Question
Should I test? Will treatment work?
17 October 2006. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission.
I think i have been HIV for years and tried to ignore it. I’ve been to the local GUM clinics regular for check ups but always opted out of the HIV test.
I’m sure a lot of people think it can never happen to me, but now that i have a lump which the doc says its a enlarged lymph node in my neck. This has made me worried and have arranged for a HIV test next week.
I know I am having to make my self go, but I now fear that if i am HIV-positive, the HAART (HIV treatment) will not work on me.
I know this is a silly question, but i feel as though my world is falling apart.
Answer
Thank you for posting your question to the website.
It is good that you have arranged an HIV test. Enlarged lymph glands do not mean that you are HIV positive, but it sounds like you worry about HIV, and have been at some risk in the past, so finding out now is important.
Many people who think they are HIV positive, often find out that they have not been infected. Similarly, many people who think they are HIV negative, are really HIV-positive.
The only way to know is to have the test.
If you are HIV-positive, then treatment will work for you. There are over 20 drugs, and you use a minimum of three drugs in a combination.
The drugs work in women, men, children, however they were infected, and in every country where they are available.
By having a resistance test before starting, it is possible to check that the drugs are likely to work, because a small percentage of people are infected with virus that is resistant to one or more drugs.
If someone has difficulties with side effects from one drug, then it is easy to switch to another.
Please call the i-Base phoneline if you’d like to talk about this in confidence, or to let us know how you get on.
Best wishes