+Life favorite, Dr. Anu Seshadri discusses what to do first after being given a new HIV diagnosis.
The following is a transcript between Karl and Dr. Anu.
ANU
It’s just another diagnosis.
KARL
Hello there. Welcome to Plus talk on Plus life, where we’re all about turning positive into a plus. Dr. Anu is in the house. It’s nice to see you, doc.
ANU
It’s nice to see you too. Long time. No see,
KARL
Long time. No see, but we talk regularly because you are my personal physician as well. I just want to make that be quite clear. So what do you want people to know when they first get their HIV diagnosis from someone like you? It’s, it can’t be a nice moment.
ANU
Well, let me ask you, when you got the bad news, how did you feel?
KARL
I felt like a digital countdown clock started over my head going counting backwards. And I thought, how could I do this to my parents? Those were the first immediate things, but I’m quite pragmatic. And then I went, okay, what do I have to do now? What do we do?
ANU
It can be quite devastating, right? But in today’s world it’s not too life changing. It’s, it’s just another diagnosis and that’s the, I don’t want people to define themselves by their illness. And we’ve had this talk before, right? People say that they’re diabetic, you’re not diabetic, you are Carl who has diabetes and this is just another illness that has plenty of treatment options, surveillance options, and we can really control this virus. So do not define yourself by it. This isn’t world ending or life changing in that matter. You can tackle it and have the strength to move forward.
KARL
And so you mentioned treatment then. So when should people start treatment?
ANU
As soon as possible.
KARL
Can I start at the day that you give me my results?
ANU
Not necessarily. You know, you do need to establish care with a physician. We need to see where you are, where, how strong your immune system is. And according to that then and according to other illnesses that you may have, such as diabetes or kidney issues, then your doctor would prescribe certain medications for you that’s safe.
KARL
Right. Okay. So what does HIV treatment look like and involve these days?
ANU
It’s quite, it, it’s quite simple. Just like anything else. If you, you have a routine visits with your doctor, they do your lab work to see how strong your immune system is and have your medications. You know, there’s oral medications, there’s injectables now. And I think it’s quite simple. We make it harder, right. In our, in our minds. Right? Even before we make it a lot harder than what it actually is.
KARL
Well that’s the stigma around it, you know, that we we’re hanging onto. So what does undetectable mean and why is it so important for somebody to want to achieve undetectable status as quickly as possible?
ANU
So undetectable means that your viral load, so the amount, the HIV virus that can be picked up on a lab test is undetectable. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you have no HIV in your body. There’s, it’s at such a low count that it can’t be picked up on a lab test and that means that you cannot transmit it or infect somebody else.
KARL
Sexually. Sexually, yes. Right. Well that’s undetectable equals untransmittable. Yeah.
ANU
Or through the blood, right? Like IV drug abuse. So yeah.
KARL
Yeah. How often should I come and see you? My healthcare professional when I’m now living with HIV
ANU
I think it really, it depends. Initially you’re gonna have a little bit more frequent visits just to see how you’re doing on medications, how your lab counts are, how your viral load is, how strong your immune system is. So I would say about every three to six months,
That’s, that’s it.
And when you’re at a steady state, you know, knock on wood at, at one point you may even, your doctor might wanna just check in with you once a year.
KARL
You’re making it sound like HIV is very simple. Is it?
ANU
At this day and age, I think it is. If you have the proper resources, you are motivated to take charge of your health. You’re very, what we call compliant, which means that you’re, you’re very,
KARL
You’re taking your meds as you should.
ANU
Exactly.
KARL
Now I’ve heard different things. I take my medicine every morning, but sometimes on the bottle it will say, take before bed. Is there a perfect time of the day to take your med or is it more important to take it consistently at the same time every day?
ANU
It depends on the medication. So I think the answer is both. So certain medications would have certain side effects. So if, if a certain side effect is fatigue, then that’s why it’s recommended to take it before bedtime. So you can be the best that you can be during the daytime. But in general, yes, it is also important to take it around the same time every day.
KARL
What happens if I miss one dose? What happens? Like I travel a lot, right? Different time zones and, and it’s hard to adhere if, if I miss just one dose, how bad is that?
ANU
Not too bad. But you need to get back on the regimen and I would say this is where the next set of counts are gonna be important. So if you miss one dose, not necessarily gonna make a huge effect, but at the end of the day, if you’re gonna miss like two or three doses is then you may, that viral count that was initially undetectable may have a little bit a Blip.
KARL
Now, and this might sound over simple, if I miss a dose, should I take two tablets next time to catch up or just take one?
ANU
I Would just continue to take one,
KARL
Switch Gears a bit with this and talk about mental health side of things because as we said at the top, an HIV diagnosis is a big bit of news. It shouldn’t be in this day and age, but it still is to take on board no matter how old you are or what your circumstances are. So should we be considering therapy or speaking to a professional from a mental health perspective as well as the physical side of things to take care of our HIV
ANU
I Think it’s important, but that’s also person dependent too. So if you’re very, if you’re a very pragmatic person that it’s, it wasn’t devastating for you and, and you think of it as just another diagnosis, okay, fine, I need to go to the doctor and your mental health and your strength, the inner strength is, is fine. That’s, you’re gonna be the best judgment of that. So if you’re tackling it, you’re tackling the diagnosis, you’re tackling all of this, especially of what’s going on with you, absolutely reach out and find a therapist or a mental health provider that can guide you through this process and so that you can maintain your happiness and your strength as well. And it’s not just, and let me just put this, we always, we always think about the patient, but it’s not just for the patients, but your loved ones too. ’cause it can be tough for loved ones as well, right?
KARL
Speaking of that, so what are the first steps I should take to make sure I, my sexual partners are also being protected?
ANU
As far as, well I think the first step is making sure that you’re on the current treatment regimen, right? Asking them to be tested to see what their status is. And then two, is getting yourself in with a provider and getting on that treatment regimen so that you can become undetectable and that way you’re protecting your partner.
KARL
Are there any things that we should do in our daily lives once we get that HIV diagnosis that, that we should focus more on as far as just being healthier? I remember my diagnosis, I was like, right, I’m never drinking again and I’m never gonna do this again. And that again, and this again not realistic for me, but is are there certain lifestyle changes you would recommend people really make to help?
ANU
I’m glad that you asked me this question, right? I think this goes back to my initial conversation with you is this is just at this point in age, this is just another diagnosis. So I’m gonna tell you that whatever I tell somebody else that has diabetes or kidney disease or not even any illness, is gonna be just lead a healthy lifestyle, get your sleep, exercise, don’t smoke. You know, like all the normal things that you would do to just maintain a healthy lifestyle. Now, I would say the only specific consideration is it depends on how strong your immune system is. So if your counts are really down and your immune system is quite weak, then you need to take additional measures. So eating safe foods, right? Not, not eating uncooked or unpasteurized foods. Try not to put yourself, you know, during the pandemic we were talking about safe hygienic measures, right? So doing that, so you don’t, you’re not at increased risk of getting any food borne or any environmental illnesses while your immune system is a little bit weak. That’s the only difference that I would state. But other than that, it’s the same advice that I give everybody. Get out there and live your life.
KARL
Yes, take care of yourself. Total nerd. Thank you very much. That is gonna do it for this episode of plus Talk. If you want more information, check out the website plus live media.com. And don’t forget, you can like, follow, share our social medias at plus life media. Until next time, as the good doctor says, wash your hands and be nice to one another. See ya.