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Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

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Recent Posts

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 10
1
Mental Health & HIV / Re: Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?
« Last post by leatherman on Today at 09:22:25 pm »
Quote from: idontknowhowbuthereitis on Today at 08:19:14 pm
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.

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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.
2
Mental Health & HIV / Re: Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?
« Last post by idontknowhowbuthereitis on Today at 08:19:14 pm »
Quote from: leatherman on Today at 08:03:09 pm
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 :)
3
I Just Tested Poz / Re: Update - Just under a month since DX
« Last post by idontknowhowbuthereitis on Today at 08:05:13 pm »
Thank you for your kind words and for taking time out of your day to respond.

poz.com is great because it has a diverse membership (God bless the internet) and yes there are different opinions but everyone is in the same club. That being said, the general sentiment is respectful and kind-hearted, which is not always the case on the internet.

It's a great forum to vent, and document our own unique and highly personal experiences and hopefully, others who get recently DXd can take some sort of comfort and learn from others' journies (as I have done scrolling through historic forum posts).

medication is a game changer - we are blessed in those regards.

The active contributors to poz are truly unsung heroes. 







4
Mental Health & HIV / Re: Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?
« Last post by leatherman on Today at 08:03:09 pm »
Quote from: idontknowhowbuthereitis on Today at 03:20:26 pm
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
5
Living With HIV / Re: Regular labwork didn’t go as planned
« Last post by leatherman on Today at 07:43:26 pm »
Quote from: Tonny2 on Today at 08:38:44 am
Hell numbers
I know it's not what you meant; but literally, that's a sentiment I can get behind.
"hell. numbers!"

In all my years, numbers have been a problem, a worry, bad news, and good news. For myself, I say if I'm feeling fine and my labs come back odd, then I don't worry until or if my next labs are off too. If I'm feeling bad, then I want the numbers to show the problem.
6
Mental Health & HIV / Re: Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?
« Last post by Tonny2 on Today at 03:52:10 pm »



                  ojo.              Dust the attitude!!
7
I Just Tested Poz / Re: Update - Just under a month since DX
« Last post by Tonny2 on Today at 03:50:28 pm »



            Ojo.                Hello there! … congratulations, I’m glad that your medication is suppressing the virus now now it’s just keep taking your medication as prescribed and learn how to live with HIV, it depends in how long it takes you to digest your new normal. Stigma= Ignorance so the best thing that we can do is mine our own business and don’t pay attention to others. You don’t have to tell anyone about your status. So I wish you the best and please keep us posted. By the way, you can rant all you want that’s why we are here for you, there are love of us who prefer to keep our status to ourselves and here, on this forums, you can express yourself.… Hugs
8
Mental Health & HIV / Re: Has HIV given or increase your anxiety or depression? Or is it just life?
« Last post by idontknowhowbuthereitis on Today at 03:20:26 pm »
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




9
Do I Have HIV? / Re: Risk, PEP and Testing
« Last post by Jim Allen on Today at 02:24:43 pm »
https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0

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When you created an account with the POZ Forums, you agreed to have only one account. Starting multiple accounts is against the rules of the Forum and will cause you to be banned from our forums.

https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=45006.0

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Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

https://forums.poz.com/terms.shtml

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Only one user name is permitted per member. The user name you select upon registering for the Forums should be the user name you remain with throughout your participation in the Forums. Maintaining more than one user name is a violation of these Terms of Membership and is subject to automatic removal from the Forums, locking of the multiple accounts (including the original account), and banning to prevent future registration.

10
Do I Have HIV? / Re: HIV risk from small cut
« Last post by Aman08 on Today at 02:01:02 pm »
Thank you Jim , you re really doing a great work !
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