Having HIV for a week

James Wong

Having HIV really sucks. I never truly thought about why until I foolishly agreed to 'contract the virus' for a week.

I received a phone call from Darren at Bruce House, a University of Ottawa student who works at a community based service that provides shelter for needy individuals who have AIDS or HIV. He invited me to partake in the HIV Challenge program which was designed to simulate a drug-treatment program of someone having the human immunodeficiency virus.

The program substitutes various types of candy for the 53 pills taken daily. Candy! Sounds great, right? There's more to it.

The night before I started my regiment, I thought that I would been keen by separating the weeks worth of pills into shot glasses, four shot glasses per day for seven days. Having to take as many as 23 pills in the morning made me realize that these pills were not going to fit in a shot glass; I brought out the mugs.

I was pumped my first morning. The moment I woke up I began taking what pills were specified to be taken on an empty stomach and saved the rest for after breakfast. In my haste to be on time for class that morning, I inadvertently left the remaining pills on my desk. Shit, screwed up already. I wouldn't be dead but I'd be pretty nauseated and in pain had this had been for real.

It was then did I finally decide to read about the drugs that I was pumping into my body. Out of the 16 different types of pills that I was taking, 10 were to treat the side effects of the other 6. Among those side effects drugs were antacids, anti-depressants, anti-nauseas, painkillers, and stool softeners to name a few.

I remained on schedule for the rest of the first day, but I was embarrassed to have been so careless of my blunder. I would go the rest of the week not having made the same mistake again but come my fourth day, I stopped taking Diflucan: an anti-fungal side effect drug. The taste was unbearable. I had the liberty to make such a choice as I knew this wouldn't mar my every day functionality but once again I was embarrassed as those who suffer from HIV do not get to make a choice such as this one based on comfort.

Throughout the week, I gained several pounds. I attributed this to having to eat additional meals on top of my regular three. Some of the prescribed drugs are too harsh on the stomach to be taken alone and, therefore, require that they be consumed with food. Having to eat before bed, when not hungry, for a whole week apparently had its own side effects.

By the last day, I noticed that I had developed blisters on my tongue from eating more than 350 pieces of candy. And for some reason, I still had over ten pieces left over and was also missing some painkillers. This means that I could have easily missed a crucial dose of one drug or overdosed on another. What is worse, by missing or altering my medication process, the virus may in fact mutate or become resistant to the meds. When this happens a person must change to a new set of drugs, of which there are limited combinations. Many people are simply not able to take drugs anymore. I failed to successfully complete my assignment. I had it easy compared to the real thing and I still sucked at it.

I didn't have to put up with the real side effects, only the sugar highs and lows and a few extra pounds topped off with a few tongue blisters. I never threw up nor did I experience nerve damage. Although I did experience headaches, I never lost control over my bodily functions. What is more, I never had to worry about my safety while taking these drugs like many AIDS sufferers have to. The actual cost of the daily intake for someone on the regime that mine was based on was over $100 per day. Many of the placebos that I had taken represented drugs that have street value. People with AIDS have been mugged for specific drugs. Lorazepam, for instance, is a form of a mild valium which can be sold on the streets.

Being on this program really did challenge me physically and psychologically. Putting up with the stomach aches and head aches aside, I had to integrate 53 pills into my daily routine in addition to my one daily multivitamin (which I forgot to take on a few occasions).

The HIV Challenge took control of my life for that one week. I can't imagine living rest of my life day-in and day-out the way I had to, the way that many with HIV have to.