Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?

[BubbaPat]

My moods have been worse of late.  I see topics of HIV affecting mental health and I wonder if is the HIV or the mental thought about it itself that cause the mental issues.

I'm 55 and have known I'm positive for the past 24 years.  I remember be anxious and depressed about certain things growing up and yet I kept going.  I always saw the Sun at the end of the tunnel.  Now a days, I see a light at the end of the tunnel and it flickers from time to time.

Anyone else feel this?  From time to time?  Is it the HIV affecting our brain chemistry? Is it getting older?  Is it the world we live in?

Random thoughts, thought I'd share and see if anyone wants to chime in.

bubba hugs!
Patrick

[Tonny2]

            ojo.          Hello there, my dear friend!… In my case, I have never felt anxiety or depression, because of HIV, when I have felt anxiety yes because of my pains. I don’t take any medication for pain especially for neuropathies because they don’t help me but when I can’t handle the pain, I get a little bit anxious and I take a Xanax 5 mg.… I’m sorry about the way that you feel, and I always think about you. Sending you a bear hug and hang in there.


Ps. sorry for the typos.

[BubbaPat]

I’m sorry about the way that you feel, and I always think about you. Sending you a bear hug and hang in there.
Ps. sorry for the typos.

Thank you kiddo!  Your kind words always fill my heart with joy and hope.
I mean that.  I know we've never met in person and have only corresponded here but you've always been honest and uplifting.
I think you nearly every day, not to be creepy, and I hope and pray for you.

Bubba hugs from Texas kiddo!!

[Tonny2]

               ojo.            Hi there!, I feel the same about you, I wish I had the wisdom to tell you what to do to make you feel better, but I only can send you a hug hoping that makes you feel that you are not alone and you can count on me whenever you feel down or you need someone to talk to, I’m always here for you. You always put a smile in my face… More hugs from Ohio.

[idontknowhowbuthereitis]

I am very new to the club, so my opinion is probably not that relevant.

That being said,

I think with any chronic illness you naturally get increased chances of anxiety or depression, regardless of HIV or something else. And as you get older, I guess the "stakes" get higher (with health in general) which wears one down.

Best thing we can all do is take our meds, rely on our respective support groups, be it online or in real life, and try and stop and smell the roses and be thankful what we have.

Easier said than done.

Treat yourself and be kind to yourself.

For example, the meds I am on, no one really knows what will happen in 30 years time, completely outside of our control, I am riding it out like a bad acid trip

[Tonny2]

                  ojo.              Dust the attitude!!

[leatherman]

For example, the meds I am on, no one really knows what will happen in 30 years time

LOL you say that like it's an unknowable thing; but it's simply that you don't have enough information yet or trust in the information to understand what being on the meds for 30 yrs will do. We actually can very easily extrapolate what is going to happen being on meds for 30 years - you'll be alive and you'll probably be healthy.

Historically we know that there are plenty of us around who have been on meds for 30 yrs....and even though we started off on less effective drugs that often had negative side effects, we're doing fine and dandy. Statistically we known that PLWH often are healthier in the long run because our health is tracked and measured more often and issues are found and treated early.

Thirty years from now, both you and I will be living our lives - quite possibly healthy lives. I know I'm eating better, sticking on my ARVs and exercising regularly so that at 92 (that's 30 more years for me) I'll  be doing as well as my Nana who was still playing golf at 92 and had another decade and a half left to go. Heck, at 62 I've barely passed middle age. LOL

[idontknowhowbuthereitis]

LOL you say that like it's an unknowable thing; but it's simply that you don't have enough information yet or trust in the information to understand what being on the meds for 30 yrs will do. We actually can very easily extrapolate what is going to happen being on meds for 30 years - you'll be alive and you'll probably be healthy.

Thanks for your feedback, but the medication I am on is BIKTARVY which was approved in 2018, so how can any documented patients have used it for 30 years time and how can an end patient make actual data driven decisions regarding long time impact (30 year usage), if no one has ever used it for that long (lol). Yes it might be the result of years of trial and error and hard work by scientists, but expecting no side effects doesn't compute with me (although I have none at the moment). ARTs are a powerful drug, has to be some sort of side effect other than just keeping your VL down..

I am very comfortable and don't have future concerns personally but I think its a fair call out for patients to ask about the long term effects of HIV and ARTs, when much of the medication being mass produced and distributed is fairly new or has a previous commercial agenda by big pharma.

Again new to this club, I just take a logical approach to things, at one stage in life opioids were aggressively prescribed, I wouldnt encourage anyone not to take meds, but yeah blindly saying you will be fine and live a healthy life and blindly trusting big pharma, isnt for me. Although I actively take my meds and so grateful, I wouldnt be surprised if there was side effects down the line (not trying to scare monger)

The reality is, this is the cards we have been dealt so there is nothing we can do about it, follow our doctors advice and enjoy life.

Much love, dont take it personally

[leatherman]

I think its a fair call out for patients to ask about the long term effects of HIV and ARTs, when much of the medication being mass produced and distributed is fairly new or has a previous commercial agenda by big pharma.

"fairly new" isn't really a good description. These are medications based on prior meds or medications that are combinations of long standing meds, and all of these are based on 40 years worth of treatment science. Each generation of ARVs have become more effective, with fewer negative side effects, and better long term effectiveness.

Comparing ARVs with opioids is apples to oranges. Compare ARVs with insulin instead.

blindly saying you will be fine and live a healthy life and blindly trusting big pharma

blindly trust? heck no. LOL.

I quit taking ARVS in 95 and 97 because the side effects for me were too terrible. but it was still a choice of dying by AIDS or dying from the side effects.  However that said, I'm been taking a range of ARVs since AZT monotherapy back in 1992 and even though I suffered through lots of serious side effects and nearly dying from PCP pneumonia a couple of times, I'm 62 and pretty darned healthy. Knowing a lot of fellow long-term HIV survivors (30+ years), I can tell you there a lot of people in my same situation of good health after enduring a lot of meds up until now.

The point I'm trying to make is that plenty of people have lived 30+ years and are healthy having started on very ineffective early meds. Understanding how much better/improved the meds of today are, it's not irrational to predict that someone starting meds in 2024 will easily live 30+ years on these newer meds with fewer side effects and better health. This prediction is based on the historical reality of the improvement of HIV treatment.