New Year's Resolutions for the HIV-Positive

By Jacob Anderson-Minshall

January 2, 2017

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Get on Treatment

If you haven’t started treatment, or have fallen off your medication schedule there are now

More reasons than ever to start/restart antiretroviral treatment. While current therapies involve

A once-a-day pill, bimonthly injectables are on the horizon and should be available in 2017.

What’s more, one of the those recently approved drugs has also been shown to be effective even

against multi-drug resistant strains of HIV. There are also new treatments for HIV-related issues

like diarrhea. So make sure this year you get serious about treatment.

Become or Stay Undetectable

Once you’re on treatment the goal is to lower your viral load to a point that it becomes

undetectable in your blood. The amazing news is that being undetectable means you are

literally unable to transmit HIV to someone else.

 

Get your T Cells Up

 

The sad truth is that it’s possible to become undetectable and still have a stage three diagnosis.

once someone’s HIV has damaged their immune system and caused AIDS-related illnesses, it

can be very difficult to recover entirely, even when you viral load goes down via antiretroviral

therapy. If that’s true for you, this is the year to talk to your doctor about methods  to raise your

CD4 count.

Eat Healthy

People living with HIV need a balanced diet, without too much fat, sugar or salt. If your doctor

has told you that you are underweight, overweight, or diabetic; talk to them first about the right

diet. Otherwise you can focus on these tips: (a) eat plenty of fruit and vegetables (like these),

which provide fiber, vitamins and minerals, (b) eat enough complex carbohydrates (brown rice,

potatoes, whole grain breads, pasta) to provide you with energy, (c) eat about a fist size of

protein (stick with lean meats, fish, eggs and beans), (d) eat some dairy: cheese and yogurt are

both good (e) limit the amount of fats and added sugar.

Drink to Your Health

Coffee has numerous benefits for those with HIV, including boosting energy and improving

physical performance. It’s also a great source of antioxidants, and may even increase HIV

treatment success.

 

Take Action

Getting involved in helping others or advocating for the rights of people with HIV will help you

deal with things like depression and isolation that many POZ people experience. Whether you

protest changes to the Affordable Care Act, join in the efforts to decriminalize HIV, or just

volunteer at a soup kitchen, getting involved is a great goal for 2017.

Get Heart Healthy

People living with HIV are more likely to have heart disease as they age. Given the number of

celebrities who suddenly passed away from heart problems last year, 2017 is the right time to

make sure you’re doing right by your heart: including cutting back on sugar, stop smoking,

reduce the amount of alcohol you drink, and get regular exercise. 

 

Get Tested for STIs

Just because you’re already HIV-positive doesn’t mean you can throw away all your safety gear

and bareback without consequences. Sexually transmitted infection are on the rise –

especially among men who have sex with men (syphilis rates are particularly high in gay men) –

and they are also becoming antibiotic resistant. There’s a real threat that gonorrhea could  become untreatable.

 

Get Fit

Staying fit is important for people with HIV, but don’t worry, you don’t need a gym membership,

a lot of time, or expensive equipment. Los Angeles-based fitness coach Sam Page – a celebrity

trainer who is HIV-positive – provides do-it-at-home fitness tips here.

 

Become an Organ Donor

Until very recently, people living with HIV weren’t legally allowed to donate their blood or

organs; and no doctor was legally allowed to transplant such organs into another person –

regardless of that person’s status. But, beginning in 2016, that all changed when the Hope Act

went into effect. The federal law allows certain hospitals the right to transplant POZ organs into

people living with HIV on  the waiting list for kidneys and livers. Since POZ people do poorly on

dialysis, these kinds of surgeries are literal life savers. So, sign up, even if you don’t want to

donate until after you’ve passed away. When you do, make sure your loved ones know your

decision, in case you die suddenly (say in a car accident).

Read more articles from PLUS, here.