so glad i found this site, was wondering after you find out your pos. how long does it take for the shock and sadness to wear off? To me this has got to be the most emotional thing i have ever gone thure and its really rough. any pointers from anyone, thanks everyone

The shock and awe of discovering your status disipates when you are ready to let go of your illness, when you cease allowing your illness to define who you are, and when you let go of the possibility that you will die. That shock and awe also disipates when you surround yourself with the love and support that you deserve, when you control of your disease (the labs, the protocols, the treatment options), when you find a physician with whom you can partner your treatment plan, and when you begin to live your life again. You will be OK through all of this...please keep in touch (this is a wonderful site) . chris

Camper welcome to this site.... it is truly awesome. I can't answer your questions on HIV because I am not positive. I enjoy coming here and learning about others and seeing how people deal with different situations. I am dating and deeply in love with someone who has full blown AIDS. He the most amazing person in my life. If there is anything you want to discuss there are plenty of people here who are very knowledgeable and are more than willing to show you any support you may need!

i want to thank you all for answering my post, someone told me that i can eather live with it or die with it. i choose to live with it and no feel so much better :) i have to admit i do wash my hands twice as much as i did before but now i can laugh at it :) my attitude is much better since comeing here and listning to all of you folks. thank you very much

i want to thank you all for answering my post, someone told me that i can eather live with it or die with it. i choose to live with it and no feel so much better :) i have to admit i do wash my hands twice as much as i did before but now i can laugh at it :) my attitude is much better since comeing here and listning to all of you folks. thank you very much

That's wonderful. :) This board has lots and lots of good people who will support you and give you great advice. I'm glad you are feeling better.

God bless you,
Cali

So, camper, welcome aboard. How are you doing? Are you on meds? How's your labs? keep us posted. This is a great place even if you don't have questions. chris

hi and thank you all, no, i am not on meds yet, i have to go thrue the veterans adm. and they dont really get in that much of a hurry, but hopefully i will get to see a dr. again soon. and if i dont i will try other things to get started on them ::) again, thank you all

Camper... I know how it is waiting on the VA. Hey I wanted to add... not too many people here are actually positive. A lot of people come for advise on concerns on getting tested. I really hope you stick around to help some of those people out and to help answer questions on what it is now like for you. If you are going to be new to taking meds maybe you can share your experience with us so if there is someone interested in doing so they will get an idea of possible side effects and what to expect. The man I am with does not take meds and says he will not. I tried for a long time to convince him to but it is his decision. I truly wish you the best! Take care and keep us posted!

wow,thank you all, really need the support today, went to dr. said it is now aids, that the something count is way bad. the people at the v.a. was so nice, i never new there was so many people there with this. I will start takeing the meds tommorow, most i cant even say lol, there is 5 of them. i will keep it posted as to how i feel on here incas anyone wants to know how the meds react with this old body lol. this site is so great, all i have wanted to do today is cry, cant tell family, and the one friend i tried to tell just went off on there own problem. so with no one to talk to you folks are angles :) dont think i could make it with no one. so to all of you, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH :)

wow,thank you all, really need the support today, went to dr. said it is now aids, that the something count is way bad. the people at the v.a. was so nice, i never new there was so many people there with this. I will start takeing the meds tommorow, most i cant even say lol, there is 5 of them. i will keep it posted as to how i feel on here incas anyone wants to know how the meds react with this old body lol. this site is so great, all i have wanted to do today is cry, cant tell family, and the one friend i tried to tell just went off on there own problem. so with no one to talk to you folks are angles :) dont think i could make it with no one. so to all of you, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH :)

I just said a very heartfelt prayer for you...I really pray you can feel the love I have for you. You are never, ever alone. I believe God is there with you and we are here for you, too.

I do hope you continue to come here to be with all of us.

Weren't you just recently diagnosed? Is that unusual for AIDS to develop so quickly?

Camper: what meds have you started on. It's really important that you keep track of your "numbers". Those "numbers" will be your cd4 count (T-cell), cd4 %, and your viral load. As I mentioned, you'll want to push the t-cell count (the meds could help) and keep your viral load way down.

Have you become affiliated with an AIDS program in your area? You may not want to rely soley on the VA but will need to become proactive with other support networks. THese people are wonderful and can give you the support that you feel you are unable to get from friends and family. Remember we are here for you. THose of us who are also HIV+ know what a terribly scarey time this can be. Don't do this alone, OK? chris

Hi and thanks Chris, really needed that, you are right it is a scarry time, but i know i can beat it, or at least do my darndest, lol, as far as i know there is no kind of support group around this area, Im guessing dallas should but that is about 80 miles away. but will still look into it, again, i want to really thank you all very much, thought i would go nuts not haveing anyone to talk to and you folks are really angles and i do feel a lot better and the pos outlook is comeing back :)
thank you so very much

just keep in touch...remember that the initial period is really a roller coaster, so you'll have your ups and downs. Go with the "ups" and don't pay too much attention to the "downs". You may want to go on the internet to locate local AIDS organizations on the internet. But don't use the internet to search for symptoms, etc. chris

Dear Puppy: Slow down, girlfriend! Please be very careful when you talk about "all the sufferers." You'd be very surprised to know that a vast majority, because of the advances that have been made over the last fifteen yrs, are not suffering. Most of us are living our lives. Most of us work, continue to raise our children, mow the lawn on Sunday, take in a movie now and then, and do what everyone else in the country is doing. I don't think I'm in the minority of persons who are HIV+ when I can tell you I work 40-50 hours a week, have a great family, support that family, laugh a lot, and am fairly content with my life.

The days of the Benneton ads are only the on horizon. Remember, HIV/AIDS is no more or less important to the person that has it than is cancer, Parkinsons, ALS, MS, etc. chris

hey everybody :) well, today is the third day of takeing the medication, there are 5 of them, almost a meal :) have had no side effects from them at all, mabyits to early or maby im just being lucky. take care and bless yo all

well, still takeing the meds. and still no kind of side effects :) think i hit it lucky for once lol,lol God bless everyone

Great job Camper45! I started meds last week after just testing pos and do not have any noticeable side effects either. Let's cross our fingers! With some you gotta watch the liver levels though. Be sure your doc gets you on regular testing for a while.

I totally know what you mean about the isolation and lonliness about going through this, especially initially. Last weekend I was with my family for a memorial service, I mean my ENTIRE extended family. We are all very close and everyone kept asking why I was so sick. I wanted to share and get support but I also did not want to be rejected via stigma or distract attention from my cousin who just lost her mom and brother; we were there for her not some gay guy who did a stupid thing somewhere along the line (of course my self thinking is no longer so harsh these days, but opinions do exist out there). Since I hadn't really processed my situation yet myself, so how could I tell anyone? I kept quiet.

Needless to say I did tell one close friend at work who then disclosed their pos status. I was shocked, 20 years pos no meds, only recently at 40 is he thinking about them since his CD4s are dropping slightly. There are a lot of folks and situation out there who can help so please keep coming back.Take care!

thanks for that, it helps :)

today is two weeks takeing the meds, and so far still no side effects :) still working and being my usuall bored self :)

well, been takeing the meds nowfor well over a month and stil not side effects, i say to everyone, take them, have talked to several people and they are in the same boat, they are not haveing any side effects eather, so if your wondering if the side effects are worse than being pos, dont believe it, life is worth it :)

Hi camper :)
Glad to hear you're doing so well on you're meds :)
Keep up the good work !!!!!!
Some people do very well on their medications and it looks like you're one onf them :)
The important thing now is to stay consistent and take them the same times every day and not get careless with the doses .
When you get you're next set of numbers in let us see them :)
Did you talk to you're doctor about seeing a dermatoligist that specialises in hiv patients yet ? If not you should :angel:
And as always its good to see you again :D

I'm glad you are doing well, Camper45!

God bless you. Hope you are feeling better!

Feel better soon!You are right,life is good!I am negative for HIV but I do have,as they say a medical condition(cauda equina syndrome)I have little bladder control.Everything else is OK.You will be OK.People will support you and love and help you.

Hi Camper, I have a huge concern. How long has it been since you knew your status to when you were started on Meds???? My Doc said some people are Rapid Prgressors(but Rare)???? i am thinking that you haven't been tested in a long time since exposure??? If it was a short time can you tell me why you are on meds so shortly after being diagnoised??Just looking for my ownself...My email is REMOVED. if you don't wish to discuss it on this forum. Thanks-Chadster1041 :cool:




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hi again, still takeing the meds and still doing great, no side effects, except for thakeing the meds i would not even know i was pos. the reason the dr. started me on meds was my count was so bad, i was also dignosed withs aids. it had been a long times (several years since i was tested) and by the time i got tested i already was considered aids. but let me say again, so far, thanks to great dr. and the good Lord, i am doing great, feel great, and looking forward to a long life, so if your haveing thougts about takeing the meds, i say give it a try, maby im just lucky, but like i said, i have no side effects at all. :) if i can be of help to anyone let me know, :) glad to help ,because i know how scarry it is when you find out your pos. but there is life afterwards, and it can still be great :)

That is awesome!!! I am so happy things are going well for you! Please keep that positive attitude and continue to take care of yourself. We are all here if you need us but it sounds like you don't need us... we need you! You have a lot of information you can now offer to those in need who are going through their own experiences. Thanks for continuing to share your story with us ... and though I'm not always posting ... I am definitely reading!

God Bless you and Take Care. You are in my Prayers always!

thanks for that nice reply, but we all need each other, i could have never made it if it was not for this site, :) and good news still no side effects from the meds. if not for takeing the meds every morning i would not even know i was pos. :) thank everyone for the support and God bless all of us :)