HIV: A New Diagnosis

If you have only recently learned that you are HIV positive, you may be feeling shocked, frightened, angry or upset. It may help to know that there are men and women from all over New Zealand and from all walks of life who are HIV positive. Positive people are from many different cultural and religious backgrounds, of all ages, sexualities, with and without partners, spouses, or families.

This booklet is for any person who is diagnosed HIV positive. It details how the virus affects your body, offers advice on how to manage your life as an HIV positive person and provides suggestions on how to make decisions around treatments, sex, telling people and your legal rights. It will not answer all of your questions, but it may be a useful starting point.

HIV is not a death sentence.

Nowadays, more and more people with HIV are living longer, enjoying healthy and fulfilling lives, working, studying, having relationships and making their own choices about treatment.

In addition, improved and inclusive research practices means that much more is now known about the effects of HIV treatments in our bodies. As a person with HIV living in New Zealand now, it is likely that you will live a normal life span. You are able to have sex, and you are able to have as fulfilling a life as you want for yourself.

Talking to someone you trust is important. This may be a friend, a relative, a doctor or someone from Body Positive which is an organisation specifically for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): Someone who has some knowledge of HIV is a good choice. You don't have to tell everyone in your life now, or ever.

Effective Treatment

You will need to take medicine at some point to control HIV. The drugs used to treat HIV are called antiretrovirals (ARV for short) and they are used in combinations of three together.

The treatment of HIV is evolving. The drugs do have side effects and some individuals find more difficulties with them than others. There may be some trial and error before you find the right drugs for you. New drugs and new combinations of drugs are being researched with the aim of reducing side effects and improving effectiveness.