It’s just after 4:30 p.m. on the autumnal equinox, so you know what day it is. It’s time for the yearly A Day with HIV anti-stigma campaign. Today, I’m looking rough. But that’s the intent of this campaign, to capture an ordinary day in the life of people affected by HIV—both the negative and the positive. Today just happens to fall on my every other Saturday when I take some of my injection medications for other health conditions that oftentimes come with aging with HIV. These other conditions are just as important to stay on top of as the HIV itself. For me personally, my HIV is the least complicated health condition I have. Polypharmacy with my HIV medication does cause challenges to how my other health conditions are treated. Not keeping my HIV virally suppressed can aggravate a lot of my other conditions. Staying as physically fit as possible—by exercising, eating as healthy and looking after my mental health—are all crucial to my overall wellbeing, too. As it is for everybody.
