Newly diagnosed and been...

Thank you so much for reaching out. Finding out you are living with HIV can be overwhelming and scary. You are definitely not alone in any of the things you may be feeling right now.

Here is a fact sheet with some good things to know when you've been newly diagnosed. The most important is that there is absolutely life, and all the great things it can hold, after an HIV diagnosis. This health condition is 100% treatable. Furthermore, once on treatment that is working well, it is also *not possible* to transmit to an HIV-negative partner during sex. You can live a long life, and thrive with HIV!

All of the writers on our blog, A Girl Like Me, share that experience of being diagnosed with HIV, and many of them have written about that moment in their lives and how they moved to a place where they felt more at peace with their diagnosis. Please feel free to take a look at some of their writings; I hope they help to let you know that you are absolutely not alone.

I also wanted to let you know that this post of yours is only visible to people you add as "trusted contacts" (and The Well Project admins) so if you don't get responses here, that is why. If you'd like to connect with other users on our site, I suggest you join one of our online groups, which you can find here. 

It is definitely important to connect with health care, as well as community. An HIV service provider can also hopefully help connect you with a support group or activities where you can meet or attend groups with other women living with HIV, and connect with community and support. They also know that people living with HIV often want their providers to be as discreet as possible, so they will protect your confidentiality as a participant in their programs.

If you need help navigating this website or have questions, please reach out to me here.

Best,
Juliana