Taking HIV/AIDS Treatment: Personal Accounts

See also: Personal Accounts of Multidrug-Resistant HIVers | Inspiring Stories

Justin saw too many of his friends die because they stopped taking HIV treatment. Read his story here.

I Get Tested Too! A Blog Entry by Rev. Andrena Ingram (January 23, 2012)
"What my blood is tested for: How are the medications affecting my liver? What is my hemoglobin? My viral load? My CD4 Count? How is my cholesterol? What's going on with my red and white blood cells? ... Having HIV is not just popping pills. There are regular doctor visits, lab reports and I am truly amazed that any of us (my brothers and sisters) have any blood left."
From The Body
Hospital Drama! A Blog Entry by Rae Lewis-Thornton (December 27, 2011)
"I resented having to give this information in the lobby of the hospital ER to the security guard no less. I resented the security guard and the freaking nurse who thought my bloody ass arm was no big deal. But mostly, I resented HIV. How dare it embarrass me, right now at this time and place."
From The Body
Being Honest Even When You're Scared and Complera Update: A Video Blog Entry by Justin B. Terry-Smith (December 21, 2011)
"When you are public about what you have you tend to not be public about when you are scared or when it doesn't seem like it is going to get any better. I've not been telling everyone that my VL shot up and my T cells went down again. I was scared and all I can say is that I'm only human."
From The Body
First-Person Stories of People Starting Treatment
In this special collection of videos, seven HIVers talk candidly about what went into each of their decisions to start HIV meds, from health complications to doctor advice to participating in a clinical trial.
From The Positive Project
When I Started HIV Meds: Step by Step on a Difficult Road (August 17, 2011)
"I thought I was going to die, and I looked at my life from a different point of view," remembers Lillibeth Gonzalez. "I didn't keep a good health regimen. That was the most ignorant decision I ever made. Due to that choice, my T cells went down to 0."
From The Body
My Story With Medication: A Video Blog Entry by Maria T. Mejia (August 17, 2011)
"You shouldn't wait till your immune system is destroyed like mine was. Take your meds and live a healthy and positive lifestyle. Please find a doctor you can communicate with and listens to you. Be proactive with your illness; and most important; do your research!"
From The Body
Be the Chair of Your Own Board: Advice Before Starting Treatment -- A Blog Entry by Khafre Abif (August 17, 2011)
"As a librarian I was heavy into research and worked to find out as much as I could about the current treatments available. ... I trusted myself, my God and my instincts to make the decisions I felt were best for me."
From The Body
Advice on Starting HIV Treatment From People Who've Been There
We reached out to a group of those most in the know about the intricacies of starting treatment -- HIV-positive people who've made the decision to start themselves -- and asked: If you could go back in time to the moment before you started HIV treatment, what advice would you give yourself?
From The Body
The First Few Months: A Transgender Woman Faces an HIV Diagnosis in the Rural U.S. (Posted: April 2011)
From The Body
Damaries Cruz: Deciding to Start Treatment After Nearly 20 Years of Living With HIV (March 30, 2011)
From The Body
The Global HIV Story Board Project: A Blog Entry by Kevin Maloney (March 13, 2011)
From The Body
Here We Go Again: Lab Results and My Fears -- A Blog Entry by Maria T. Mejia (February 7, 2011)
"I know what I should do and how I should act but I guess my personality or my FEARS get the best of me. All I know is that I don't have to worry about this S**T for another 4 months."
From The Well Project
Resilience Sealed With God ... A Blog Entry by Rae Lewis-Thornton (November 11, 2010)
"These last three months have felt like old school AIDS. ... That's the thing that makes this disease complicated. Nothing is as simple as it seems. It is also the thing that challenges the very core of who you are."
From The Body
When You Know Better, You Do Better, Part 2 (October 20, 2010)
The second in a series exploring issues raised in the recent episode of the "Oprah Winfrey Show."
In Black AIDS Weekly, from Black AIDS Institute
The Good News Is ...: A Blog Entry by Scott Simpson (May 8, 2010)
The good news is that we didn’t find anything that would make you sick. The bad news is that we didn’t find what was making you sick.
From The Body
The Art and Science of Treating HIV (March/April 2010)
Editor's note.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
HIV Meds and Hospital Beds: A Blog Entry by Robert Breining (March 24, 2010)
From The Body
Personal Perspective: The Meds and Me (Summer 2009)
To read PDF, click here.
In Achieve, from ACRIA and GMHC
Speaking From the Heart (Spring/Summer 2009)
To read PDF, click here.
In The Positive Side, from Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange
Give Us Our Daily Meds: Demanding HIV Treatment in Peru (Summer 2008)
In Achieve, from ACRIA and GMHC
Personal Perspective: Fighting for Treatment in Thailand (Summer 2008)
Kamon Uppakaew saw that dreams could come true -- he could have HIV and he could get treatment, plus he could also have an HIV-negative daughter.
In Achieve, from ACRIA and GMHC
Meet Tony Mills, M.D., an HIV-Positive HIV Specialist and Former International Dr. Leather (March/April 2008)
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
My HIV Treatment History: Adjusting After a Rough Start (Winter 2005)
Eric M. Rodriguez worked his way through side effects, pill burden and several treatment switches.
To read PDF, click here.
In Body Positive, from Body Positive
Going to Extremes to Stay Alive (July/August 2004)
[Archived Article]
Most experts don't recommend joining a clinical trial just to get the latest experimental drugs, but that's exactly what Matt Sharp did -- and he has no regrets.
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
10 POZ Treatment Stories That Shook Our World (May 2004)
[Archived Article]
For its 10-year anniversary, POZ magazine lists its top 10 stories of the past decade.
In POZ
Life After Sustiva: Depression, Anxiety Side Effects (May/June 2004)
[Archived Article]
Gerry Hoyt is one of a small number of people who suffer severe, long-term psychological side effects while using efavirenz.
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
My Sordid Antiviral Past (Summer 2003)
[Archived Article]
By Carlton Hogan, an employee of the Statistical and Data Management Center of the Community Programs for Clinical Programs on AIDS.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Happy Holidays? (Summer 2003)
[Archived Article]
Nancy Soto, a married New Jersey mother of two living with HIV, writes about her six years on meds and one disastrous drug holiday.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Finding the Right Fit (Summer 2003)
[Archived Article]
Shelley Singer, an HIV/AIDS educator, public speaker and activist in the San Fernando Valley, has lived through several grueling regimens.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Just Point Me in the Right Direction (Summer 2003)
[Archived Article]
Before her diagnosis, Ellen Hahn wouldn't even take an aspirin.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Crossing the Line (Summer 2003)
A staunch believer in traditional Chinese medicine explains why she decided to begin HIV meds.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Letting Someone Else Drive (Summer 2003)
By Christopher Murray, an Advisory Board member for AIDS Community Research Initiative of America.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Hanging In (Summer 2003)
[Archived Article]
Sue Gibson, R.N., a clinical trials coordinator in Dallas, Texas, writes about her 14 years on HIV meds.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Taking Control (Summer 2003)
By Eric Goldman, a member of the Transitional Steering Committee for the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Heart to HAART (Summer 2003)
By Devan Nambiar, an AIDS advocate in Toronto.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Had a Great Time, Wish I Was There (Summer 2003)
By Jim Pickett, columnist, coordinator of The Faces of AIDS and employee of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
To read PDF, click here.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Livin' With It: We've Outlived AIDS! (May/June 2003)
Tom Setto has begun feeling the normal aches and pains of getting old and confesses that it's something he can live with.
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Life on HAART (March 2002)
Even people on successful drug regimens have troubles to cope with.
In GMHC Treatment Issues, from Gay Men's Health Crisis
Living With HIV -- A Survivor's Perspective (November/December 2001)
David Morris has been HIV-positive for 17 years and has survived many grueling drug regimens.
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
The Last Word: Living With the Enemy -- Never Letting Our Guard Down (November/December 2001)
In FDA Consumer, from U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Considering Anti-HIV Therapy: Personal Stories (October 20, 2001)
To read PDF, click here.
From PositiveWords
Positive Days (August/September 2001)
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Strike Two! (July/August 2001)
Model physician/patient pair are latest to feel the fury of fragile, unforgiving treatment plan.
In TAGline, from Treatment Action Group
Drug Economy (July/August 2001)
[Archived Article]
Antiretroviral renegade fights fashion with didanosine + Hydroxyurea duo, betting his future on genetic barriers.
In TAGline, from Treatment Action Group
Pickett Fences: Day and Night, Night and Day and Night (March/April 2001)
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Life With Guidelines: A Personal Perspective (Spring 2001)
To read PDF, click here.
In CRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Cruising With Lazarus: Coming Back From the Dead (February 2001)
In Survival News, from AIDS Survival Project
Rituals and Regimens 2001: Life After Diagnosis (January/February 2001)
Sanford Gaylord deals with diagnosis and beginning meds.
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
A Personal Perspective: Shit Happens and Then You Go on Meds (Winter 2000/2001)
Susan Rodriguez thought she could stay off meds forever by taking good care of herself -- she was dead wrong.
In CRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
A Personal Perspective: Twenty Years and Counting (Winter 2000/2001)
[Archived Article]
Paul Muller was diagnosed in 1980 and never expected to survive.
In ACRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
A Personal Perspective: Legs (Winter 2000/2001)
In CRIA Update, from AIDS Community Research Initiative of America
Who Moved My Cheeks? (November/December 2000)
[Archived Article]
To read PDF, click here.
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
Living With HIV: Wake-Up Call From HIV (June 2000)
In Positive Living, from AIDS Project Los Angeles
Medication Vacations (Summer 2000)
[Archived Article]
A poz point of view on structured treatment interruptions.
In Women Alive Newsletter, from Women Alive
Stop the Drugs -- A Personal Détente (May/June 2000)
In Positively Aware, from Test Positive Aware Network
AZT Monotherapy Veteran Checks Out Chemotherapeutic Quitsville and Lives to Tell About It (May 1999)
[Archived Article]
From Treatment Action Group
One Year on Therapy and Counting ... Doses Taken: 1,460; Doses Missed: 0 (June 1998)
In AIDS Care, from San Francisco General Hospital