HIV positive

Living and loving yourself and those who matter.

Why start treatment immediately? See below.

  • You will live as long as your HIV negative peers and possibly outlive some.

    With current ARVs people are living very long and aging gracefully .The most important thing is to start early and take them everyday and look after yourself.

  • Protection from infection

    Taking ARVs protects you from very many infections because it helps your immunity remain strong. These include TB, meningitis, diarrhea, severe pneumonia among others.

    If you have been treated for infections severally make sure you get tested for HIV. You might need to start ARVs to boost your immunity.

  • Reduced chance of cancer

    Using ARVs helps to reduce your chance of certain cancers by boosting your immunity. This is because there are cancers that occur with low immunity related to advanced HIV.So taking ARVs prevents these cancers.

  • Protect your unborn baby from HIV

    Express your affection by guarding your little one from the virus. In the past, many parents did not have the opportunity to make a different choice for their children as ARVs were not available then. You are in a better position to protect your child.

  • Be there for your family

    No one can replace you. Your unique and no one can take your place. Taking ARVs means you can make many memories with your parents, spouse and children and other family members. You are a valuable member of society. You were born to someone and you are needed by someone. By taking your ARVs you are choosing to be there.

  • Choose not to transmit

    If you are needle sharing opt to protect yourself and others. Take ARVs and protect yourselves.

  • Protect others

    Choose to protect others by taking ARVs. Don’t transmit HIV intentionally. If your viral load is low the risk of transmitting infection to your spouse/sexual partner during intercourse is extremely low. Take your medications and show that you care.

How many pills are in ARVs?

The ARVs your doctor will start you on will most likely involve taking only one pill once a day.

If you have an infection, you may need to take more than a pill initially but once the infection is treated, then most initial ARV treatment involves one pill once a day.

How else can we beat this?

Living a healthy lifestyle. This is not unique to you but is a requirement for both HIV positive and negative people.

How does living a healthy lifestyle affect you if your HIV positive?

  • Eating a healthy diet helps your immunity recover and fight off any infections

  • Avoid alcohol .It can affect how the ARVs work. Alcohol also causes the heart and liver to fail.

  • Avoid smoking. Smoking generally increases the chance of at least 16 types of cancer in all people irrespective of status

  • Exercise to avoid getting diabetes and high blood pressure .Exercise helps improve your fertility and mental health

  • Join a support group. It takes a village to tackle a problem. Support groups are ways of finding solutions to a problem. We use them to overcome many challenges in our lives and to get new ideas to improve ourselves and the generations to come. You are a teacher and a mentor and all your experiences can positively impact someone else so do not shy away from being a support to someone or getting support for yourself.

Possible ARVs that your doctor may prescribe to treat HIV-some may be available for free in most testing centers

  • Triumeq

  • Biktarvy

  • Kivexa and Tivicay

  • Truvada

  • Atripla

The choice of medicine your doctor chooses will depend on things like;

  1. Your kidney function

  2. Cholesterol

  3. Liver function

  4. Pregnancy or not

  5. Side effects

  6. Amount of virus in your blood when you start among others

You can make a difference