Living Well with HIV - A Goal Some May Not Achieve

Close to 30 years in this epidemic, there have been incredible advances in what it means to be living with HIV. Across the country, there are people who have been HIV+ for almost as long as the epidemic has been in existence. It isn't unusual to meet people who have been living with HIV for 10, 20, even 25 years.  In fact, it is becoming less common to die from HIV than to be living a healthy life with this pesky virus.

Today, HIV is classified as a chronic disease.  This means that a person is more likely to live with HIV than to die from it. Those who remember the epidemic early on recall that a diagnosis with AIDS most likely meant an incredibly shortened life-expectancy.  Today, thankfully, this is not the case.  Like with other chronic diseases (think diabetes)  HIV disease is a continuum with various stages that a person can move through depending upon where they are in the progression of the disease and other factors in their lives.

To maintain a healthy lifestyle with HIV means managing your health in a variety of ways. This includes: eating a balanced, healthy diet, getting adequate exercise, maintaining a proper sleep schedule, reducing stress, visiting the doctor on a regular basis (anywhere from once a month to once every 3 months), getting blood work completed and monitored on a consistent basis, maintaining compliance with HIV medication regimen, managing side effects from medications (which may mean taking additional medications to off-set these side effects), and effectively treating any other medical concerns that may arise while living with HIV (as HIV suppresses the immune system, other health issues may result. Also, some of the medications can cause additional health concerns due to the side effects).

This is quite an ambitious list of recommendations for living well with HIV. And there are others, depending upon what a person is currently dealing with in addition to an HIV diagnosis.  I don't know about you, but just looking at this list makes me feel overwhelmed. Imagine living each and every day trying to maintain this schedule and being on top of all of these issues?

There are those who can live well with HIV (their HIV is chronic and manageable) and those who have  difficulty achieving a healthy life (their HIV is closer to life-threatening). Why is this happening? Often it's a difference in race and socio-economic status, which makes access to all these necessary factors close to impossible. Over on the End Homelessness Cause, my husband, Rich, and I have written about this disparity.  We believe there is a connection between homelessness, poverty, and why people continue to die from HIV/AIDS.  If a person is living in poverty and unable to achieve and/or maintain stable housing, how could she then be expected to monitor her diet and get regular exercise?  How can she be expected to take her medications on a strict schedule, and with food, when she may not have a safe place to take her meds and a meal to go with them?

As the Centers for Disease Control points out in their report HIV and AIDS in the United States: A Picture of Today's Epidemic (pdf) "Race and ethnicity are not, by themselves, risk factors for HIV infection. But studies show that African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos are more likely than their white counterparts to face multiple challenges associated with risk for HIV infection. These challenges include ... substance abuse, which may increase the risk for HIV infection through sexual or drug-related transmission; and socioeconomic factors, such as limited access to high-quality health care."

Poverty, life-circumstances, even stigma and discrimination ... all of these factors impact whether or not a person can live well with HIV.  For more commentary on this issue, check out Dr. Bob's blog.

Everyone who is HIV+ deserves access to the same treatments.  Thankfully there are some great organizations out there assisting those in need with acquiring some of these vital services to help increase their chances of living well with HIV.  There are also plenty of support groups and other services available to assist clients with better managing their disease.  At the same time, this needs to be seen as a public health priority. In 2010, no one needs to die from HIV disease. Everyone who is HIV positive can live a healthy life - if we as a nation can combat some of the factors that are beyond their control.

Photo Credit: Rich Lombino