- What You Need to Know About HIV
- HIV Treatment
- Handling the Side Effects of HIV Meds
- Talking about HIV
- HIV Meds and Heart Health
- HIV Meds and Heartburn
- HIV Meds and Lipids
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor
- Tips to Work With Your Healthcare Team
What You Need to Know About HIV
[ If You Just Found Out You’re HIV+ ] [ Getting the Support You Need ] [ Talking With Your Doctor ]
[ Your Positive Health ] [ Sources ]
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If You Just Found Out You’re HIV+
You may be overwhelmed. You may be doing okay. You may be scared. Or you may not know how you feel. But the fact that you are reading this information means that you are already making healthy choices about how to deal with having HIV. This Web site has additional information about HIV, HIV symptoms , HIV treatments, treatment goals and guidelines, and links to other resources that can help you understand more about living with this disease. To learn more about specific topics, simply click on the underlined words that appear throughout this section.
Talking with trusted friends and family can help you build the support you need to live more powerfully with HIV—from managing your HIV treatment, to dealing with any HIV symptoms you may have, to any other issue that impacts your health and well-being. You may also decide to use the support services available at a local AIDS Service Organization, community program or counseling center. (For a referral to support services, please contact the National AIDS Hotline at 1-800-342-2437.) Don’t feel that you have to tell everyone right away—you may want to talk with your healthcare provider, a case manager or another trusted support person before telling others about your HIV status.* Take the time you need to think about what living with HIV means for you.
*You should know that it is important to tell your sexual partner or partners so you, and they, can make healthy decisions about safer sex. You should also know that many states in the US have passed laws making it a crime that carries both a fine and prison sentence if you don’t tell a sexual partner(s) you are HIV-positive.
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There is no cure for HIV infection or AIDS. But there are HIV treatments and treatments for AIDS-related illnesses that can help keep y our immune system working and slow the disease. If you don’t already have a doctor who knows how about current HIV treatments and treatment goals, finding one is an important step. Talking with your doctor about your HIV symptoms, treatment side effects and HIV treatment options is one way to take control of living with HIV.
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“I don’t live with HIV. HIV lives with me. I am the one who’s in control. I am the one who is doing the living.”
You are in control of your healthcare and there are things you can do to take care of yourself and manage your treatment. HIV may not be the only health concern you have. Taking care of your overall health is an important part of dealing with HIV and managing symptoms you may experience. You can take some basic steps to stay in control.
- Keep learning about HIV and your treatment and healthcare options
- Pay attention to how you are feeling and to your immune system by understanding your lab tests and keeping track of any HIV/AIDS symptoms you may have
- Get regular medical and dental checkups
- Be an active participant in your healthcare decisions— talk with your doctor about your HIV treatment and any side effects or symptoms you have
- Living with HIV now means living long enough to worry about other health issues. Talk with your doctor about your overall health and any concerns you may have (like cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, ongoing stomach problems like heartburn and acid reflux requiring treatment, etc.)
- If you are a woman living with HIV, ask your doctor about symptoms, side effects, HIV-related illnesses, your reproductive health and other health issues (like cholesterol and heart disease) that affect women differently
- Talk with your doctor about all of the medicines you are taking—including over-the-counter medicines. Drug-drug interactions can have serious consequences on your HIV treatment. For example, some heartburn medicines can lower levels of certain HIV meds in your blood and weaken their ability to control HIV, possibly leading to HIV treatment resistance
- Try to avoid smoking and drug and alcohol use—all of which can make taking control of HIV more difficult
- Practice safer sex to protect your health and the health of others. Safer sex reduces your risk of getting other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that can seriously affect your own health and make it harder to fight HIV. Tell your doctor about recurring symptoms of other STDs since these symptoms may be an indication that your immune system is struggling
- Take care of yourself—choose healthy foods, exercise regularly, rest and get the support you need to manage your longterm positive health, including your HIV treatment
Remember, you are the one who is in control of HIV. You are the one who is doing the living. Because you will not give in.
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The information provided here is based on information found at the following Web sites:
AEGIS: AIDS Education Global Information System
AIDS InfoNet
Project Inform
The Body
For additional information about HIV symptoms and treatment, please visit the resources section of this Web site.
This information does not include everything you may need to know about HIV and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider.
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