Do you know anyone who got AIDS and died in Thailand?

[soistalker]

I know very few people in Thailand despite having spent significant periods of time here since 2000.

That being said, I knew two guys who died of AIDS in Pattaya. One guy was an Isreali who used to rent motorbikes near Soi Bukkao. Another was a Frenchman who rented apartments in Jomtien. 

Anyone have stories?

[Puchaiyank]

Do you find yourself watching those movies that glorify diseases that create zombies that bleed from their eyes and mouth...stumble around making weird noises?

 

Morbid!  Really!

[Kenny202]

I know someone who contracted it. Its much more prevalent than what you realise here, paricularly in the villages. Really though there is no reason to die from it anymore. The meds they have now practically reduce symptoms to zero and a normal life can be led. Thais get free meds, although often they dont adhere to them. They feel good right? Theyre not sick. Costs a farang I beleive around 10k thb a month for meds

[soalbundy]

I knew a couple of bar girls who went home to their villages (CM) to die.

[Denim]

5 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I knew a couple of bar girls who went home to their villages (CM) to die.

 

Yes, when I lived in a village in Khon Kaen a very long time ago there was a house occupied by 4 lady boys financed by a wealthy Swiss bloke. Three of them eventually died ( so I was told by several people ) the other one moved away so don't know what happened to him. I did have a few chats with them when passing their party house and they were pretty friendly to everyone. Not much was known about AIDS back then so I guess they took no preventative measures.

[soalbundy]

1 minute ago, Kenny202 said:

I know someone who contracted it. Its much more prevalent than what you realise here, paricularly in the villages. Really though there is no reason to die from it anymore. The meds they have now practically reduce symptoms to zero and a normal life can be led. Thais get free meds, although often they dont adhere to them. They feel good right? Theyre not sick. Costs a farang I beleive around 10k thb a month for meds

That's true, in my village I have a woman friend in her 60's who got HIV from her husband who has since died of AIDs, she has been taking medication for years, strong as an ox, despite her slim figure she can lift 60 kilo sacks of rice faster than I can, she told me that at her last test the 'charge' in her blood is negligible. 

[soistalker]

27 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Do you find yourself watching those movies that glorify diseases that create zombies that bleed from their eyes and mouth...stumble around making weird noises?

 

Morbid!  Really!

I think it important to periodically remind people of the real dangers of pay-to-play in Thailand. 

And the fact that I have no friends in Thailand says more about the expats than it does about me.  

[geoffbezoz]

29 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Do you find yourself watching those movies that glorify diseases that create zombies that bleed from their eyes and mouth...stumble around making weird noises?

 

Morbid!  Really!

You mean the Junta ?????

[rak sa_ngop]

I think many Thais are in denial or afraid to get tested and start the medication. It is this 'stupidity' (for want of a better word) that will kill them. I have heard of a number of Thais dying of Aids, they seem to accept it as their fate.

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, soalbundy said:

I knew a couple of bar girls who went home to their villages (CM) to die.

 I'm aware of a gay expat from OZ, got the HIV virus during his long stay working here. insisted on unprotected sex. Gave the HIV virus to his new naive totally inexperienced to his new very young lover, not a barboy, the young boy was a shop assistant in Central Silom, farang said I'll buy the toaster and more if you come home with me.  The young boy progressed to full blown aids quickly and the farang threw him out.  The boys work friends rented a small old pick up truck to take him home to Chiang Rai from Bkk (old pick up was the cheapest vehicle they could rent). Their work supervisor gave them money for gasoline. Boy died on the dirt floor of family house outside CR city within a few days.

 

Farang then progressed to full blown aids and continued to pick up boys on street corners etc. Bought a ticket to go home to OZ, evening before the flight he took another young street boy to his room, next morning sold everything in his room to other tenants then went to the airport with enough cash for the taxi fare, all he had in the world. He gave the proceeds of the clean-out sale to the street boy. Farang arrived in Brisbane, ambulance ordered by the airline waiting, dead within a few days. 

[Antonymous]

34 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 I'm aware of a gay expat from OZ, got the HIV virus during his long stay working here. insisted on unprotected sex. Gave the HIV virus to his new naive totally inexperienced to his new very young lover, not a barboy, the young boy was a shop assistant in Central Silom, farang said I'll buy the toaster and more if you come home with me.  The young boy progressed to full blown aids quickly and the farang threw him out.  The boys work friends rented a small old pick up truck to take him home to Chiang Rai from Bkk (old pick up was the cheapest vehicle they could rent). Their work supervisor gave them money for gasoline. Boy died on the dirt floor of family house outside CR city within a few days.

 

Farang then progressed to full blown aids and continued to pick up boys on street corners etc. Bought a ticket to go home to OZ, evening before the flight he took another young street boy to his room, next morning sold everything in his room to other tenants then went to the airport with enough cash for the taxi fare, all he had in the world. He gave the proceeds of the clean-out sale to the street boy. Farang arrived in Brisbane, ambulance ordered by the airline waiting, dead within a few days. 

I always like a story with a happy ending.

[Krataiboy]

5 hours ago, Kenny202 said:

I know someone who contracted it. Its much more prevalent than what you realise here, paricularly in the villages. Really though there is no reason to die from it anymore. The meds they have now practically reduce symptoms to zero and a normal life can be led. Thais get free meds, although often they dont adhere to them. They feel good right? Theyre not sick. Costs a farang I beleive around 10k thb a month for meds

Will the insurance policies all we retirees are now supposed to invest in cover these meds?

[atyclb]

5 hours ago, Denim said:

 

Yes, when I lived in a village in Khon Kaen a very long time ago there was a house occupied by 4 lady boys financed by a wealthy Swiss bloke. Three of them eventually died ( so I was told by several people ) the other one moved away so don't know what happened to him. I did have a few chats with them when passing their party house and they were pretty friendly to everyone. Not much was known about AIDS back then so I guess they took no preventative measures.

 

sad they left their buddies behind

[atyclb]

1 hour ago, rak sa_ngop said:

I think many Thais are in denial or afraid to get tested and start the medication. It is this 'stupidity' (for want of a better word) that will kill them. I have heard of a number of Thais dying of Aids, they seem to accept it as their fate.

 

kind a like "no seatbelts" mentality

[BritManToo]

6 hours ago, soistalker said:

Anyone have stories?

My best pal was medically evacuated back to the UK with pneumonia last year.

Immediately diagnosed with AIDs in the UK, since then in and out of hospital with every disease it's possible to catch.

He's been in a UK hospital for the last 4 months with Septicaemia and Bone cancer.

Under 60 years old, it could have been me, we used to wander all over SEA together in search of 'adventure'.

 

Almost certainly caught from a bar/gogo/massage lady in Loi Kroh area of Chiang Mai.

 

[sanemax]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My best pal was medically evacuated back to the UK with pneumonia last year.

Immediately diagnosed with AIDs in the UK, since then in and out of hospital with every disease it's possible to catch.

He's been in a UK hospital for the last 4 months with Septicaemia and Bone cancer.

Under 60 years old, it could have been me, we used to wander all over SEA together in search of 'adventure'.

 

Almost certainly caught from a bar/gogo/massage lady in Loi Kroh area of Chiang Mai.

 

I did used to know some girls , well not personally know them , just friends of friends who came down from the villages for HIV treatment in CM hospitals .

  Pretty young ladies who came to CM for treatment , see them going to hospital in the daytime.........................and then see them working in LK bars at night , to fund their treatment .

   I would see them getting cosy with felangs and I contemplated giving them a quiet warning , but , I could hardly follow her around all night and warning everyone .

  So, not my business to say anything 

[kokopelli]

Yes, I know people who contracted AIDS and died in Thailand.

[dotpoom]

6 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

Do you find yourself watching those movies that glorify diseases that create zombies that bleed from their eyes and mouth...stumble around making weird noises?

 

Morbid!  Really!

Couldn't have put it better myself.

   What a topic for an OP...?

[SoNowWhat]

It might be helpful if people are going to post these wild stories to include the year that it 'supposedly' happened. For all of these stories to be true they would have had to have happened about 20 years ago. Even then the likelihood of of you personally knowing about someone's HIV status is negligible and frankly unbelievable. People rarely if ever disclose their status to anyone, especially in the past. They do not tell their own family members so I find it highly unlikely that they would tell some bar buddy that they were HIV-positive. The rest is just a lot of hearsay, myth, and urban legend. The only reason for people dying of AIDS (which is not the same as having HIV) is it they do not take their medications. Thai people get them for free so the only reason that usually arises for them not to take their medication is some kind of mental illness, substance abuse, or a combination of both. Now with proper medication people lead completely normal full lives and are unable to transmit HIV to their partners. Read up on U=U and modern HIV medications to find out what is really going on instead of living with the stigma of the past.

[SoNowWhat]

32 minutes ago, sanemax said:

I did used to know some girls , well not personally know them , just friends of friends who came down from the villages for HIV treatment in CM hospitals .

  Pretty young ladies who came to CM for treatment , see them going to hospital in the daytime.........................and then see them working in LK bars at night , to fund their treatment .

Funny that? Treatment for HIV is a once every six months doctors appointment and routine blood work, done in the ID DEPARTMENT...so how would you have seen them? How could you possibly have known what treatment they were recieving? And as treatment is free for locals why would they be working to pay for it?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

9 minutes ago, SoNowWhat said:

It might be helpful if people are going to post these wild stories to include the year that it 'supposedly' happened. For all of these stories to be true they would have had to have happened about 20 years ago. Even then the likelihood of of you personally knowing about someone's HIV status is negligible and frankly unbelievable. People rarely if ever disclose their status to anyone, especially in the past. They do not tell their own family members so I find it highly unlikely that they would tell some bar buddy that they were HIV-positive. The rest is just a lot of hearsay, myth, and urban legend. The only reason for people dying of AIDS (which is not the same as having HIV) is it they do not take their medications. Thai people get them for free so the only reason that usually arises for them not to take their medication is some kind of mental illness, substance abuse, or a combination of both. Now with proper medication people lead completely normal full lives and are unable to transmit HIV to their partners. Read up on U=U and modern HIV medications to find out what is really going on instead of living with the stigma of the past.

Well said; while there is still no excuse to be careless, HIV is not the death sentence it once was. However, there are other sexually-contracted viruses which, while not life-threatening, are certainly transmittable and unpleasant.

[SoNowWhat]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 The young boy progressed to full blown aids quickly and the farang threw him out.  The boys work friends rented a small old pick up truck to take him home to Chiang Rai from Bkk (old pick up was the cheapest vehicle they could rent). Their work supervisor gave them money for gasoline. Boy died on the dirt floor of family house outside CR city within a few days.

To progress to 'full blown AIDS' (a very 90's term) takes years...so this doesn't fit your timeline. How did you know he died on a dirt floor in Chiang Rai? You kept in touch with the Thai family of someone you didn't know? And they spoke English well enough to relate the news of their son's death...and thought that it might be best to tell this stranger exactly what happened and not a more dignified answer of 'he passed on.'? Hmmmm...

[Tony125]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

I did used to know some girls , well not personally know them , just friends of friends who came down from the villages for HIV treatment in CM hospitals .

  Pretty young ladies who came to CM for treatment , see them going to hospital in the daytime.........................and then see them working in LK bars at night , to fund their treatment .

   I would see them getting cosy with felangs and I contemplated giving them a quiet warning , but , I could hardly follow her around all night and warning everyone .

  So, not my business to say anything 

Normally if the girl is on meds her infection count could be so low that she would not be at much of a risk to transmit the disease as noted in some of the posts before mine. Also to  BritManToo , your friend back in UK is suffering from full blown AIDS. If he had HIV and took the meds it would never have progressed to full-blown AIDS which there is no cure for.

[Swimfan]

12 minutes ago, SoNowWhat said:

To progress to 'full blown AIDS' (a very 90's term) takes years...so this doesn't fit your timeline. How did you know he died on a dirt floor in Chiang Rai? You kept in touch with the Thai family of someone you didn't know? And they spoke English well enough to relate the news of their son's death...and thought that it might be best to tell this stranger exactly what happened and not a more dignified answer of 'he passed on.'? Hmmmm...

Couldn't have said it better. 

[SoNowWhat]

3 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

AIDS which there is no cure for.

Actually luckily now with proper treatment and along with prophylactic drugs most people will be able to recover. Over time depending on certain factors they will also be able to reconstitute their immune systems to healthy levels. This stresses the absolute importance of regular HIV testing for all sexually active people. With early detection and treatment HIV is now a totally manageable health condition.

[erymax]

31 minutes ago, SoNowWhat said:

It might be helpful if people are going to post these wild stories to include the year that it 'supposedly' happened. For all of these stories to be true they would have had to have happened about 20 years ago. Even then the likelihood of of you personally knowing about someone's HIV status is negligible and frankly unbelievable. People rarely if ever disclose their status to anyone, especially in the past. They do not tell their own family members so I find it highly unlikely that they would tell some bar buddy that they were HIV-positive. The rest is just a lot of hearsay, myth, and urban legend. The only reason for people dying of AIDS (which is not the same as having HIV) is it they do not take their medications. Thai people get them for free so the only reason that usually arises for them not to take their medication is some kind of mental illness, substance abuse, or a combination of both. Now with proper medication people lead completely normal full lives and are unable to transmit HIV to their partners. Read up on U=U and modern HIV medications to find out what is really going on instead of living with the stigma of the past.

I wonder if you are a medic involved in HIV/AIDS medicine. I am someone who worked 15 years as Associate Specialist in the field of HIV/AIDS and STD's in UK. To your comment, people with HIV virus can die despite of medication fairly quickly if they have oportunistic infections such as Tuberculosis, Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Hepatitis C. These infection affect further the immune system. People have also mutiple drug resistences due to non complience to medication. Pneumonia can kill within few days. This is happening even today despite of the wide range of treatment for HIV. 

[scubascuba3]

My best pal was medically evacuated back to the UK with pneumonia last year.

Immediately diagnosed with AIDs in the UK, since then in and out of hospital with every disease it's possible to catch.

He's been in a UK hospital for the last 4 months with Septicaemia and Bone cancer.

Under 60 years old, it could have been me, we used to wander all over SEA together in search of 'adventure'.

 

Almost certainly caught from a bar/gogo/massage lady in Loi Kroh area of Chiang Mai.

 

One of the biggest problems is guys like this don't get tested, think how many girls he infected

 

[Kenny202]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

I did used to know some girls , well not personally know them , just friends of friends who came down from the villages for HIV treatment in CM hospitals .

  Pretty young ladies who came to CM for treatment , see them going to hospital in the daytime.........................and then see them working in LK bars at night , to fund their treatment .

   I would see them getting cosy with felangs and I contemplated giving them a quiet warning , but , I could hardly follow her around all night and warning everyone .

  So, not my business to say anything 

They dont need to fund their treatment. Its 100% free. But it shows you what type of people they are. I lived with a doctor in a small village Udon Thani. Had 23 known cases and that was only women who were pregnant and had mandatory blood test at 3 months. The real number would have been far worse. Of those 23 there were 3 women playing around with married guys. 

[SoNowWhat]

20 minutes ago, erymax said:

can die despite of medication fairly quickly if they have oportunistic infections such as Tuberculosis, Pneumocystis Pneumonia, Hepatitis C. 

These infections without treatment can kill anyone regardless of their HIV status. With proper treatment any comorbidities can be readily managed and as a professional you would know this. 

[erymax]

2 minutes ago, SoNowWhat said:

These infections without treatment can kill anyone regardless of their HIV status. With proper treatment any comorbidities can be readily managed and as a professional you would know this. 

Pneumocystis Pneumonia is a specific infection 99% affecting HIV/AIDS infected people with low CD+ count. MDR TB has mostly fatal outcome. I have doubt you have medical background.