My son was just diagnosed HIV-Pos. one week ago. He lives in W.LA very near Santa Monica. He works full time and is in grad school at night. Besides the shock, fear, sadness, etc., he (and we, his parents) are very motivated to have him see the best doctor/team of doctors available. He is worried about traveling too far, taking too much time from work, etc., but we know this is extremely important. He's currently seeing an ID spec. in Santa Monica who has about 10-12 other HIV-pos. patients, but we are looking for any other recommendations to be sure he's getting the best help from the most experienced doctors. Are you available, Dr. Daar, or do you have recommendations? Please help.

Thank you for your posting.

Although I know how difficult this time must be for you, your family and son I do hope you are all aware that in the current era as long as your son deals with any psychological problems that predated or exist since the diagnosis and avoids illicit drug use he should do very well. In fact, most of us in the field believe that people who deal with these other issues will be able to live long and healthy lives with HIV.

You are correct that the next step is to get connected with an expert provider that your son feels comfortable with. The good news is that you live in an area where many excellent HIV specialists work. The key is to find the right one for your son. I would suggest you touch bases with advocates at local AIDS Service Organizations for specific recommendations. This would include organizations like AIDS Project Los Angeles. Let me know how things go.

Best, Eric