If HIV was curable, would your sexual practices change?

NO! I’m at a point in my life where sex is really overrated. I’m just not that much into the actual act of it all anymore, and I’d much prefer intimacy. Plus what if I was the one, out of millions, that couldn’t be cured. Then what?

If HIV was curable, would your sexual practices change?

No I don't think they would change because there are many sexually transmitted diseases that people can get if they do not practice safer sex; common diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, Chlamydia and many others. To stay healthy, it is important not to damage the immune system with other illnesses that are easily preventable.

When I first found out I was positive, I was plagued with many fears; regarding the future (both short and long term), starting meds, health concerns, etc. I also experienced feelings of massive disappointment in myself, tremendous anxiety over sharing my status with family and friends, and a deep sense of grief over the loss of my negative status. Most terrifying of all, however, was the inescapable sense of permanence - that an irreversible change had taken place in my body, and my life would never be the same. The challenges of a new diagnosis were simply wrapping my mind around all of these concepts and feeling the torrent of emotions that accompanied them.

Has dealing with HIV empowered you in ways you wouldn't have expected?

Dealing with HIV has empowered me in ways I didn't expect it to. First of all, I never thought in a million years that I would be sharing something as personal as being HIV positive, and yet I'm not only sharing, I'm teaching others about the effects of living long term with HIV/AIDS. I know the battles we face in trying to educate certain populations on the do's and don'ts of putting themselves at risk for HIV and other STDs.

Has dealing with HIV empowered you in ways you wouldn't have expected?

After I was diagnosed, I did not feel at all empowered. I simply felt sick and defeated. I thought I was going to die very soon. The most powerful feeling I had at the time was one of total fear. Fear that people would reject me and stigmatize me, which would further isolate me from my family and from my fellow Latinos.