POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: David_CA on March 05, 2007, 12:57:36 pm
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I had an appt. with my ID DR. this morning. One of the questions I asked him was if I was considered HIV+ or to have AIDS. From all the replies my previous post generated, I pretty much knew. In researching the definition of AIDS, the answer was fairly vague.
His answer went pretty much like this. "I hate answering when healthy HIV+ people ask me that. AIDS connotes very sick people dying with various diseases with no hope [like the pictures of AIDS patients in the '80's or in poorer countries now]. The definition was created when people were not likely to pull out of their downward trend and were pretty certain to die from their current, and future, complications. A healthy person with an undetectable viral load, T-cells in the 700's with a percentage in the 30's, but has or had PCP, for example, is considered to have AIDS. It is a really old definition that needs to be updated, which is why I don't generally use it"
I have to say that what he says makes sense. I know that there are those that say once the immunity system is compromised to the point that OI's set in, it's permanent. Maybe so, but aren't there many here that have had OI's in the distant past but haven't had any since HAART? I know it really doesn't matter, but I just wanted to know.
Anyway, I can now say it... I have AIDS. I wonder how that will go over when disclosing to a potential partner... "By the way, I have AIDS". Yikes, even I'd probably jump out of bed if somebody told me that! Saying "I'm HIV+" or "I'm poz®" just sounds so much better! ;)
David
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Hi there
I understand how u feel. I am considered as someone living with AIDS at 200 t cells and 16%. By ONE measely t-cell I would have been HIV poz. 1 damn c4cell. it sucks being me.
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Welcome to the club, I have AIDS too. I just kind of laugh about it really. I am healthier than most my friends and CD4's, percentage and VL are all stellar. But, yes, at one time I was sick and dying. It certainly provides motivation to remember my meds LOL. Lets form the "I have AIDS" club.
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David, you worried me with the title!! I thought you had a lab done and your Atripla wasn't working!! :D
I agree, someone telling you they have AIDS vs being HIV+ paints an entirely different picture.
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Yep I have AIDS too. The thing is I never got to be just HIV+. Not that I am complaining but I went directly to AIDS, it is a difficult thing to get a grip on at times. It also seems to be such a stigma to have AIDS. It does scare the hell out of people. But the fact remains that I can get healthier, I can live on, I can be positive about my condition. I do not like to sugar coat things and like to be realistic about things. But I keep moving forward. I also find it my job to educate others about this damn disease, many people thing that because I have AIDS I am dying faster than they are. Not so true.
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I agree, someone telling you they have AIDS vs being HIV+ paints an entirely different picture.
And today I think a picture that isn't what it used to be. I too have AIDS, strictly because my CD4 count was below 200 when I was diagnosed. Now it isn't.
HAART has made a huge difference in the treatment of HIV, unfortunately our terminology has not changed as we have. Maybe it is time to change the language of HIV/AIDS?
Woods
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Hi there
I understand how u feel. I am considered as someone living with AIDS at 200 t cells and 16%. By ONE measely t-cell I would have been HIV poz. 1 damn c4cell. it sucks being me.
I have to say that this was the only avatar of yours that flipped me out. I thought there was something wrong with my vision... Ok, I'm fine now. :P
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Another proud AIDS victim here in Matty the Damned! :-*
MtD
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HA !! TOLD ya so !!
-Whiz
(who also wears the scarlet 'A')
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Welcome to the club! Yes, I may have 900 T's and 47% and no VL...but I did have the OI PCP! So I am a charter member. Going since 1989 - in more ways than one! 8)
Rog
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HA !! TOLD ya so !!
-Whiz
(who also wears the scarlet 'A')
Ok smarty britches, nobody likes an "I told you so!" (unless it's Whizzer, of course!) ;D
D
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Ok smarty britches, nobody likes an "I told you so!" (unless it's Whizzer, of course!) ;D
D
I prefer the term "sage"
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I'm so sorry to be so ignorant, but it seems to me the defination of AIDS shifts, from where your'e at physically to where you from geographically.
Please don't shoot me down, yes I SHOULD be better informed
My worst stats have been CD4 147, VL 38000.. I've had PCP, and SJS.
I'm now at 349,VL 75
Its not REALLY an issue because on my GPs computer screen from day 1 after I was diagnosed, it says AIDS, I got used to it.
Just a bit bewildered
please be gentle with me, I realise every day how little I know, and sorry if this is a bit 'me'
jo
x
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My worst stats have been CD4 147, VL 38000.. I've had PCP, and SJS.
I'm now at 349,VL 75
Tigger,
No doubt about it you've got AIDS. Your CD4 count at that time and the fact you've had PCP mean you qualify.
Congratulations! Your toaster oven is in the mail.
MtD
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how dare you gender stereotype me, can i have the chainsaw instead please?
That makes me sound like I'm not being serious, just to have it confirmed freaks me out a bit..had some nasty taunts thrown at me by my ex, and have always said 'get some education, i've ONLY got HIV'.
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Tigger,
I think we're talking about the CDC definition of what constitutes an AIDS diagnosis. I wouldn't be surprised if it varies from country to country, but in the USA, if you have ever had a CD4 count below 200, OR a CD4 percent below 14, OR are simply HIV positive and have had an opportunistic infection, you have, and will always be considered to have, AIDS. That is, until the CDC changes its definition. It is an epidemiological construct, and not important to the day to day management of HIV infection.
I'm in the AIDS column of the CDC database, so what? My CD4s are 1180 and my VL is undetectable. I'm doing well clinically. It really doesn't matter how they label my chart.
-Whiz
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Yes Tigger,
You have now crossed over to the other side as MtD has well stated.
PS -I got the toaster- my buns are HOT!!! You got the door number 1.
Rog
EDIT - too add: Tigger - you are the same person you were five minutes ago. Nothing HAS changed.
Damn Typos!
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David, you worried me with the title!! I thought you had a lab done and your Atripla wasn't working!! :D
I agree, someone telling you they have AIDS vs being HIV+ paints an entirely different picture.
Not to laugh, but this is exactly what I thought too when first reading your thread title. Clearly, by now everyone knows of my Mystery AIDS diagnosis and miraculous recovery a week later. While initially that label scared the shit out of me at points I found the situation laughable.
When I explained it to a couple friends I said wow, don't I look great for having 139 Tcells. UGH!
What bothers me is there's discrimination even in the POZ community. Oops, I meant the HIV/AIDS community. I'm not sure if I'm entitled to use POZ anymore now since it's "trademarked."
Seriously, I don't believe I will be sharing that info. with potential dates because I really don't want to have another hurtle to overcome when explaining my status.
Prior to my own mystery diagnosis I personally felt AIDS was just another label and it's really all the same damn virus. I think with the ambiguous nature of the definition it's likely many of us are Living with AIDS, but don't even know that fact.
Either your sick or your not. The fact of the matter is AIDS stirs up a whole nother vat of negative conotations. Seems to me that we need to loose the AIDS club, the POZ club and all the rest on Gilligan's Isle and be more united! We all have the same damn virus whether we are newly diagnosed or had it for 25 years!
Peace!
Wesley
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Sorry to hijack someone elses thread, I do apologise.
Thanks guys though
x
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Well,
I have always heard that you don't go back to HIV poz as far as diagnosis is concerned, especially if you need meds to keep the virus at bay. However, it is all a matter of perspective and how we feel. I know that I have AIDS, and knowing this makes me more vigilant about my health. Perhaps that is the only good thing about having this diagnosis. It means I have to take extra good care of myself, for the rest of my life.
Sounds dramatic, but that it is the way it is for me now.
rob
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It's just a word David. In this case, it's YOUR word. You use it however it suits you. If the person(s) you are speaking to will "hear" it better if you say "I'm hiv +" then by all means use that. If you need to use the word "AIDS" that's your choice.
I was chastized in the old forums by saying that I use it however it suits me, but I reserve that right. I've earned it. Oh, and you've earned it to, kiddo. At the end of the day, you're still YOU, that's what matters.
Love & hugs,
Alan
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It's such a real lesson in the power of language. HIV+ just sounds nicer than AIDS, but in reality, with the advent of HAART, the distinction between the two terms is certainly fuzzy. Amazingly enough, most uninformed people simply assume HIV+ and AIDS are one and the same! I am not holding my breath for a definition change...one can only imagine the politics that would be involved.
David, the key thing is that you are healthy now and getting healthier!
Gary
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I qualify as having AIDS too, even if that was 15 years ago. I consider it a form well-earned status... sort of like VIP treatment.
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It doesn't really bother me; it's more of a surprise. Just over a year ago AIDS and being POZ® were far from my mind, but obviously shouldn't have been. I guess I just never imagined myself saying "I have AIDS". At first, I'd tell myself each day out loud "I'm HIV positive" to kind of force it to sink in. It's sunk in alright, what with bactrim, pcp, Atripla, viral loads, t-cell counts, the whole package.
I'm still the same person, with the same guy, have (most of) the same friends, same job, and so on, so all is good, except that I have AIDS, damnit. Damn terminology, who decided the definition of AIDS, anyway? I guess I'll use which ever suits the the situation best, like Alan said, how it suits me. Tonight, I'll just say I'm HIV+ ;)
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I got AIDS and I feel Awesome... I think AIDS can be sexy....
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I consider it a form well-earned status... sort of like VIP treatment.
Damn right. No mere HIV+ for us. I'm rather proud of being a member of the poz Illuminati.
MtD
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David-
Wear your AIDS diagnosis like a badge of honor and a tool to your advantage. You've earned it...it's yours.
Brent
(Who's not above playing all the cards in his hand)
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David_NC,
Regardless of what the particular terminology you deem of comfort, you sure do look terrific leaning against that machine.
I noted the registration mark you placed on the "I'm poz"........
xxx,
Mike
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David,
I know what you mean, AIDS just has a bad connotation to it, putting it mildly. I have aids. God just having typed that made me a bit squeamish. When you think of all the words that can describe a person it blows the mind. Just off the top of my head i figure, not only I have aids but.....
I'm hiv POZ
I'm a homo
I'm bi sexual
I'm htlvIII poz
I'm gay
I'm strait
I'm a homo (again? WTF)
I'm Daddy
Oh fuck it all....I'm Jeff
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David, and others, I know what you mean because back in time, we would have guys who were hiv positive, who had aids related syndrome and who had aids (before meds. other than those for o.i.'s). Each week, someone in our support group might shift from one group to the other and, again in those days, there was no moving back up the line. Then, aids, had a very real, very direct hit as a word or term. I mentioned in other threads that if you have had cancer, you are always considered somehow to have had cancer, to be 'in recovery' or 'in remission.' Perhaps we need to read more closely how cancer patients and former cancer patients handle their terminology? Best, Win
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I think your'e an A-wesome I-ndividual D-efinately S-pecial
Who gives a rats arse what the label is...until peoples mind sets are altered, we all know know and what we are.
People
x
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David...
I'm really glad that you wrote this..
I already knew that I have AIDS. But I never considered asking my doctor outright.
Because of this thread, today I asked.
Oddly enough, it felt good to have my doctor tell me I have AIDS.
Still trying to figure this one out :-\
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I was rude enough last night to hijack this thread and thank Dave for his gracious understanding.
I feel more at peace knowing, its weird.
I have nothing but respect for those who have been there before me who have made it easier for me.
And those who are 'with' me today
whatever the label
love
x
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hmmmm...I remember my classmate asked me few months ago...
she said, "Is it TRUE you have AIDS?" :o
I said, "Do I look like I have AIDS?" ???
I smiles and uttered, "Oh...NOT YET...maybe sooner in LIFE...."
;D
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David...
I'm really glad that you wrote this..
I already knew that I have AIDS. But I never considered asking my doctor outright.
Because of this thread, today I asked.
Oddly enough, it felt good to have my doctor tell me I have AIDS.
Still trying to figure this one out :-\
I kinda knew it, too, but I wanted to hear it from a professional! LOL That made it seem more clinical and less personal, which was good. It still seems really strange, almost like it's a really bad joke. This bad joke doesn't end, though, as long as I'm alive! ;) I'm also still trying to figure it all out, as it's all happened so quickly.
Wear your AIDS diagnosis like a badge of honor and a tool to your advantage. You've earned it...it's yours.
It sounds to me like you're saying "Work it, girl!", or something to that effect!
Thanks everybody for your thoughts and opinions... this sure is a strange thing we're dealing with.
David
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My name is Tim Hunter....and I have FULL BLOWN A I D S !!!!
Like some others up here, I never had the luxury of wearing the more stylish HIV + label. I tend to use either term interchangeably, depending on the circumstances. If I want to diminish the likelihood that someone will view me as a completely debilitated pity case, I go for HIV +. If stalked by some vapid individual that might be scared off by such things, I pull out the A Bomb.