Hi. My name is ... from Montreal/Quebec. My friend is in hospital since 3 weeks. He never was sick and didn't know he was Hiv+. We just find out. He's been in a coma 10 days and now is in half a coma. His t-cells are at 11 and he has toxoplasmosis in the brain + cmw (they don't know where). The doctors are giving septra+azt+3tc+a drug with the name acid in it and other stuff...He had around 15 minor brain lesions. It's very hard to talk to the doctors here. In a case like this have you ever seen a patient get better? I'm not asking a wish of hope here. Just the reality. I know he's very sick...we have to wait...but what do you think? Sorry my English because i'm french. It's wonderful to see a doctor taking time to be human and talk to people. Felitation vous faites un travail merveilleux.

For toxoplasmosis, the usual medicines are pyrimethamine + sulfa, and for CMV, ganciclovir or foscarnet are typically used. If your friend is being treated appropriately for toxo, then the Septra isn't needed (it's used to prevent another complication called PCP, but the toxo medicine will also provide protection against this kind of pneumonia). It sounds like he is getting combination medicine for his HIV -- that's the AZT, 3TC and a third drug that should be a protease inhibitor. Fortunate patients can recover from toxoplasmosis, and the fact that his coma is lighter is a hopeful sign, although the fact that he was in a coma means that he has very severe toxo. And your English is pretty good -- it's no doubt better than my French! Merci beaucoup pour vos compliments, and I wish you and your friend the best of luck in this tough situation!