Connect with a Support Group

A great support group for HIV positive patients (Wasting Syndrome falls under HIV) that is available online is called HealthUnlocked, this is the link to it- https://healthunlocked.com/hivpartners.

 This website gives HIV patients the opportunity to ask questions, look for advice, connect with other HIV patients, and with the organization’s help find a local support group within their own community. This organization is also connected with HIV i-Base, Positively UK and Forum Link.  

HealthUnlocked is in a blog format where anyone can post questions, concerns, and answers to other questions. I find this a great way to start for patients diagnosed with HIV and any following syndromes or opportunistic infections due to HIV. First of all, it is available to everyone and it is really easy to find (online), secondly this organization doesn’t leave patients with only blog posts and answered questions, but they help those patients to connect within their own community.

Another support group that is available http://hiv.supportgroups.com/ (Link), simply connect patients with HIV where they just talk about daily life things, and talk to each other via blog posts.

Another great support group is called experience project. Here is the link to it http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/Am-HIV-Positive/19015. It also has posts, but another great thing about it is there are groups which you can join based on your need, for example some of the groups are “I want to start a new life”, “I feel like I don’t belong in my family”, “I am more of a suffer in silence type”, and many more. There is also the opportunity to connect with people you find similar to you or would like to talk personally.

There are many support groups online, majority of them are similar in that you get to connect with other patients and just talk to them. Also get your questions answered, and keep on living knowing that someone is going through the same thing as you are and they understand you and are there to help you.

 

 

 

 

 

Recovery Record Clinician (for Eating Disorder Treatment Professionals)/ Recovery Self Record App

Recovery Record Clinician (for Eating Disorder Treatment Professionals)/ Recovery Self Record App

 

Recovery Record Clinician (for Eating Disorder Treatment Professionals)/ Self Record App is one of many apps I would recommend to patients with Wasting Syndrome. First of all patients are able to watch their diet by recording what they eat and how they feel about it on Recovery Self Record. On top of that, their physician or nutritionist is able to connect with them by using their Recovery record Clinician app, thus connecting with their patients and monitoring their health. Using this app, the physicians/nutritionist are able to write out meal plans for patients to follow, reminders, clinical goals, and view graphs that interpret data. Patients at the same time record their data, read recommendations from their physician, view their improvements and things they need to work on. Patients and their physician/nutritionist are able to communicate through this app and keep a close record of their diet.
This app would be very useful for nurses as well, since they would most often evaluate the patient's records and report for abnormalities.

 

Website Recommendation

Most appropriate care for Wasting Syndrome patients would be a nutritionist and a physician, since wasting is a problem that directly relates to nutrition. Only in severe cases the patients would need the care of a nurse, where they would be required to stay in special facilities because they no longer are able to take care of themselves. In such cases most often they would be fed through a tube and wouldn’t be able to accomplish daily life activities.

For a nurse that is taking care of a patient with Wasting Syndrome, the knowledge of the disease would be essential. A website I would recommend to nurses who are taking care of patients with Wasting Syndrome, although not most recent (2003), but includes all the main points that are needed to have a good idea about it. Link to this website is- http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=kb-04-01-08.

This website includes the basics, pathophysiology, evaluation of wasting, interventions of wasting, pharmacological treatment, and exercise. All of these points are broken down and explained in detail. The information is trustworthy, gotten from University of California, written by Kathleen Mulligan (PhD), Morris Schambelan (MD).

Nurses can rely on the details of treatments and medications and reasons for giving the medications. The article is a summary of a study that brings out the importance of different treatment methods, and possible side effects.

It is a great website to get an overview of the entire process of wasting and steps that can be taken to prevent or improve the condition.

 

 

 

Nutrition for Wasting Syndrome of HIV Patients

For a patient diagnosed with HIV wasting syndrome it is very difficult to maintain advised nutritional intake. First of all because of repetitive nausea and diarrhea one may feel better not to eat at all than suffer such outcomes, also many medications and treatments are really strict about the times and portions a patient may eat. Some drugs may react with the food causing undesirable side effects, thus the patients must be educated about exact times they may eat and certain types of foods to avoid.

According to New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute the advised (2004) “proportion of macronutrients should approximate 50% to 55% carbohydrates, 15% to 20% protein, and 30% fat.” If comparing to a non-HIV patient recommended American diet the protein proportion is higher because of the lean body mass loss the patients with HIV Wasting Syndrome suffer from.  

Also “clinicians should recommend the use of “once daily” multivitamin supplements containing selenium (20-40 mcg) for all HIV-infected patients experiencing weight loss” (New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute the advised, 2004).

Patients diagnosed with wasting syndrome of HIV should eat multiple small portions throughout the day. Due to vomiting and diarrhea associated to wasting syndrome, patients are recommended to maintain high caloric diet with more protein than a healthy person would need. Reasons to that are because of diarrhea and vomiting the body isn’t able to absorb the amount of nutrients needed resulting in malnutrition. The consequences are also one will not absorb enough vitamins needed to keep the body in good working condition.

In summary, patients with Wasting Syndrome of HIV should maintain their high caloric intake by eating small meals throughout the day. They should eat more protein then healthy people are recommended, and take multivitamins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute. (2004). General Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Wasting Syndrome. HIV Clinical Resource. Retrieved from http://www.hivguidelines.org/clinical-guidelines/adults/general-nutrition-weight-loss-and-wasting-syndrome/