HIV/AIDS Blog Central: Perspectives From the HIV/AIDS Community

Whether you have just found out that you are HIV positive or you've been living with HIV for years, whether you are not on any HIV medications or you have been on HIV meds for years, this information is essential to helping you along in your journey with HIV.

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Recently I took a drug test and found that I tested positive for THC or marijuana. After doing some research I discovered that many HIV meds can cause false positives on drug screens. This video talks about this.

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National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is upon us again. We have some ups and downs to reflect on when it comes to infection rates. For example, the infection rates among Black women nationally dropped between 2008 and 2010. That's pretty promising. But among Black women in DC, the infection rates are still high. Young Black gay men still have the highest infection rates among homosexual men, even though studies have shown that they are no more promiscuous than other gay men. And heterosexual Black men remain absent from the conversation. In short, we still have a lot of work to do to get to the core of this issue. There are a myriad of items to consider when it comes to AIDS in the Black community. I would like to highlight eight of them.

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Updated: Positive Women's Network-United States of America Congratulates the PACHA for passing Criminalization Resolution

In observance of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Positive Women's Network -- USA (PWN-USA) urges the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) to pass resolution condemning HIV criminalization laws and end the pipeline of unjust incarceration of Black men and women living with HIV in the United States

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Inspired by global networks of women living with HIV and supported by leaders in the United States, Positive Women's Network (PWN) was officially founded by 28 diverse women living with HIV in June of 2008. Its purpose was to create a unified voice and building collective power for HIV-positive women across the United States. When PWN was founded it was with the understanding and goal that one day it would transition from WORLD, an organization which provided a structural umbrella for U.S. Positive Women's Network to establish itself as an independent organization, in its own right.

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As a very out and open HIV+ transwoman, I'm often approached by well-intentioned people at conferences and other events who tell me about how they support the transgender community, but that they don't exactly know how to interact with the trans people in their life and/or in their work. They want to be able to ask them about their lives and their gender history, yet they're often unaware of how to do that in a way that is culturally sensitive to the needs of the trans community. These questions nearly always arise from a place of curiosity and good intention, yet they're also ones which, when asked in the wrong way, can really alienate a trans person or make them feel uncomfortable.

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So what is the 'real and present danger' to us as people living with HIV, its co-morbidities and any resulting extra health problems? If your pain does not respond well enough to analgesics and other drugs (anti-depressants, anti-convulsants and other drugs meant to interact with nerve signals to the brain), you may be advised to move onto opioids of one sort or another. This shouldn't alarm you too much, despite the content of Part One of this article.

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A nightmare for some and a godsend for others, some people become addicted to opioids because opioids have become their recreational drug of choice, while others become addicted because their pain symptoms are so severe that they have no choice. Either way, a problem has arisen which threatens social stability in whole communities, especially in North America, and makes authorities unsure which way to turn.

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Last year I was having a quarter-life crisis at the age of 26. I felt lost, stuck, and in a deep rut. I felt like I needed something BIG to happen. Something that would change my whole life. So, I waited, but nothing happened. Every day that passed me by only made me feel worse. One morning I woke up and couldn't con myself to get out of the bed. At that point I said enough is enough.

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This morning as I was walking my dog, I was doing a mental checklist about what I need to do before I take my upcoming trip to India. I thought I should get some blood work done before I go. Then, as my mind sometimes does, it wandered. I thought Why not get another HIV test? It has been 22 years since I had one. As I continued my walk down to the ocean I started to fantasizing about what it would feel like to receive a negative result.

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