Living Longer With HIV

A Lehigh Valley woman shares her triumphs and struggles

HIV: What You Should Know

Homosexual sex remains the leading cause of HIV infection in the United States, but heterosexual contact is the most common cause worldwide.

HIV testing saves lives. Infected people can only benefit from advances in HIV treatment if they know they have the virus. The federal government now recommends routine testing for all Americans ages 13-64.

HIV can’t be spread by hugging, kissing, donating blood, sharing food or household articles, or through tears, sweat, urine or insect bites.

Having HIV is not the same as having AIDS, the most advanced stage of HIV disease. AIDS occurs when an infected person’s immune system is so weak he develops infections a healthy person typically can fight off.

Sara* seems like most 35-year-olds. When she’s not working, she spends time with her husband and friends. She’s also considering having a baby. But this local woman has another life: her HIV life. It’s the reason she’s exhausted after a day of work and keeps secrets from her friends and colleagues. It’s also why deciding to have a child is the toughest decision she’s ever faced.

It’s been 11 years since Sara was diagnosed with HIV, the disease that damages the immune cells and destroys the body’s ability to fight off infections. “Aside from feeling tired and occasionally achy, I’m fairly healthy,” she says. To enhance her immune system, she takes three medications twice a day.

“Sara represents the new face of HIV,” says infectious disease specialist Timothy Friel, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s AIDS Activities Office. “People with HIV who take medications are living dramatically longer and thriving.” In fact, today they’re more likely to die from common conditions like heart disease or cancer—just like the general public— than problems associated with a weakened immune system.

When Sara contracted HIV (the result of unprotected sex), doctors had begun using “drug cocktails,” mixtures of drugs that have been a godsend to HIV patients. “At the time I didn’t think I’d be alive now, let alone married,” Sara says. Her medications and regular checkups have helped her and others live near-normal lives. “I never thought I’d be considering a baby,” she says. (By using HIV medications, she reduces her newborn’s risk for HIV infection from about 25 percent to less than 1 percent.)

While Sara is physically strong and appears healthy, the disease has taken a toll mentally. “I’m always fighting the HIV stigma,” she says. “People just don’t want to believe that someone like me who’s never used drugs and is not gay can get HIV.”

She finds comfort and strength through a support group at Lehigh Valley Hospital for HIV patients and others affected by the disease. She often finds herself educating people about HIV. “If I can reach just one person, convince them prevention is as simple as using a condom, that’s one more person who might not get this disease,” she says.

*The patient’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.

Want to Know More about the AIDS Activities Office, HIV support groups or free HIV testing? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, July-August 2008

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