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Being diagnosed HIV positive, even though you may have been infected for quite some time, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will start on an HIV therapy regimen immediately. The most important thing you can do after you receive an HIV diagnosis is to begin seeing a doctor. Make sure the doctor you choose is an HIV specialist so they are current on all of the new treatments and trends. This is very important because there have been so many improvements and conveniences to medications over the past several years. Your HIV specialist can begin monitoring your body and your HIV. Seeing a doctor regularly will help assure you’ll start treatment when the time is right. Your initial doctor visit It is extremely important that you are completely honest with your doctor and staff members. If you think a question might be a little too personal or intrusive, just ask why the question is important and listen to the answer rather than being evasive. Things you think are minor or have no significance can actually be very important to your treatment. Your doctor will review your tests and information then work with you on an individualized regimen that will be based on many of the following factors:
When will you start treatment? The World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines earlier (2006) gave the 200 T-cell mark as the point to start treatment. This is still a starting point in some developing countries. Now, however, both the WHO and the United States Department of Health and Human Services guidelines recommend starting therapy at the 350 T-cell mark. This mark is before you ever have AIDS and that’s really the whole point of treatment: to keep your HIV infection from ever progressing to AIDS. Physicians do differ on starting points. Most will get you going between 500 and 350. Many physicians who recommend starting sooner do so to make sure there is no damage at all to the immune system. The guidelines do suggest three exceptions to the 350 T-cell benchmark: 1. If you are a pregnant woman, you should start HIV therapy to protect your unborn child. HIV therapy dramatically reduces the risk that you will transmit HIV to your baby. After you give birth, if you don’t need HIV therapy for your own health yet, you may be able to stop taking your meds until your T-cells drop to 350. 2. If you have HIV-associated kidney disease or kidney damage, you should start HIV therapy regardless of your T-cell count. 3. If you have Hepatitis B virus that requires treatment, as well as HIV, you should begin HIV therapy at the same time you start therapy for Hepatitis B, because some of the most effective drugs to treat the two diseases are the same. Your first HIV regimen This used to be tricky and there were terrible side-effects but that was then, back in the early days of the disease, and this is now. Today’s drugs are numerous, tremendous, easy to take, easy to tolerate, easy to adhere to and most of all highly effective. There are nearly 40 FDA approved drugs for HIV treatment, including multi-class combination drugs and Single Tablet Regimens (STRs). The combination drugs (some of which have been around for years while a few are relatively new) are tremendous because they combine everything you need in just one or two pills that you take just once-a-day. Most current regimens for people just starting HIV treatment consist of three drugs from these classes which make up the HIV cocktail. Combination drugs and STRs, that we've mentioned, combine two or more of these drug classes into a single pill. - 2 NRTIs plus 1 NNRTI More information about the newest and preferred HIV drugs, preferred treatment regimens and current guidelines can be found in the 16th Annual HIV Positive! magazine Treatment Guide being published in April or you can go to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website at www.hhs.gov, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website at www.fda.gov and our website at www.hivpositivemagazine.com. And think about this: Visit your local ASO Paying for your meds If you are eligible for an AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) in your state and the medication(s) you will be taking are covered but think you may be moving to another state in the future, make sure the medication is covered and you are eligible for ADAP in the state you might be moving to. ADAP can vary greatly from state-to-state, especially with regard to qualifying incomes.
Copyright 2018, Positive Health Publications, Inc. This magazine is intended to enhance your relationship with your doctor - not replace it! Medical treatments and products should always be discussed with a licensed physician who has experience treating HIV and AIDS!
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