Today Is World AIDS Day

From Wikipedia:

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 every year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements.

AIDS has killed more than 25 million people (between 1981 and 2007),and an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live with HIV (as of 2007), making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2 million lives in 2007, of which about 270,000 were children.

For more information about World AIDS day, or about HIV/AIDS in general, go HERE.

A Day With HIV In America

From Joe.My.God. And yes - you read that correctly: a 90 day supply of Atripla (which I take) costs over $5,500. Luckily for me, the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) pays 100% of that here in New York. But in places like South Carolina - people are put on waiting lists.

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World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day.

The CDC estimates that more than one million people are living with HIV in the United States. One in five (21%) of those people is unaware of their infection. I was one of those unaware 21% - until this summer when I ended up in the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs.

The reason I was unaware was because I didn't get tested. And the reason I didn't get tested was because I was afraid. But my avoidance of HIV tests made things much worse. My fear literally could have killed me.

HIV/AIDS is a worldwide epidemic with an estimated 33 million people infected - but it is also a personal epidemic. MY epidemic. So please - from one person to another I beg of you - PLEASE GET TESTED. Knowledge is power - and the more you know, the healthier you can be.

To find a testing location near you - please go HERE. Get tested. Don't be afraid.

BTW - If I'm ever feeling sorry for myself, sad or generally unloved, I just go back and read all the supportive and wonderful comments I received on THIS post. And, without fail, it immediately makes me feel like the most loved blogger/friend/person in the world.

XOXOXO

UPDATE: On my way to work this morning, I got accosted by a gang of hairdressers (seriously) who were asking people to record short videos marking World AIDS Day. It is pouring down rain here and I looked like I puffy wet marshmallow, but against my better judgement I let them film me. Swear to Jeebus, if they use the footage I will barricade myself in an Arby's and never come out.

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Last Night On Project Runway - Bunim/Murray Strikes Again

AGAIN, the producers of Project Runway (Bunim/Murray) and the powers-that-be at Lifetime decided to be shady. Instead of teasing a truly emotional episode, they flat-out lied - AGAIN - in the previews. The whole "cheating" thing??? Well, it may or may not happen next week, and now it's just "accusations of cheating". These people are shameless!!

Obviously, the Mondo storyline hit extremely close to home for me. I kept my HIV status from the BunnyNation for a couple of weeks and it about wrecked me. I can't imagine keeping it a secret to everyone (including family) for 10 years. Mondo is full of the awesome, and it's so obvious he's going to win this season of Project Runway. Which he SHOULD.

But why in the HELL couldn't the producers just let Mondo's extremely emotional and compelling storyline be the "hook" to get us to watch? But NOOOOOOOOO ... they feel the need to pull the old "bait and switch" every week - and it's getting old.

I have a feeling that Ms. Bunim and Mr. Murray were in the Used Car business before they discovered television. And they're STILL selling "lemons" ...

"Me" Update: Good News

I haven't spoken much about how I'm doing ever since I disclosed my HIV status back in July.  A couple people recently asked for an update - so here it is...

For those of you who missed it, In June I spent a week in the hospital with pneumonia - at which time I found out I was HIV positive.  A couple weeks later (as soon as I was approved for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program - ADAP), I began taking Atripla - a very expensive medication which combines Sustiva, Emtriva and Viread.  All three drugs work together to slow the spread of HIV in the body, all in one daily pill.

After one month of taking the drug (religiously, I might add) - my doctor gave me a Viral Load test.  Viral Load measures the amount of HIV in your blood.  I went from a Viral Load of 288,000 to only 1,000 - in one month!  Once you hit 400 the virus is considered "undetectable" - which is one of the goals of HIV treatment.  As most of you know - undetectable does not mean cured - but it certainly beats lying in the hospital with pneumonia.

I am still waiting for my CD4 (t-cell count) test results - the lab misplaced them - but the doctor said we should expect good news there also.  Also, I am back on anti-depressants (Effexor) - which is covered 100% by ADAP (along with the Atripla and all my other medication).  The Effexor seems to be working nicely as well.

As far as other health-related issues - I lost about 40-50 pounds while in the hospital, and I've managed to keep most of it off.  I still need to loose another 40-50 to get to where I need to be, but at least I'm not gaining.  This is getting harder every day - as my energy is now back to normal, so is my appetite.  I've compensated by eating tons of melon - watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew - which is relatively healthy and fills me up nicely.  But, as usual, I need to exercise more.

Anywhore, I just wanted to let you know that as of right now, I am doing well.  And thanks to all of you who were concerned.

XOXOXO

HIV Breakthrough With Existing FDA-Approved Meds

For obvious reasons I have been paying much more attention to HIV/AIDS-related issues lately.  Promising news via Joe.My.God:

Scientists at the University of Minnesota believe that two existing FDA-approved cancer medications may work jointly to eliminate HIV infections.

The two drugs, decitabine and gemcitabine -- both FDA approved and currently used in pre-cancer and cancer therapy -- were found to eliminate HIV infection in the mouse model by causing the virus to mutate itself to death -- an outcome researchers dubbed "lethal mutagenesis." This is a landmark finding in HIV research because it is the first time this novel approach has been used to attack the deadly virus without causing toxic side effects. Because decitabine and gemcitabine are already FDA approved, researchers believe that if their research is effective in large animal models, it will be much easier to expedite the development of the drugs for human use.

Researchers found that the drugs caused no cell toxicity and were effective against HIV in levels below "well below" those used for cancer. The drugs are now being reformulated for oral use.

My "Landing Pad"

I sleep in a loft bed (above - please ignore my messy table/desk, and YES, that's Dusty looking for trouble) - you might notice my bed doesn't have a safety rail in the front.  No big deal, right???

Well, when my doctor told me I would be taking Atripla to combat my HIV, the one side effect he mentioned was that I may have "vivid dreams".  I immediately went home and read EVERYTHING online about the "vivid NIGHTMARES" some people experience while taking Atripla (big mistake), and I freaked out.

When I was a kid I was terrified of having "bad dreams".  I hated them so much that I developed the ability to literally stop my dream and wake myself up before things got too scary.  Unfortunately I haven't had to use this ability in ... oh, let's see, about 35 years - so I've long forgotten how I ever did it.  But my phobia of nightmares remains.

So the first night I took Atripla (most people take it before bed to lessen other side effects), I was nervous about having nightmares.  And then I realized I could conceivably have a nightmare, which could conceivable cause me to toss and turn in my bed which could conceivably cause me to fall out of bed and to the floor!  Yeah, I can be one paranoid Queen if I try hard enough.

So I looked around my room, and I remembered the stack of pillows just sitting there.  These are pillows I don't use on my bed (I LOVES lots of pillows) and they just sit on the floor in a nice pyramid...

So I had a brainstorm: every night before bed, I would create a "Landing Pad" of pillows just in case I fell out of my loft bed.  In the event of a "crash landing", I would at least be falling on something relatively soft (although I'm sure I would still bust a hip or at least break a nail or two)...

Here it is from above.  As you can see, Dusty found the trouble she was looking for...

Luckily, so far I haven't had any nightmares (or other "vivid dreams") - or any other side effects (knock on wood).  But I STILL lay out my Landing Pad before bed every night - just in case.

No More Secrets

I've been feeling a little distant from my blog and the blogosphere lately - and it's all because of a huge secret I've been keeping from you.  So much of what has happened in my life over the past few weeks has centered around one fact - one fact I haven't shared with the BunnyNation....

While in the hospital, I found out that I am HIV Positive.

First of all, please be assured that I'm doing fine.  ADAP (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) recently approved me, and I'm now taking Atripla which is a combination of 3 AIDS drugs (sometimes called the "cocktail").  For now I take one pill before bed as well as antibiotics to prevent the pneumonia from coming back, but that's about it.  I am extremely committed to staying healthy, and plan on taking advantage of the available services to help me do so.

I told my family immediately and they have been wonderful.  I also told many of my friends - and for those of you I didn't, my apologies that you had to find out this way.  Thanks to all of you who have been so supportive over these past few weeks - it means the world to me.

Some might think I'm insane for blogging about this - but let's face it, I blog about EVERYTHING.  I've blogged about being depressed, overweight, and my love of Papis and 90's House Music.  Hell, ya'll have read about EVERY Arby's meal I've eaten in the past 3 years, for Jeebus' sake!  So holding back this important part of my life was really making me uncomfortable.  It feels better being open and honest - and there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.  I have a disease, I'm taking responsibility for it, and I'm not going to keep it a secret any more.

So - there it is, the whole truth.  Please know that I didn't do this for sympathy or to seem "brave" - but for the simple fact that if a homeopathic thrush remedy turns my tongue bright purple (true story), I want to be able to blog about it!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

XOXOXOXOXO