The shape of AIDS in North Carolina
What does AIDS look like where I live, in North Carolina? People often think of HIV and AIDS as an urban problem, and indeed, the disease does disproportionately affect major urban areas like New York and San Francisco. But that doesn’t mean that AIDS doesn’t exist in places like North Carolina. The national HIV diagnosis [...]
Study reveals importance of adhering to the drug regimen for AIDS patients
Yesterday I mentioned that a key aspect of fighting AIDS is staying on the drug regimen. Charles pointed out that this is more difficult than it might seem: the drugs are constant reminder of your condition, and taking them can revive horrible memories. But how important is it to maintain adherence to the regimen? A [...]
The Daily Routine of Fighting AIDS
There is no cure for AIDS. Once you are diagnosed, the diagnosis stays with you for the rest of your life. For Charles, this means he must take a complicated cocktail of pills every day. He sent me this photo of a month’s supply: For his antiretroviral therapy he takes four drugs: Lexiva twice a [...]
Live blogging my HIV test, part 2
When I came up with the idea of live-blogging an HIV test, I thought the day I actually drew blood would be the most interesting. After that, you just call an 800-number to get your results — where’s the drama in that? For me, of course, there isn’t much. I’m quite certain I’m negative. Even [...]
Live blogging my HIV test
Don’t get me wrong: I’m quite certain I don’t have HIV. But I’ve never been tested. I can remember a time in the 1980s when I thought it could be possible. But now Greta and I have been married for over 20 years. She was tested routinely during both of her pregnancies and came out [...]
HIV and AIDS defined
I’ve promised to spend this month exploring HIV and AIDS in America. But what exactly is HIV? And what distinguishes HIV from AIDS? Most people know that HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, and many people know that you can be HIV-positive without having AIDS, but I suspect fewer people know exactly what the [...]
AIDS: How typical is Charles?
Yesterday I introduced my friend Charles Roth. Charles was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2003 and was already in bad shape. He had been tested as healthy the previous year, but the disease struck quickly, hospitalizing him for a week and keeping him out of work for a month and a half. He returned to work [...]
Charles Roth
I’ll never forget the time in 1985 when Charles was hanging out with me and Glenn and Trawn one night at our favorite haunt—an all-night diner called the Cricket on Lake Union in Seattle. We were camped out in our usual booth in the back, slurping down endless free refills of weak coffee. Charles needed [...]
Suggest a link
Over the course of each month, we’ll be collecting useful links for readers interested in learning more about the that month’s topic. Use the comments in this post to recommend links to add to our list of resources about HIV/AIDS in America. At the end of the month, all the links will be collected into [...]
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The Daily Monthly is Dave Munger's multi-layered exploration of ideas and issues affecting all of us today.
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