accepting of heroin/needle users - but that doesn't make them helpful. I've never been judged for it but they don't seem to understand any of it at all and tend to make very general assumptions without trying to look into your particular case any further. For instance, I just got back from my therapist whom I've been keeping up to date with my use and she asked me if I'd been checked for STDs because I inject. I said it had been a couple months but I'm definitely clean seeing as I don't share needles and only use clean ones, but she didn't get it. Like to her IV user --> STDs :?
Sorry I could rant on about her for a while haha, but point is they're likely to try to force you into a path they think will help based on what they've learned in textbooks or whatever, without necessarily having any clue what treatment would best meet your needs.

So yeah...good luck with all that.
 
thanks for the replies. Hey - guess what - I'd composed my reply and lost it by pressing the wrong 'post/quote/advanced post/submit/quickpost' button and not being quick enough with the <ctrl>-c when I realised. so here goes again

F.U.B.A.R. said:
Hi mate. Not really sure what you're getting at tbh. Are you saying you have HIV and are currently an IV heroin user? Which came first? What attitudes have you already received from the healthcare professionals? Do you want them to condone your use of heroin without insisting you go into methadone treatment? I think we need more info dude.

In my experience, the attitudes of regular GPs and hospital doctors & nurses to heroin users isn't very good - I get the impression they consider us to be a waste of time & vital resources (especially if you OD). Conversely, the staff at drug treatment centres couldn't be more different (well, I only have experience of my local centre, but I would expect most of them to be similarly sympathetic).

If you can try and define exactly what you want to know then perhaps one of us can be more help. :)
Click to expand...

HIV first - they got me used to needles - removed my old healthy aversion, i figured i may as well put some in there instead of them taking it out. I sort of do want them to condone my use and not insist on methadone. But they all have the same attititude that drugs are bad and the only option is a methadone treatment program. Individually they vary from the nurse who is repelled and cant get rid of me quickly enough - hates me for making her job difficult - finding a vein is not so easy to the genuinely friendly nurse that runs the clinic.

Pagey said:
In my experience, healthcare professionals in the UK are generally quite accepting of heroin/needle users - but that doesn't make them helpful. I've never been judged for it but they don't seem to understand any of it at all and tend to make very general assumptions without trying to look into your particular case any further. For instance, I just got back from my therapist whom I've been keeping up to date with my use and she asked me if I'd been checked for STDs because I inject. I said it had been a couple months but I'm definitely clean seeing as I don't share needles and only use clean ones, but she didn't get it. Like to her IV user --> STDs :?
Sorry I could rant on about her for a while haha, but point is they're likely to try to force you into a path they think will help based on what they've learned in textbooks or whatever, without necessarily having any clue what treatment would best meet your needs.

So yeah...good luck with all that.
Click to expand...

bang on - you have no idea how i resent that part of every single consulation i've had for over ten years. They sit there and ask about my recent sex life and equipment usage - clearly saying to me that I must be managed to prevent the infection spreading. They do not seem to realise how insulting that is. Do i want counseling with some recent graduate 20 years my junior? Sure that's going to solve life's issues for me.

There are some 500 people in the UK on maintenance diacetylmorphine prescriptions. How do i make my HIV consultant aware that my case should be referred to a clinic with a Dr licenced to prescribe. I'm not asking for free drugs - I would pay the costs. And if I did get a referral there is the barrier of having to have failed to respond to every variation of reduction thereapy they can think of. Thay all revolve around methadone - i know a lot of people on methadone - seems like the state likes to control people - I won't harp on about that, enough to say that it wouldn't give me what H does. I will continue to use H because I choose to, I would like help to remove the daily gamble that is using street gear with a compromised immune system - that is the health issue. I pay taxes to fund a healthcare system which should put my physical health problems first instead it attempts to change my world view, promotes the idea that drugs are bad and should not be taken.
 
what stage hiv are you?


id be careful about getting yourself a smackhabit if your immune system is on the wane. im sure you know all this but you also have an obligation to NOT share any item of equipment whatsoever, cups and water included - to always recap and blackbox used needles and really to avoid any contact with others at all when fucking about with teh sharp things


decent doctors are a dying breed, you could try shopping around - maybe one in ten is worth a toss these days. most view heroin users as self afflicted scum anyway.. add top down pressure to refrain from prescribing all the good stuff and you have a recipe for not giving a fuck. they dont even like prescribing morphine to cancer patients anymore, what chance have you got?


of course you always have your wildcard... but im not ready to be banned again just yet, so i'll just say this - <lul no i won't>
 
Last edited:
BlindHelperMonkey said:
what stage hiv are you?


id be careful about getting yourself a smackhabit if your immune system is on the wane. im sure you know all this but you also have an obligation to NOT share any item of equipment whatsoever, cups and water included - to always recap and blackbox used needles and really to avoid any contact with others at all when fucking about with teh sharp things


decent doctors are a dying breed, you could try shopping around - maybe one in ten is worth a toss these days. most view heroin users as self afflicted scum anyway.. add top down pressure to refrain from prescribing all the good stuff and you have a recipe for not giving a fuck. they dont even like prescribing morphine to cancer patients anymore, what chance have you got?



of course you always have your wildcard... but im not ready to be banned again just yet, so i'll just say this - <lul no i won't>
Click to expand...

Isn't trolling considered bad form here? You probably should get banned again right now. Or maybe you just are dense and insensitive and missed where i said ''i resent that part of every single consulation i've had for over ten years. They sit there and ask about my recent sex life and equipment usage'' . FYI i am under no obligations, i simply have a conscience. To answer your initial question am at the stage where the meds work and the virus is at so-called undetectable levels but my immune system took a hit. In fact I could probably fuck you and you wouldn't get HIV as the viral load is low. I reckon i'm be a potential candiate for that grail but i feel you are probably right that i have no chance.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I also think you have no chance, at least with the NHS. You need to find a sympathetic private doctor, but that costs loadsamoney so may not be an option. There's a guy on here that goes private - I think it's Blondin (correct me if I'm wrong somebody). It might be worth checking out some of his posts?
 
xiferz said:
Isn't trolling considered bad form here? You probably should get banned again right now. Or maybe you just are dense and insensitive and missed where i said ''i resent that part of every single consulation i've had for over ten years. They sit there and ask about my recent sex life and equipment usage'' . FYI i am under no obligations, i simply have a conscience. To answer your initial question am at the stage where the meds work and the virus is at so-called undetectable levels but my immune system took a hit. In fact I could probably fuck you and you wouldn't get HIV as the viral load is low. I reckon i'm be a potential candiate for that grail but i feel you are probably right that i have no chance.
Click to expand...


trolling :?
 
xiferz said:
There are some 500 people in the UK on maintenance diacetylmorphine prescriptions. How do i make my HIV consultant aware that my case should be referred to a clinic with a Dr licenced to prescribe. I'm not asking for free drugs - I would pay the costs. And if I did get a referral there is the barrier of having to have failed to respond to every variation of reduction thereapy they can think of. Thay all revolve around methadone - i know a lot of people on methadone - seems like the state likes to control people - I won't harp on about that, enough to say that it wouldn't give me what H does. I will continue to use H because I choose to, I would like help to remove the daily gamble that is using street gear with a compromised immune system - that is the health issue. I pay taxes to fund a healthcare system which should put my physical health problems first instead it attempts to change my world view, promotes the idea that drugs are bad and should not be taken.
Click to expand...


Yeah so i've had a very long habit 20 years which has created all sorts of problems for me .
Of course i feel some sympathy for you but what makes you a better candidate for DM Script than me or the other 300,000 addicts out there ?

Also i know where you can get a iv Morphine script of about 1/2 g a day private pm me if you want details . it's not in the SW though .
I live in the SW . In fact about 10 miles from you .
 
Last edited:
BlindHelperMonkey said:
you dont think you have an obligation to keep others from unknowingly being infected through drug usage.. and youre calling me insensitive? ..<lul redacted>
Click to expand...

Ok, i will assume you originally missed the part where I pointed out that I resented being asked the same questions about works and sexual partners and you were not trolling as you appear to be quite wound up by my reply. will say that I don't have any moral obligation to anyone but I guess in a sense that is what it is when I feel it would be distasteful to me to pass on the virus.
 
brimz said:
Yeah so i've had a very long habit 20 years which has created all sorts of problems for me .
Of course i feel some sympathy for you but what makes you a better candidate for DM Script than me or the other 300,000 addicts out there ?
Click to expand...

Just that those with HIV or otherwise compromised immune systems have less defence against infection than most.
 
To have any chance of a NHS DM script you have to fill this criteria so you don't have a chance HIV or not

Guidelines

The National Treatment Agency recommends that injectable maintenance prescribing should only be undertaken in line with eight principles, summarised below (National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, 2003):

Treatment should involve a combination of drug and psychosocial treatments to form an integrated care package.

Substitute prescribing alone does not constitute drug treatment.

Patients who do not respond to oral maintenance drug treatment (typically methadone or buprenorphine) should be offered other treatment including high-dose methadone (60-120 mg/day) and then injectable methadone or injectable heroin maintenance treatment.

Injectable maintenance options should be offered by services that can also provide optimised oral methadone maintenance treatment, supervised consumption and psychosocial interventions.

Injectable and oral substitute prescribing must be supported by mechanisms for supervised consumption. Injectable drugs may present more risk of overdose than oral preparations and have a greater value on illicit markets and hence may require greater levels of supervision.

Injectable maintenance treatment is likely to be a long-term, expensive treatment with potential effects on other aspects of a service.

Specialist levels of clinical competence are required to prescribe injectable substitute drugs.

The skills of the clinician should be matched with good local systems of clinical governance, supervised consumption and access to a range of other forms of drug treatment.

Link

So you best get on a methadone script to stand any chance .
 
xiferz said:
Just that those with HIV or otherwise compromised immune systems have less defence against infection than most.
Click to expand...

Did you get infected when you were in Gaborone by any chance ?

AIDS [edit]
AIDS is a very serious problem in Gaborone. 17,773 Gaborone citizens, 17.1% of the total population of Gaborone, have tested positive for HIV. There is a higher prevalence of HIV among women; 20.5% of women have tested positive compared to 13.6% of men. The population between 45–49 years of age are most likely to have AIDS with 35.4% of the residents in that age group testing positive.[46]
HIV/AIDS education is somewhat limited in Gaborone. 14.5% of Gaborone residents between 10–64 who have heard of HIV/AIDS believe that HIV can be spread through witchcraft, and 31.3% of the residents believe HIV can be spread through mosquito bites.[46]
 
brimz said:
To have any chance of a NHS DM script you have to fill this criteria so you don't have a chance HIV or not

So you best get on a methadone script to stand any chance .
Click to expand...

That was my interpretation when I first read those guidelines too. Maybe someone out there can see past this statement :

'Patients who do not respond to oral maintenance drug treatment (typically m' - I mean that could be me - I won't be responding to any oral methadone treatment. -

And the guidelines do not consider external factors.

my appt is 19th June - so I'm still thinking how can I get my consultant onside. I could simply agree that it is not going to happen but why should I?
Some of these medical people must approach things with an open mind, sometimes, surely?
 
Thanks for the link - not been there before. Gaborone - yes. Must admit to a paranoid moment wondering how you got that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top