HIV medication is very effective and if you were diagnosed before your immune system became too damaged you can expect your life expectancy to be almost the same as it would be without the virus.
In the 1980s and 1990s so little was known about HIV that if you survived more than a couple of years with the virus you would be called a ‘long-term survivor’. We have come a long way since then and HIV is now a manageable, long-term condition.
The latest studies suggest that if someone starts treatment while their CD4 is still high they can expect to live almost as long as if they didn’t have HIV. This also means that you will need to consider how to manage your health into your old age, as you learn to live with the inevitable effects of ageing in addition to being HIV positive.
Living with HIV long term can present you with new challenges – for instance it might get harder to keep taking your medication as time goes on. We’ve got tools which can help to make that easier for you.
If you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, seek the help of THT Direct who will be able to give information on local counselling or support.
A healthy diet and an active lifestyle are important to keep your immune system strong and to ensure that you’re not making it easy for a serious opportunistic infection to attack you.
If you haven’t yet started taking any kind of drugs for HIV, you can help your body by eating a varied, healthy diet and taking regular exercise. Then when the time comes to start your medication, you will be in a great position for your body to handle it.
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This article was last reviewed on 30/9/2012 by T. Kelaart
Date due for the next review: 30/9/2014
Content Author: S. Ellis
Current Owner: S. Ellis
More information:
Life Expectancy With HIV Increases Dramatically AIDSMeds (2008)
Essential Components of SAFE US Department of Health and Human Services Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention/Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (2007)
HIV and Aging: The Long-term Consequences of Successful Antiretroviral Therapy HIV Medical Update (2009)
Normal Life Expectancy With Maintenance of CD4s Above 500AIDSMeds(2010)
The Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (2008) Life expectancy of individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in high-income countries: a collaborative analysis of 14 cohort studies. The Lancet372:293-99
Long Term Survivors of HIV/AIDS PWA Newsline/The Body (1996)
Various gay men discuss how they reacted when they found out they were HIV positive
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http://www.hiv-druginteractions.org/