I just got back from my country Colombia and had a beautiful spiritual connection with mother nature...I disconnected from everything! This is so important for our health! Not only have I been really taking care of my body..I stopped smoking, started eating organic and very healthy...but learning to stop and look at the beautiful gift that is nature and connecting to it as one...this was a total spiritual medication for me. Sometimes as activists we get burned out and we need to stop! And this is not only for activists, it's for everyone..HIV positive or HIV negative..activist or non-activist...
MariaHIVMejia's blog
Please see my video blog about what alternative treatments I did for the first 10 years without HIV medicine, and what I have been doing for the past 11 years--combining alternative treatment and HIV medicine: Que medicina naturista y alternativa use durante mis primeros 10 anos de ser positiva sin medicina para el vih , y que he hecho durante estos 11 anos tomando medicina alternativa en combinacion con los arvs In Spanish
Today I am remembering one of my biggest inspirations and warriors! Ryan White! He is an angel and someone that has inspired me to fight for injustice! He just wanted to go to school and fought for it when he was discriminated for having HIV! It is incredible to me that we are 30 years into this illness and the MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL is not letting a young boy go to school because of his condition! This is not right and this is my opinion. As a person who talks to young people all the time, so many young people are having unprotected sex. And if they think that HIV is not going to affect them...
World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1st each year around the world. It has become one of the most recognised international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. Started on Dec 1st 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice, fighting stigma and improving education. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done. PEOPLE ARE STILL...
(Fear, Strength, Positive Thinking, Conversations with your specialist) WELL, my latest lab work showed that my ALT and AST levels are a little up! This has to do with my liver enzymes. When I received the news and read my lab work and saw that my enzymes were up, I freaked out! I mean I really got unbalanced and very anxious and nervous! We, as HIV positive people, always have to go through this every time we get our blood work done! I have been through this for 20 years and as the years pass and more of the meds are in our system, actually it is a scarier feeling for me! One of the things...
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This article is cross-posted from TheBody.com's Resource Center on Starting HIV Treatment. I've been HIV positive for 20 years, 10 of them without any HIV meds; and for the last 10 years I have been on HIV medication. If I could go back 20 years, I wouldn't change a thing. I really believe (and this is only my opinion) that not taking the high dosages of AZT (Retrovir, zidovudine) that were offered 20 years ago saved my life. Not everyone should wait this long to get on meds. All bodies are different. My T-cell count went down to a dangerous 39; that is when I said "It is time." I always...
YES! Not everyone is an activist! And we must respect this...not all people are prepared to come out of their HIV closet because others want them too! They are not less than anyone..many of them are still dealing with the shame that comes with the illness. Or they are trying to protect their family members.... especially when there is so much ignorance and stigma with HIV/AIDS.We have to respect other peoples' choices and views! We are their role models ...so if we have it in us to be activists and advocate, let us do that for those that don't feel prepared or ready yet! Or maybe they will...
I want to be the voices of those that have been discriminated for living with HIV/AIDS or for supporting us! There are stories of people from all over the world that wrote me in my international group for people with HIV/AIDS, and the people who loves us on Facebook!! The stories moved me and I had to tell them! It is very sad most of the discrimination and stigma comes from our own families and loved ones! WE MUST END STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION! 30 years with HIV/AIDS and the stigma is stronger than ever! HATE! IGNORANCE! How do we fight them??? With EDUCATION! I really believe that by telling...
The big part your Doctor plays in your life! It's like a marriage...if there is no communication or respect , there will be a divorce! or a person being less adherent to your hiv medications..I tried to tell them how we feel as patients! We have to be proactive with out illness. Ask for tests, even if your doc does not ask for it! Like vitamin D! I was vitamin D deficient and I didn't know...and if I would have never asked, I would not have known! We have to respect our doctors and they should encourage their patients to research and investigate. I am the one that decided to stop taking...