This article & many others on the web are prescribing immediate treatment of HIV. This is contrary to older protocols that had doctors wait until patients' CD4's was under 350. The hope here is that if we start treating these newly + people ASAP, then we might prevent them from exposing others else to the virus.
I support this approach. I know how difficult it will be for them to adjust to taking the meds but it's the better option. Maybe if I'd been diagnosed earlier & treated sooner, my condition wouldn't have gotten as bad as it did. Maybe my current health would be better. I've been on the meds for over a decade. While, I am doing reasonably well with the virus, I'm no where near feeling 100%. There are days I'd be happy to feel 20%.
Prolonging the medical treatment will only result in more exposures & poorer health in those who will be eventually treated. Perhaps those people diagnosed & treated early can carry on a somewhat normal & productive life. Maybe they will only need assistance will medications & not have to go on disability. Perhaps a trip to the grocery store won't tax them like me. Some days just going to get groceries is incredibly exhausting.
Everyone screams about the $. Who's going to pay for it? The answer is simple. Taking the drugs sooner or later, won't matter, we're all going to pay for HIV. Like it or not, that's the simple reality of AIDS. We will all be burdened by this disease in one manner or another. The best we can do is to try to lighten the load as much as possible.
Cya...
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