• Clip
• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 46-55 >> Interview 16 >> Believes that being optimistic can help people to cope with health problems if they arise.

He was taking a combination of anti-virals (zidovudine, nevirapine and abacavir) with no side effects. He has less energy than he once did, but is not sure if this is due to HIV or getting older.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 15 >> Says a fighting spirit to get on with everyday life is a secret of his success. (Read by an actor.)

He is determined not to let HIV rule his life. He takes Sustiva/Combivir with no current side effects. He exercises and is careful about his diet to stay healthy. (Video and audio clips read by an actor.)

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 46-55 >> Interview 04 >> He found he had the strength to deal with life difficulties like the death of his partner.

He was taking saquinavir, ritonavir, tenofovir, and ddI with few side effects. He was also taking Prozac for depression. He had an undetectable viral load. Counselling has helped him to cope.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 03 >> Talks about how he reacted to the news of his Aids diagnosis given his belief in a higher power and the work he had done on himself.

Has slowly built up his strength since his illness, becoming highly expert in HIV. He did extensive self-development work on himself. He has 870 CD4 cells and currently takes nevirapine, abacavir, and lamivudine with minimal side effects.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 33 >> When he visited Aids orphans in Africa he thought about how HIV positive people could come together as a supportive world community. (Read by an actor

When he was first diagnosed, he was very concerned that he may have passed HIV onto his child and ex-wife, but he had not. With Combivir and nevirapine, he has over 300 CD4 cells and an undetectable viral load. (Video and audio clips read by an actor.)

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 03 >> Living with a life threatening illness helped him to focus 'on the present' and what he needed to have a better quality of life.

Has slowly built up his strength since his illness, becoming highly expert in HIV. He did extensive self-development work on himself. He has 870 CD4 cells and currently takes nevirapine, abacavir, and lamivudine with minimal side effects.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 03 >> Living with a life threatening illness helped him to focus 'on the present' and what he needed to have a better quality of life.

Has slowly built up his strength since his illness, becoming highly expert in HIV. He did extensive self-development work on himself. He has 870 CD4 cells and currently takes nevirapine, abacavir, and lamivudine with minimal side effects.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 12 >> He was shocked that he progressed to Aids so quickly but he found ways to avoid thinking about the seriousness of the diagnosis.

He suffered from severe diarrhoea and peripheral neuropathy while taking an earlier combination of anti-HIV drugs, but he currently takes nelfinavir, 3TC and abacavir with few side effects. He has had to cope with HIV-related illness, depression and mania at various times in his life.

• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> Aged 36-40 >> Interview 40 >> The advice she received from a lady in a support group in Africa helped her to remain optimistic she would survive.

She kept her HIV status secret for many years as she believed this was necessary for her survival. Currently in the UK, she is on a new anti-viral combination and the virus is now undetectable in her blood.

• Condition
• Chronic health issues >> HIV >> HIV

Publication date: November 2006          Last updated: September 2010

Review date: September 2012

 

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection attacks the body's immune system. We interviewed 50 people about their experiences of HIV infection. Select from the key topics below, choose from the full list of topics, or explore all the interviews.