This article talks about the optimum time to start medical treatment after being diagnosed +. The preferred time is within 4 months of diagnosis. This time frame would limit the chance the patient had of passing the virus on to others. It would also better insure a stronger response for the immunity system.
I know my diagnosis was quite late. As I said before, I had been tested & nothing showed up for quite some time after my last sexual encounter, well over a year. Considering there is a window in which HIV won't show on the tests available during the 90's, it's feasible that I could've been + for 2 - 3 years, perhaps even more.
The point here is that I may have infected someone else. I used precautions, but seeing as that I'm +, it's obvious that they don't always work. My viral load was well over 700,000 copies/ml. I used to wonder why some people seemed to get better with the meds & I didn't.
Mind you, I'm way better than I was in the early days, but I'm no where near normal. There are people on these meds that lead fairly normal day-to-day lives, I don't. My CD4 count has never been where the doctors have wanted it, even though my viral load is undetectable. My immunity isn't as high as it should be. I tire quickly. Diarrhea & gastrointestinal issues are near constants for me. I tend to catch just about every little bug that goes by & I'm very sensitive to weather/atmospheric conditions.
Maybe if I'd been diagnosed early & been on meds soon after, I might be in a better place healthwise. As, I said, I'm much better off than I was in the beginning, when I mostly laid sleeping on the couch, feeling like I was freezing & unable to eat. Add the sweats to that & it wasn't pleasant. Hopefully, getting meds early will help other people live better lives.
Cya...
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