KISISS Q&A
LIFE ON THE COCKTAIL
...I have seen in print more times than I like the notion that people with HIV/AIDS who choose to engage in unsafe sexual or drug-related activities can just 'go on the pills' and all will be well. If this weren't such an ignorant viewpoint, I'd probably know better where to start attacking it.
...Here's reality for you. I wake up every day by 6:15 am. I take two Crixivan, two AZT, one 3TC and usually some acidophilus pills to make up for the fact that my digestive tract now somewhat resembles the plumbing of a defective tract house.
I can't eat anything for an hour. Cirxivan must be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before or 2 hours after eating. Fat inhibits the absorption of Criximvan, so if I must eat when I take it, I'm supposed to choose from: toast, jam, crackers (yum, right?). Not for me: I'm one of the fortunate ones who power-pukes when I try such a combination.
Every 8 hours I take a variation that combination. At 2:30 pm, I drop the 3TC and add Septra. At night, I add the 3TC back into the mix, along with Elavil (helps me sleep), Prilosec (that damn stomach!), and yet another antibiotic and more acidophilus. Every 8 hours, I have to think about when to eat and what to eat or not eat. Every 8 hours there is a period of nausea.
The results? I'm tired a lot. I'm nauseated a lot. I'm fat a lot.
I lie on the bed these days wondering how I could prevent anyone else from feeling this way. These side-effects are mild, considering what others go through with their medication. For some, the side effects are too harsh to continue with the regimen.
The next time a potential new boyfriend or girlfriend tells you safe sex is boring, that HIV doesn't cause AIDS, or (in the case of the boyfriend), that he will pull out before orgasm, think carefully about the odds. Reality bites; so does HIV.
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