The truth is HIV still has no cure, but this doesn't mean you can't reduce the amount of the virus in the body and improve your life expectancy levels by using antiretroviral therapy. The CDC says that most people can get the virus under control within six months of starting treatment!
Get yourself tested at a HIV clinic. As soon as you realize you are positive, start on the HIV/AIDS treatments we have mentioned here.
If you have recently tested positive for HIV, then you will probably be placed on the pill treatment. There are many FDA-approved medications available to you, either in a single pill format or in a combined format.
It's important for you to speak to your HIV clinic about the available pill treatments and see which one suits you best.
There are also injection shots available, but these are given by your healthcare provider and require routine office visits. These are given at different times depending on the plan that you are on.
You always have to start off by being on pills, and then once you have been virally suppressed for at least 3 months, you can move over to the shots. Your healthcare provider can give you more details on moving from the pills to the shot.
Be careful with your appointments when you are on the shots treatment plan. Let your healthcare provider know in advance if you will miss an appointment for your shots.
When you take your HIV treatment (shots or pills) on time, eventually, your viral load will decrease. The treatment can make the viral load so low that a test cannot detect it in your blood (undetectable viral load).
You want to keep your viral load as low as possible because it means the virus doesn't have a chance to multiply and adversely affect your immune system. Thus, you won't feel sick.
When you have an undetectable viral load, you are not going to transmit HIV through sex. You also won't transmit the virus to your baby, if you were to give birth.
However, you need to take your medication on time and without missing a single appointment. If you miss or skip medication, it can result in drug resistance and limits the possibility of successful HIV treatment. That's when you can transmit drug-resistant strains of HIV to others.
Don't mess around with your HIV treatment. As soon as you know you are HIV positive, start getting treatment right away and stick to the schedule as carefully as possible.
This will increase the chance that you will be able to successfully treat the virus in your blood and live a healthy life.
Contact McGregor Clinic, a private non-profit health care clinic located in Fort Myers, Florida, to get HIV testing and HIV treatment.
