Question: How long will I stay healthy?
Answer: It is impossible to give a general prognosis for people with HIV, because the disease is dependent on so many variables. Several things may influence how long you will be healthy, including the following:
- How soon you are diagnosed and you get into the care of an HIV specialist.
- How well you are able to keep your regular doctor's appointments.
- How faithfully you adhere to your medication regimen.
- What, if any, opportunistic infections you develop.
- Whether or not the virus that infects you has become resistant to some of the medications used to treat it.
- Whether or not you develop a healthy lifestyle such as, smoking cesation, stopping substance use, eating healthy, exercising, and practicing safer sex.
Again, it's impossible to predict how long you willbe healthy, but there are so many things you can do to stay that way for a long time.
