Life expectancy if I get pozzed at 23?

[bearbandit]

this post made me cry. i got diagnosed recently. i never did anything wrong. always protected myself. obviously i overlooked something or chose to meet the wrong person

i didnt think about all these repercussions until now.

i havent started treatment yet. finding out next week (viral load)

my life is fucking over

No your life is not over: I got pozzed at 23 and now I'm 57 - See what the test say next week and make treatment decisions based on them. I lived through no meds, then meds that would kill you as soon as look at you, then meds that would cause lifelong conditions like diabetes (which I cope with quite successfully) and now a period when the meds are better than ever. What a doctor's visit and a pill or two a day? Contact your nearest HIV support agency and talk to them, talk to other poz guys - we all go through the "my life is over" phase. It's just a reaction to a big shock. I was at hospital today and found a condition unrelated to HIV was actually worse than I thought. Felt like shit on the way home, and over the evening put it into perspective: by the time my Dad was my age he was four years into the cancer that killed him, and he didn't have HIV. I'm too tired right now (the hospital is eighty miles away and it's a slow train journey) but you're welcome to PM me if you want to know more...

[jtonic]

im trying to talk to other poz guys

so far a couple guys on this site have sent me terrible messages.. 'celebrating' my arrival.. its fucking disgusting knowing how sincere i am about needing actual help

[bearbandit]

Jtonic,

Don't know if your "banned" status means you can't read this, but just in case you still can, I've had a night's desperately needed sleep, and can give you a more detailed answer. You're in shock and acting a bit on the hysterical side, which is no wonder: you're very frightened. I repeat what I said last night and find your local HIV services agency and talk to them. Use them to bounce ideas off. If you've just been infected your viral load is likely to be very high, but they'll also put the sample in for resistance testing, a study of which drugs are most likely to be effective in getting your viral load down as quickly as possible. Atripla is a favourite as it hits the virus hard and fast, but at the expense of trippy dreams which some people can't take. Stribild is also proving popular as it contains an integrase inhibitor, dolutegravir, which achieves deeper penetration into the tissues where HIV likes to hide out. Both are single pills, once a day. But most important is that you need psychological support right now. As you say you're ill right now, you're probably still going through seroconversion illness: it clears up and goes away, after which , left untreated your viral load will drop down and your CD4 count will rise naturally.

The future? well, we're beginning to see the beginning of a functional cure, ie a cure whereby the HIV is cell locked and drugs aren't needed. A "sterilising" cure is one whereby HIV is completely eliminated from the body: these are a bit further off. If you can't find your local HIV services, call your doctor and ask them if they know how to get in touch. The general rule of thumb is that a 20 year old guy who gets pozzed today will live out a slightly longer lifespan that someone who doesn't, the reason being that we have regular doctor's visits and things like diabetes and high blood pressure are picked up much earlier and stopped in their tracks. We're beginning to see guys like me who've gone past the thirty year mark, though with what we knew then wasn't enough and some of us got sick because of side effects of the drugs (we didn't know the correct dosages, and poz guys were demanding they be released early, before the research was complete).

There are several guys here who had it as long as I have, and I've got to know guys on Facebook who've been poz about the same time as me. To repeat, you need the psychological support of a counsellor or a peer supporter, and you need to keep your appointment next week and sort out drugs. Hopefully atripla, stribild, or eviplera (all one a day pills) will suit. Once your viral load hits undetectable you'll be the safest guy around.

[jtonic]

Hi. No I couldn't see your reply while I was banned, but it's still helpful now.

By the way I posted an apology when I got reinstated earlier.

I started getting help; actually met a counselor today.

Isolation and not knowing my viral load made my hysteria much worse.

I am also planning to talk to my doctor next week about anxiety/depression symptoms.

Could you elaborate on the trippy dreams that some people are reporting with the drugs? (is this something you've read, or heard from other guys?)

Also, I don't think life expectancy is a big deal anymore with HIV, especially in 2014. So that part, I'm not worried of.

The only reason I mentioned the 'future', is that I heard some drugs take a big hit on your organs in the long run, such as liver. But it looks like the new pills developed in recent years don't have as much of an effect.

[bearbandit]

I'm glad you're so much calmer now - and kudos for posting an apology: it can't have been easy! There are few things worse than not knowing some vital bit of information like viral load, and isolation makes it worse. In the UK the National Long Term Survivors Group runs weekend-long courses for people who are within about two years of diagnosis, which are very well received by the people who attend them. If you can find something like that in your area it's almost certainly going to help even if it's just an hour a week. (At the Newly Diagnosed weekends, like the Long Term weekends, most of the real talking is done in the bar!)

The trippy dreams side effect is experienced by up to 20% of people taking efavirenz, a component of atripla, and by a very few taking FTC whose medical name I can never spell. The effects can range from a hangover-like feeling on waking to extremely vivid, often bizarre dreams (apparently the sexual ones can be a lot of fun). Unfortunately the feeling of trippiness can extend into the waking hours (which is why doctors advise taking them at night). One guy I know used to describe efavirenz as "free acid", and there's an urban myth about a crane driver doing over half a million pounds worth of damage while still tripped out on efavirenz. For that reason, many doctors in the UK won't prescribe atripla or efavirenz to anyone doing a job that requires any form of precision work (a friend, who is a pharmacist, was told by his doctor that when the time came for drugs, he wouldn't prescribe efavirenz or atripla. I have to admit that I'm merely reporting what people I'm working with have said: I've never taken the drug.

The FTC dreams are rare - it took us at myHIV a long time to find the references. For me I dream of family members and they dreams are intense enough that I think they're still alive, a feeling which persists for several minutes after waking and which can be very confusing at first.

The safety margins are much, much higher now: up till about 2003 drugs tended to be fast tracked onto the market and little was known of the correct dosage, so people taking them were taking fairly large overdoses. You're right in that most drugs are processed through the liver, so be nice to it. No getting falling down drunk every night and ease up on the amount of fatty food you eat. (I often recommend DiabetesUK's site which has an excellent section on diet - including low carb - together with a ton of recipes and a downloadable cookbook.)

One drug that still causes problems is tenofovir (a component of truvada), but the problems are well known and reversible when they're caught in time, which is why guys on PrEP have to have bloods done every three months. The slightest hint of tenofovir causing trouble and any doctor who deserves the title will change your drug regime to avoid it. (Note for guys on PrEP: another drug, maraviroc, is already being investigated for use as PrEP.) Both efavirenz and tenofovir are popular because the lower the viral load very quickly, the a new class of drugs, integrase inhibitors (they block the enzyme HIV needs to get into a cell)are probably going to be very important as they can get further into the places where HIV hangs out.

I think the reason that the fear of ARVs persists is because of the damage that earlier drugs which were rush-released did. When it was originally released ritonavir was prescribed at 800mg per day. Now it's just 100mg per day and the reason for using it isn't strictly therapeutic: it's because it's pushy and insists on being processed first, allowing the other drug processed by the liver more active time in your body. I've been on meds since 1989 and have taken a few hits from side-effects, things that just wouldn't be allowed to happen now as we know what to look for and we know the correct dosage. The combination I'm on now has had only one side effect, which was to give me a coppery aftertaste for a few hours. It quite offended an American bulldog who lives by me and suddenly I didn't smell right.

Take your pill(s) as prescribed and as I said before your life-span will probably be slightly higher than average because most guys go for years without seeing their doctors, allowing hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and so on time to do more damage.

The best of luck to you!

[wood]

The trippy dreams side effect is experienced by up to 20% of people taking efavirenz, a component of atripla, and by a very few taking FTC whose medical name I can never spell.

Take your pill(s) as prescribed and as I said before your life-span will probably be slightly higher than average because most guys go for years without seeing their doctors, allowing hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and so on time to do more damage.

The best of luck to you!

Emtricitabine! Most drug names are actually spelled phonetically, so if you can pronounce it correctly, you will probably be able to spell it.

And yes, way too many people around the world, and in the US go way too long without seeing a doctor. Its especially prevalent in black communities in the US, because of distrust of the medical establishment. not surprisingly, black people in the US have some of the highest rates of medical issues partially because of this.

[bearbandit]

Emtricitabine! Most drug names are actually spelled phonetically, so if you can pronounce it correctly, you will probably be able to spell it.

Thank you! I can get my tongue around Welsh but for some reason that name always escapes me.

[Guest thehammerman]

Without commenting on any ‘personal’ stuff, I think that the question in general may be of interest to many people. What is the life expectancy of a person who gets infected in their early-to-mid 20’s? I think there has been some great advice posted. And – obviously – I can’t speak from my own experience, as many have above. But I can provide some summary comments (based on my medical knowledge).

While it remains the case that HIV cannot be cured, there now exists the possibility of a ‘functional cure’ (if the correct meds are started very soon after infection). Indeed, the correct course of treatment can mean that functionally cured individuals can stop taking meds after about 3 years. Life expectancy for such a person would not be altered by having been infected with HIV. For those not functionally cured, but on meds – because medical knowledge has greatly advanced in the past 30 years - the life expectancy of many people with HIV has greatly improved. Contemporary treatments do greatly help control the condition.

Basically, this means that the life expectancy for someone living with HIV, who is on anti-retroviral treatment and responding to that treatment, is no different to the general population. However, it is important to note that each person’s life expectancy is unique – based on such factors as how early the condition was diagnosed and how early treatment began, and whether you smoke, or misuse drugs or alcohol.

If someone is planning on getting poz and wants to live as long as possible, then they need get on the rights meds straight away. These need to be discussed with a good doctor. And such a person must really try to live a fit and healthy life-style. This should mean that they’d live until their 70’s or beyond. Still, I’d suggest that such a person think very carefully about purposefully becoming poz. Okay, they might get infected because of their sexual activities – but might not. Life expectancy is not really an issue – so long as they can access the proper meds. But, as others have stated, it’s probably be best to go on PrEP, if that’s an option – so as to reduce the chances of infection. A person can still live life as they choose, for however long one’s life-style permits (with a much reduced chance of getting infected).

I don’t think that a person who wants to live as long and as full a life as possible, irrespective of their sexual habits, ought to simply ‘give in’ to HIV and accept – and therefore chase – infection because they think that, at some future point, they might get infected anyway. There are many reasons to chase – and the reason I’ve just outlined is simply not logical. Many people have engaged in risky behaviour for a long time and not got infected. And modern drugs can help prevent possible infection. Okay, modern drugs also mean that someone who has recently become infected can still have a normal life expectancy – but that, again, isn’t a reason to chase …

Having just read the recent posts, jtonic – you’re doing the right thing. Speak with your councillor, and with your doctor(s). Get on the right meds, and stick with them. It’s going to be a difficult few first weeks, but things will then calm down … you’ll re-take control of your life, and HIV really shouldn’t affect things. Take care.

[SmartAss2]

I know twinks 18 and under that are pozzed.  They seem to be doing well.  Being poz hasn't cut back their sex life at all.   The only complaint was having the fuck flu and going through that.  It was be wild to mild.