Poz, Not on Meds

[dickluva]

Hey, I fought taking meds for years, tested poz in 1986, probably poz since 1982(Hollywood Blvd rentb-y) I relented in 2002 & followed my doc of 18 years advice. I developed chronic diarrhea, neurophysiology in my hands & feet, weight loss down to 145, + annoying indigestion, no libido, & ED. My doctor said were symptoms of HIV, not side affects of meds. He insisted I have a cholonoscope summer 2007. I developed a staff infection, which the doctors claim was because i did not follow the directions, which was untrue. The infection nearly killed me. The med bills from treating the infection were huge. My Doctor M. Singer's bookkeeper said he would not renew my scripts September 2007 if i did not bring the balance to zero. I was furious, and felt betrayed. I immediately threw away the hiv meds. I went to a new Doctor in 2008 who checked my blood counts, & Doc agreed I should not be on meds. I have not had the counts checked since they seem irrelevant in my case. I suggest anyone is HIV+ read "Built to Survive" 2012 edition by Nelson Vergel & Michael Mooney (amazon.com/gp/product/0983773998). I buried many friends (30+) who died from HIV, most of them died before drugs. Today i weigh 180#'s, all of those "HIV" symptoms improved significantly when i discontinued the prescriptions." I can bench press my own weight 10X & can sprint 12 flights of stairs. I do not miss co-pays, waiting rooms, pharmacies, insurance rules, worrying i would forget a dose, worrying I would forget to re-order RX on time, blood tests, & waiting for results. I thought I would die soon after I made the choice to discontinue Rx & medical advise. The best thing to ever happen to me in AIDS treatment was the insurance company that was slow to pay the bills. I am grateful for my life today, & enjoy sharing my experience, strength, & hope. xox

[HungLatinDom]

Wow, Josh, that's fast. When's your next test?

[Jnjbarebkhusbands]

They aren't just commercials. I've been on Atripla for four.. almost five years. One pill a day. Never have had the amount adjusted once. I've remained undetectable and have had no side effects. Side effects depend on each individual.

My bf and I are both on Atripla for the past 3-4 yrs with no side effects, but everyone is different!

[JoshLandaleXXX]

Wow, Josh, that's fast. When's your next test?

The results i got today, were from the blood i gave in January. Had blood drawn today, get those results in 4 months time (unless there is any alarming developments), and at the same time i also give more blood, and get those results 4 months from then.

They give the previous results and take the bloods in one appointment, saves going twice in quick succession. So essentially, when I get my results, its what the bloods were at 4 months prior.

But yeah, it is fast... if i my latest results show up anything alarming, and i go on meds, it will have been about 8 months from diagnosis to meds.

[AlwaysOpen]

Hey Dickluva- we ran similar paths. I was tested poz in 87- my partner insisted I get on meds (AZT) and I refused. I was med free, symptom free up till the point he disclosed he had been having an affair with someone for a year- -in 1998. At that point the stress of fighting with him daily, work, and his own life ending health issue ( cancer- he was HIV neg) wore me to a frazzle and I ended up on meds, and the meds sucked.Gut issues,rash, etc. Finally left his ass in 2000 and after staying with a psycho and his boyfriend for 6 months I ended up on my own, in my own place, and gained back all the weight I lost ( 10% of my skinny to begin with ass) and began seeing my T count increase from 45 to 225. My new doc was a bit of an ass, and I found a new one- we switched meds- I do 2 types- Isentress and Truvada- once a day, and my numbers are up at 500, VL undetectable. And as I relax more and more- the ex died 4 yrs ago from his cancer, the psycho has been out of sight and hopefully under his rock for 10 years-- my gut issues have greatly improved. The one time my new doc had me stop meds so I could have a viral load and have a test done to see what I was resistant to, my VL shot up to 200,000 in two weeks- and he gave me some stop gap meds until the labs came back.

I guess for the original poster-- if you are healthy now, and do a decent job of eating well, staying fit, and seeing your doc when you do feel unwell, then holding back on meds is an option. But if you don't take care of yourself to begin with- smoking, drinking,PNP and fucking all the time included- then maybe you should rely on meds early as a line of defense

[Hornyone]

I though I would come back and give a little update, I saw my doctor today and it was good news. My levels are CD4-1147 and my viral load is 179. When I was diagnosed two years ago they were cd4-794 and my viral load was 5647 so my levels are getting better and I am not on meds, go figure.