Sentences...

 

Until the early 2000s, HIV was basically a death sentence.  When I was diagnosed in 2000, they told me to expect 5 years.  Due to advancements, HIV went from a death sentence to a life sentence.   HIV may not directly cause my death, but it has destroyed the life I had.  It is chronic & constant.   I will never not be +.

Chronic illness is a life sentence, no matter what the diagnosis.  It  is trying, exhausting, limiting & often embarrassing.  For most, the only way out of chronic illness is death.  Not a great option, but a lot of people choose it over living a life chronically ill.

Probably the biggest problem with be chronically ill is dealing with those who aren't.  Especially if your ailment isn't something they can see.  They can't be dealt with & won't react with reason or compassion.  They get angry, indignant & judgy.  They see your condition is an aggression against them.  

I don't have any answers.  You can try support groups.  That didn't work out for me, but it might for you.  The best I can tell you, is if at all possible, avoidance is the best policy.  If you know someone is going to react badly to your situation, don't indulge or humor them.  Don't confront them.  Don't justify yourself.  Just get away ASAP.  Sometimes you have to deal with these people.  All you can do is try to set limits & boundaries. 

There is no good news when it comes to chronic illnesses.  Sometimes, things come along that can help; better meds or therapies.  But you are still enduring a life sentence.

Cya...

No, But Yes...

 

Slightly busy morning, we need to 1st of the month stuff underway.  I didn't notice any articles this morning, so this is going to be an opinion matter.  People say HIV is no longer a death sentence & shouldn't be criminalized or have a person required  to  reveal  their status.  

Let's be clear, I don't anyone should be charged simply for being HIV+.  Onto my issues with this matter.  As for HIV no longer being a death sentence.   How 1st world of you.  If you can get the resources;  medical treatment, meds, food, housing, etc...  HIV probably won't kill you.  There's a lot places where none of those things are givens.

Again, back to HIV not being a death sentence.   It most certainly was to the life the person was living before they knew they were HIV+.  They will never be the same.  They will never live that same life again.  It's gone, it was replaced with a life of being + &  taking meds, seeing doctors, facing stigma, etc...

Finally, as for not revealing your status.  If you have sex with someone & you didn't  reveal pertinent info  about yourself, like being HIV+, that was a non-consensual encounter.  By not revealing that knowledge, you robbed that person of being able to give informed consent.  You violated them, their  trust,  their life.  You may not have used force, but you raped them & potentially ruined their life.

HIV shouldn't be criminalized.  But it shouldn't be  legitimized & normalized like it's a common cold.  Any one who feels HIV isn't at least in part a death sentence, is mistaken.  Any one who opts not to inform their partners is a monster.

My opinion on the matter, take care.

Cya...

Not A Death Sentence...

People say HIV is no longer a death sentence.   Let me say this, maybe if:

• If you live in the west
• If you are middle class
• If you are White
• If you are male

Just as with everything else in this world, the closer you are to being a WASP male, the better things are apt to play out for you.   This includes living with HIV.  If you're living in a poorer country, you're a person of color, you live in an excessively anti-Gay society, etc... then HIV might very well be a death sentence for you.   

I'm considered White & I am male.  But, I'm also gay, poor & rural.  Being on disability is the only reason I've ever had access to meds or treatment.  I'm fortunate.  Still, I'll never be on the best regimen or the newest.  I'll never have all the things looked at that a more affluent person would.  Without disability, HIV would've been a death sentence for me.  AZT nearly was.

Even with all the treatment I receive, it still does nothing to deal with the chronic nature of being ill & isolated.   My treatment does little to handle the social, emotional & psychological issues of being a long term HIV survivor.   HIV is exhausting is every matter from finances to relations.  This virus, even when treated plays havoc with every aspect of your life.  They're finding out lots of things about how + people age differently,  How some of the meds are having unforeseen side effects, interactions & health developments due to long term exposure to the meds.

So, HIV may no longer be a death sentence for some, it still is for others.  Even if it isn't for you, it's still a life sentence.  Don't candy coat it, living with HIV is a total bitch.   Anyone who says it isn't, is either a newbie, incredibly wealthy or lying.

Cya...