Dear Anonymous All,
Thank you all for your contributions and reactions. It is always a blessing, a joy, to hear from people who stumble across this blog lost in a sea of blogs.
I often read about how you view treatments, diet, love - whether in public comments or in private messages so I want to take a moment to tell you what I believe.
I believe it is important that:
1- You look after your diet and eat well to feel well. Over the years following my diagnosis, I quit smoking, made sure to drink in moderation (that's two glasses a week at most... never been a drinker really) and replenished my body with healthy whole nutrients. Did that beat HIV? Probably not. Did it help in sustaining a healthy body and a healhty mind? No doubt.
2- You find a treatment that works well for you and that you can adhere to. I have been on various combinations over the years with - thankfully- no major side effects. Currently Atripla serves me well.
3- You do not become complacent.
4- Keep hope. I thought I would be dead by now, that nobody would ever love me again and that I would be, at best, disfigured by the disease and the treatments. I am alive and well, I have a wonderful man in my life who doesn't pay too much attention to my status and I look pretty damn good. Growing older is another challenge altogether!
5 - Remember what works well for you does not necessarily work for others and vice versa. Try and try again.
Lots of love to all.
