Life as we know it

A blink of an eye, one and a half months past 2017 have gone by.

I initially have nothing to write, but of late, something disturbing has cropped up in the minds of Malaysian pozzies.

Word has it that the Malaysian Government has cut budget into healthcare and education spends, which leaves us a very disturbing question - medication. While we are all concerned about education budget cuts, that is the least of our worries. We are more concerned about healthcare cuts.

The minister has been boasting about how the Government takes care of its citizens by providing healthcare services at RM1 in government hospitals and that essentially makes us having the cheapest public healthcare. We don't deny this.

But.

But. Do you know that due to the budget cut, the supply of medications have also been affected? Take for example. Combivir.

I hope I am not wrong in saying the supply of Combivir in government facilities have been wiped out. There are now absolutely zero stock of Combivir. If you want it and you need it, you can get it from privates and pharmacies which means you have to pay for it. I don't know how much it cost outside.

Those who are on Combivir are moved to Tenofovir by involuntarily switch, albeit on a weekly supply.

Involuntarily switch means switching to another med involuntarily, and that means you get to continue getting the medication for free.

Voluntarily switch means you ask to switch, and that means you have to pay for it, even from government hospitals. I asked once about switching to Tenofovir as it is known to be better than Combivir.

However, do you know, if you are on Combivir and switched to Tenofovir, you cannot switch back to Combivir anymore in the future, for whatever reasons (eg Tenofovir out of supply)? Then won't you need to move on to the third type of medication, and so on and so forth?

Sure - there are plenty other medications in the same class of NRTIs, but remember this, the Malaysian Government DOES NOT carry ALL medications.

I have friends who can't accept Efavirenz and have to switch. In Malaysia, we were all started on Combivir+Efavirenz, and of late only the choice of Tenofovir+Efavirenz came into the option. The more you switch the lesser choices of medication you will have in the future, and that is very worrying.

If you have begun your medication with Tenofovir, then that is your first line and you have nothing to worry about, even though I suspect the supply of Tenofovir is also affected (else why would they dispense weekly supply?!)

I myself have a stock of about a month of medication to last me through middle March. As with anyone on medication, you know better to keep stock, just in case of emergencies.

I have had emergencies of running out of medication and have to borrow from friends. That's when I decided I cannot risk it and decided to start stocking up. Trust me, you will want to do it also.

I for one, believed that healthcare should not be affected by budget cuts. We're paying shitloads in our income taxes and GST, where did all those billions go?