Newly diagnosed with HIV? Advocates share their best advice for seeking treatment

Considering treatment options can feel like an overwhelming process for many people newly diagnosed with HIV. That being said, as medicine has advanced over the years, there are more options for people living with HIV to manage their care and explore multiple avenues of medicine. In this episode of The Talk, advocates share examples from their own experiences with treatment.

“If you’re getting a new diagnosis, it is very much scary territory, and I would always tell people to honor your feelings first and foremost,” DéShaun Armbrister, a dancer and HIV advocate, says. “It is definitely a change of life. There’s gonna be a change of routine and things of that nature. What we do have now is a lot of options in terms of our treatment.”

While Armbrister takes a pill a day, there are several methods for administering treatment, such as the once-a-month shot, an injection every other month, and several combinations of pills. When social worker and HIV advocate Jose Barrientos was first diagnosed in 2010, he was on a cocktail of several different medications to manage his symptoms. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough pursuing another treatment option: injectables.

“My best suggestion for someone newly diagnosed is just ask as many questions as possible,” he says.

HIV activist Ivy Kwan Arce says that finding a clinic familiar with your needs is critical because everyone should have a team that advocates for their health.

“When you’re newly diagnosed, it’s not just about the treatment, it’s about the care,” Arce says.

Tony Morrison, an HIV advocate and media strategist, says that when he started his medication treatment journey, he had to work through an ingrained fear of “not making it” or being “outcast by society.” That’s why he works so diligently to dispel those beliefs for others just starting their treatment journeys.

“I had no idea that for me, just one pill a day would keep me happy and healthy,” Morrison says. “My HIV status is the most managed thing in my life, and being able to say that is huge and monumental."

“My treatment is about reclaiming my freedom and autonomy and living my best gay life,” he continues.