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Aged 56-65

Interview 25

Interview 25

Age at Interview: 63
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 48
Background: A retired GP living with his partner of 9 years in London. He was diagnosed in 1990 after unprotected sex at a time when he assumed he was HIV positive.

Brief outline:He currently takes didanosine, ritonavir, lamivudine and saquinavir for HIV. He has suffered from non-painful peripheral neuropathy and some lipodystrophy. With treatment, he now looks forward to a long retirement.

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His thoughts on disclosure of HIV status in casual sex are shifting.
Print First of all I think you have to have safe sex, secondly I think it's not one person's responsibility. And I would never, I mean if anybody asked me I'd say immediately, yes. So people are free to ask and everybody should have safe sex if they're concerned, either... Getting it or giving it. Even so it worries me a bit and I'm beginning to move towards the idea that you should at least provide, I should at least provide people with the opportunity to find out. I'm just concerned about people being appalled if they find out subsequently. And I don't feel that if I've been involved sexually with somebody then I can be… that I'm the right person to be a counsellor, to explain to them what the risks are and so on. I mean they'll see me as... special pleading and all of that sort of thing, so I'd rather they did that first really. I mean I can give other people help and advice about other, their other partners still. I mean I'm always happy to talk to people about HIV and it's problems and complications. But I don't think I can tell, easily talk to somebody I'm intimately involved with about it. Because I'm not the right person to do it in that situation.

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