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FAQs for HIV-Positive Youth
Dealing with Medication
Q: What are the types of medications I might have to take? What do they do?
A: Although there are effective treatments that slow the progression of HIV (by reducing your viral load) and other meds that reduce the risk of many opportunistic diseases, it is still complicated for doctors to prescribe medications to teens, because it is sometimes hard to know whether medical professionals should treat youth as adults or children in terms of which treatment combinations will work. Your doctors may prescribe different combinations of meds for you, and it is hard to know which types of treatment they will try first. Still, we look at the varying categories of HIV meds, so that you will be aware of the basics of each type. At this time, there are four major types of drugs that fight HIV.
The first type of drug used to treat HIV infection is NRTI (Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors) This drug class, which can be abbreviated as "nukes," includes what may be the most widely known HIV treatment drug, AZT. Nukes prevent the first step the virus takes in copying itself by interfering with an enzyme called reverse transcriptase.
NNRTI (Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors) or "non-nukes" also work to prevent HIV from copying itself. A popular brand of the non-nuke nevirapine is Viramune.
Protease Inhibitors (PIs) work at a different point in the cycle of the virus, and they block an enzyme called protease that HIV also uses in copying itself. Some more common examples of protease inhibitor brands are Crixivan and Viracept.
Entry inhibitors, also known as fusion inhibitors attack HIV before it has a chance to gain access to the immune system. Fuzeon is the entry inhibitor currently available on the market.
Q: What is a "cocktail"?
A: A "cocktail," also known as combination therapy, means taking two or more anti-retroviral drugs together to fight HIV. Before the past decade or so, most people were just given prescriptions of a single drug to fight the virus, such as AZT. With these commonly prescribed dosages of a single drug, the amount of HIV (the viral load) in the blood generally lowered by about seventy percent. With the combined effort of one or more of these older drugs with newer ones, such as some of the protease inhibitors, people's viral loads have lowered by as much as ninety-nine percent or more. Most HIV treatments now involve several different drugs, and these combination therapies have helped many people live much longer and healthier lives.
Q: What are the side effects of HIV treatments?
A: As in the case of any powerful drugs, HIV medications can cause a variety of side effects. Some common side effects are fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea. Depending on a variety of factors, you may see weight gain or loss in particular areas of your body, which is known as "lipodystrophy syndrome." Usually this fat gain or loss is more apparent if you are either overweight or underweight at the start of treatment.
Q: What can I do to decrease side effects of my meds?
A: The good thing is there are many small changes in your lifestyle that can help decrease the severity of the meds' effects. It's especially important when taking medications to live a healthy lifestyle, which means not smoking or drinking in excess, eating nutritional and low-fat foods, and getting the right amount of exercise. There are more specific things you can do to make it easier to deal with certain side effects. These tips are outlined in detail at The Body, including an explanation of ways to eat more nutritionally.
Q: Do I have to take medication even if I look and feel healthy?
A: You cannot be forced to take any medication, but most doctors recommend trying some HIV drugs, since meds can do so much to control the HIV in your body and to keep the virus from replicating itself and making you feel worse. It may be really hard at first to understand why you should keep taking medications whose side effects make you feel worse than you did before you took any. The drugs need to be powerful to slow down the HIV in your body, so that's why they might make you feel sick sometimes. In so many cases, though, it's worth it because starting meds early will help you stay much healthier and keep your T-cells up longer.
Q: What if I can't afford medication?
A: It is true that HIV treatment is expensive, but there are ways of paying for the medication If you are under 18 and have your state's CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Plan) then all your HIV meds will be covered there. If you are not insured and you or your family are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, then you will be able to have your treatment paid for by Title IV of the Ryan White CARE Act, which specifically provides HIV/AIDS services to women, children and youth.
Q: Can I get medication without telling my parents?
A: If you are over 18, then you have full responsibility over your treatment decisions. If you are under 18, then it is important to look specifically at the parental consent laws for your state. Check with the health department where you live.
Q: Where do I go to get medication?
A: If you're not comfortable going to your primary care doctor, you may want to check out the health clinics in your area and find another doctor that you like to monitor your health and to prescribe meds for you. If you got tested at a local clinic, you may want to ask them about treatment options. You can always call an HIV/AIDS hotline such as the National AIDS Hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO for the clinics that have good services for HIV-positive people in your area.
Updated March 2008
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