It started as a simple status on my facebook page where I just put "FOR ME IT'S VERY HARD!!! TO TAKE HIV MEDS...IT'S NOT SIMPLE! IT'S NOT EASY...THEY DO SAVE OUR LIVES BUT HAVE VERY HARSH SIDE EFFECTS!) Well before I knew it, I had a scientist (a good friend), a doctor, a person that said he tested HIV positive and was showing me videos of all these other doctors and scientists that say HIV does not cause AIDS, and that the medication is killing us. I also had a very nice lady from the UK that is also positive along with her husband and also takes her meds. Well this is my opinion and only mine! I don't give a damn if HIV does not cause AIDS. I really don't care! what I care about is how the hell do I keep my immune system intact???? From the videos I have seen from people that say that HIV does not kill, they talk about keeping your immune system healthy with natural medication, drink lots of water , live a healthy life etc etc! Well, I do all of that! As I have said before, I was with NO MEDS for almost 10 years. When I found out, I left to Colombia (my country) for a while. My story is very complex, I tested positive around 1991. It was something that was done to every teen that entered Job Corp we got tested for HIV. I decided to take no meds and after this is when I left to Colombia (my country) for a while. My mom has a health food store and a vegetarian restaurant, and I took nothing but natural medication, but I still monitored everything. Again, I was without meds for 10 years and I saw the decline of my CD4 T-cells...until it went down to 39. No meds were available in Colombia back then, and I was NOT going to take the high dosages of AZT that they were prescribing back then in the United States. Lab companies were not pushing medication (we had none in Colombia ) so this was not an issue! I came back to Miami and decided it was time. You know when you have that gut feeling.. and I remember the doctor telling me, 'Well Maria I can take you to the well but I can't make you drink the water!' It was up to me to start my medication. I started to feel healthier and my Tcells went up! and believe me, I was against HIV meds. I have never been hospitalized and I am very blessed for that! So, you see, everyone is different. I go with my instinct and my heart and this is what is right for me.I also combine it still with natural medication, acupuncture, meditation, massage and positive thinking.This is my opinion! Hell YEAH I wan't to be free of HIV meds but I know that I have to take them. I told my Doc even what medication to prescribe to me. Now this is the thing, as I said I don't give a damn about HIV causing AIDS. I care about if I stop taking my meds, explain to me how I will keep my immune system intact and not with only natural medicine!? Because I have been around that all my life! So I have done it all! I also have a friend that was an ex drug addict. She used crack and didn't eat well. She is in her late 50s and didn't take her medication and has 1500 cd4 cells. Imagine that !! And I know others who have stopped their meds when they were at a good level and went down and went right back to meds. So, you see, I am so tempted to leave my meds because it's been such a freaking long time and I want a break..but then what? As my wife told me last night, 'if it isn't broken, don't FIX it!' Because you may leave them and come back feeling 3 times worse than you are now. And if HIV doesn't cause AIDS, then what broke my immune system down during those 10 years? Because in Colombia, it was all natural and I had the best nutrition. I do feel we all are human and we all have a purpose. Everyone's body is different and I would never tell anyone what to do when it comes to this. I tell them 'talk to your doctor'. The life of people is in our hands, especially if they are recently diagnosed and scared to take their meds...we might hurt them! WE have to be very careful and I thank god I have a strong personality and I do research. I am even going to do some research on the ones that say that that you don't have to take your meds. I wan't to see with EVIDENCE how they kept their immune system intact!!! I am not a doctor or a scientist! But I have a brain and at the end I know what works for me. :) Love and Light ~Maria~
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Gisele my dear friend you are so right!! that is why I wen't through a few doctors until I found the one with compassion and vocation :) that treated me like a human being and not a number...he listens to me and I listen to him (well I try ) tee hee :) he is not only a doctor but a great friend and person..ty for always responding to me :) do you have facebook?? a lot of us in there on my page :) add me if you like I go by the name Maria Hiv.
Have a beautiful day xox
I love you
I so appreciate your thoughts. I specifically appreciate the rminder that everyone's body is different. Sometimes it is really scary for me to read the stories of what has happened to other people with this and other diseases. All we can do is do our own best research, self care, and listen to our intuition and bodies about what they need. Living in a fear based society is difficult and I for one want to try to move on from that mindset. Thanks again for sharing your views Maria~ Lynn
Mariateresa; When I read your posts I hear such a LOUD voice! Good for you, good for asking questions, and wondering loudly just what IS true and just what might be true.
I've had HIV for 27 years now, and with the exception of 2 very short trials I have never taken any anti-retro drugs. I certainly did my best to look after myself; I did have 3 children to raise. I watched my husband die of AIDS, using the only drug available 30 years ago: AZT. I wasn't impressed with what I saw which an excessive obssession with T4 cell counts and all matters medical. What I felt was more important was preparing for the unavoidable, given his medical status and that was death. When death starts showing its face in your life, maybe there are more important things to worry about; maybe there are more useful ways to use the time that's left to you. Like relationships; a life review, an examination of your soul.
I would never presume to advise people that not taking the meds is the way to go. Not at all. Not taking any of the drugs was MY way to go. And I'm grateful that in this part of the world, we have a choice. Basically, with HIV, one size does NOT fit all.
@ lynn anytime..I just want to help with my own experiences :) yes we are all different what is good for one person may not work for the other :) xoxo ..@ Gisele yes I have a loud voice :) I am known to be passionate...I am sorry for what happend to your hubby..I am glad that 20 years ago when they wanted to put me on Azt I said HELL NO ...the dosage that they were giving was killing people...now for me is different and I made my choice :) but I so feel you when you talk about focus on other things..for me the spiritual part is very important, positive energy, not holding anger or hate towards no one..(it's hard) but must forgive..because this makes us sick..one of the things that has always helped me since a teen when I felt wow my life is over..I didn't even get a chance to get married or have kids etc etc..was to always help others. That is one of the most important things for me ..and forgive those who hurt me and abused me along the way..Love and light!!xox
Maria, I couldn't agree more with your statement about how lack of forgiveness and hanging on to old hurts CAN make us sick. Emotional pain will, over time manifest itself somewhere in the body. And when I think of the "medical model" of treatment, I'm referring to the kind of care that some doctors provide, by neglecting to treat the whole person; people have souls; social circumstances, financial situations, families and cultural backgrounds; all of which impact on their state of body, but sometimes more importantly their state of mind. The mind is a powerful tool. peace, Gisele
Dear Maria, I'll be looking for you on facebook, my name Gisele Vincent-Page, love, peace Gisele
very good Maria , congratulation
Ty Mom (Tere) I love you!