INTERVIEW with CANADA'S ONLINE HIV MAGAZINE POSTIVELITE.COM

My name is Justin B Terry-Smith, I'm a Black Gay man living in Laurel, Maryland and I am HIV+. I've decided to share my story because I feel it's important that people who have unprotected sex know what they might be getting themselves into.

Justin B Terry-Smith, Author, Advice Columnist, Award Winning Activist & Video Blogger has been infected with HIV since 2005.  Diagnosed in 2006, he has made his mission to educate others about HIV and to make sure the community and the world are aware of the disease.  Since 1999 he has been an activist for Gay rights and in 2004 began HIV activism.  He’s garnered recognition and awards for his work, but he’s more concerned about looking for new ways to transform society for the better than resting on his laurels.  He is currently residing in Laurel Maryland living and loving life with his husband.  Dr. Philip B Terry-Smith.  Terry-Smith will be pursuing his Master's in Public Health this year and will not stop activism until the day he dies.

People have asked me why I am doing this, why have I put my personal business out like this. I tell them it is to help educate people, to make them aware and to make them think twice about having unprotected sex. This is my personal journey that needs to be told to help the community and the world

I was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland with a silver spoon in my mouth.  Even though both my parents were present in my life, growing up wasn’t easy for me.

I left my home in search of a life that would make me feel freer to explore my sexuality, but that freedom came at a cost.  Living in NW Washington DC I had to try to hold down three jobs to keep my head above water.  In the daytime I worked for the government, in the afternoons I worked as a waiter and at night I worked as an exotic dancer under the name, “Justice”, which I have now tattooed on my right arm.  I took a look at my face in the mirror and realized that I looked like I was 19 years old going on 91 years old; I had to do something else with my life.

In the fall of 1999 I saw a metro bus drive by with a sign that said, “United States Air Force  - AIM High”.  That was all it took, so I joined the U.S. Air Force and it was one of the best times of my life.  I wound up being stationed at Dover AFB, Delaware.  But also I have to admit that it was one of the worst  I went through hell and back in the military, because I was gay and felt enclosed that I couldn’t love openly who I wanted to.

I had good and bad experiences in the military but the worst was being sexually harassed, domestically abused and raped.  I couldn't escape because if I told someone about it then questions would arise and I would have surely been kicked out under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. 

I met my then partner in the summer of 2003 when I was still in the military, when I was stationed at Dover AFB and he was living in DC. After being honorably discharged from the military I moved back to the Washington DC area and within 2 years my relationship with him would come to its conclusion.

I ended up living in an apartment in SW DC at the Waterfront, with two friends of mine named Anthony and David.  My behavior then was erratic and out of control. I started doing things that just really weren't me. I started stripping again and started heavily drinking and sometimes doing drugs.  All this and I still was able to land a contracting job with Department of Justice.

David became very sick and could barely walk; after battling HIV he was told he had full blown AIDS.  I knew when I moved in that he was not doing so well.  I helped bath and feed him.  Sometimes I would even help him when he needed to get sick or use the toilet.  Anthony and David got along for the most part but it got too much for Anthony to handle and he was the only person on the lease.  I came home one day to see a woman in my apartment.  It was David’s mother and she said that Anthony had called to have her take him back to her house in Baltimore, Maryland.  David had once told both of us that is where he did not want to go.  Two weeks later I got a phone call from David’s mother that he was dead.

Anthony began to hit on me at one point but I refused his advances.  He eventually changed the locks on the apartment door and I didn’t know why.  I quickly tapped my resources and found a small studio apartment down the street.

In the latter part of 2006 I would often get sick and I didn't know why. I had to call into work several times because I was so under the weather and I eventually lost my job. I knew something was wrong with me and I knew I needed to get checked for HIV. One morning I woke up and threw up 5 times. I had flu-like symptoms and my satin sheets were wet with sweat.

I decided to call my best friend Bryan and have him meet me at Us Helping Us People Into Living Inc. (UHU). UHU is where people can get tested for HIV in the Washington DC area for free. I had felt comfortable being at UHU because I used to work there and still had friends who were employed there. I ended up getting there before my best friend and decided to go get tested. I was administered the Orasure Test which can come up with the results within 20 minutes.

I was so nervous. I honestly didn't think that I had HIV. I came up with excuses and said things to myself like, 'I don't feel sick now, nothing could be wrong with me', 'I'm 26 I couldn't be HIV+'. By the time the test was ready I had smoked about 10 cigarettes. I walked back into the HIV testing room and the reader asked me, 'Are you ready to hear your results, Mr. Smith?' I said, 'Yes I am'. She said, 'Mr. Smith you've tested positive for the HIV virus'.

I was devastated. I couldn't believe it. The first thing I thought was I can't have any children. My second thought was what am I going to tell my parents, they would be destroyed. Then the final thought is I'm going to die.

Bryan arrived at the clinic and saw it in my eyes. He held me tight as I wept in his arms and I felt comfort and security in his arms. 

I decided to fight, to fight to stay a live. When I told my father he handled it any way a father can handle their son telling him he has HIV, but my father is strong.  Unfortunately a close family member told my mother.  I got a call from my family and they were all crying; I thought someone in my family had passed away.  My brother asked, “Justin, be honest with me.  We heard you have AIDS, is that true?”  I quickly said, “No”.  He said, “Are you lying to me?”  I said. “No I do not have AIDS?”  He then asked. “Do you have HIV?”  I said, “Yes I have HIV”.  He started crying and so did my mother and other family members.  I could hear them in the background.  I told my brother to put me on speaker phone.  I told them, “I need you not to cry for me, be strong with me”

After about 2 years of being HIV+ I was forced to go on meds with a T-cell count of 261 and Viral Load of 77,000. I did research and tried to find someone (a black male) that was documenting their lives while on meds but sadly I couldn’t find one.  I decided to do it on my own, so I created “Justin’s HIV Journal” on YouTube.  I started my first entry with an introduction and why I was doing what I was doing.  It began to help me because it forced me to be honest about what was happening to me.

When thast first entry had gotten its first comment I was so excited except when I saw what the person said. “So you got poked by a dirty dick, so what”.  I couldn’t believe it I had poured my heart and soul out and someone who just felt like stepping on it because it suited them.  I thought how heartless can someone be.  Then I got my second comment and it was a lot more encouraging and made me keep going.

I thought that I needed to expand and so I went onto to blogspot.com and started writing, with the videos that I would make for Justin’s HIV Journal and I put them there for the world to see.  Then I opened up a Myspace and Facebook account and started pasting my entries there.  I even have my video entries on black gay chat.com.  Because of Justin’s HIV Journal I’ve written for Black AIDS Institute, Gay Life Newspaper in Baltimore MD, thebody.com etc.  The more I do this the more people are aware of HIV and keep in the back of their heads that they too can be infected.  I began to speak out on HIV and my personal journey at engagements, seminars, universities, high schools, and prides.

I also came out with an HIV-themed children’s book called, “I Have A Secret”.  I love children and my husband and I hope to adopt one day.  Children that are HIV-negative need to know that children who are HIV positive want the same things as they do - namely, love and affection.  I also finished up my Associates in Communications and my Bachelor’s in Political Science.  I will be started my Master’s in Public Health in a couple weeks as well.  I also recently started writing an advice column called, “Just*in Time” for A&U Magazine America’s AIDS Magazine.  

As you can see, I DO NOT let HIV have the upper hand over me. 

Presently, I am married to my husband Dr. Philip B.Terry-Smith and all my family and friends know about my status. They have given me the love and strength to help me through this journey. This journal is to tell people that being HIV+ is not a piece of cake. People need to know what they might have to endure if they decide to put themselves at risk. HIV is neither glamorous nor a rite of passage.  In the words of Pedro Zamora, 'I'm not dying. I'm living with it'

Justin B. Terry-Smith

Creator of Justin’s HIV Journal

Author of I Have A Secret

http://www.justinbsmith.com

You can also find Justin on on twitter at @JustinBSmith79

Justin's HIV Journal: Dear HIV (My Letter to HIV)

Dear HIV,

Let me start out by saying you don’t have me. You will never have me ever. My life, my love, and my laughter you will never have.

You have almost destroyed the lives of the friends’ and family I have touched. Because of you I have to take medications everyday. I hate what you have done to me, but most of all the friends that I have lost you’ve hurt me, my friends and my family long enough.

Now I have to live with you?!?! Really?!?! You like that annoying guest at a gay brunch or a cocktail party that will not go away. One day there will be a cure that EVERYONE can use and you will die a nasty death, you will pay for the death and the destruction that you have caused.

I will never forgive you or myself for letting you into my life. I want children I can still have them but you have made that difficult. Can you go away?

Without Love & Respect,

Justin B. Terry-Smith

Justin's HIV Journal: HIV Criminalization Comes To MARYLAND!!!......Wait...

Maryland’s oldest and longest serving Senator Norman Stone (Democrat from Baltimore County) proposed the bill (Senate Bill 60) to raise the transmission of HIV from a Misdemeanor to a Felony charge. The bill currently has no co-sponsor in the Senate.

Currently along with 34 other states and 2 territories, Maryland does have laws in place that criminalize the transmission of HIV through sharing needles & sex. Some states have even harsher guidelines such Iowa in which HIV positive Iowans have been imprisoned for having protected sex. In Iowa a HIV positive man was jailed for 25 years even though he was having protected sex with an undetectable viral load. In Texas a HIV positive man was jailed for 35 years for spitting on a police officer. Yes that is a nasty offense but we know that one must consume a gallon of saliva to transmit the virus. Knowing this; conviction measures in the future could even be taken for someone who is HIV positive to kiss someone else. In both of these cases there was NO TRANSMISSION OF HIV NOTED.

In this video Nick Rhoades, Robert Suttle, & Monique Howell Moree speak out on how they were put in prison for HIV criminalization.

Across the country there have been least 125 individuals persecuted since 2008. All of them were HIV positive gay, straight, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, men and women.

BILL DETAILS:

There are two bills that would classify transferring the HIV virus to another individual as a felony in Maryland, one bill has already been introduced in the Maryland Assembly. These bills would increase the fine from the previous amount of $2,500.00 to a heftier fine of $10,000.00 and also jail time for the crime would be from 3 years to a longer time of 25 years imprisonment.

MY OPINION:

If this bill goes through than it might come back and bite the originator in the @$$. I cannot believe this. This bill will have to be written very carefully.

This is the time of HIV & EVERYONE has the responsibility to protect themselves. People who do not want to put them self at risk needs to use protective measures to not be infected with HIV. We should all know that if you have sex without a condom you not only put yourself at risk for HIV but for Hepatitis, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia and other STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections). This bill also removes accountability on both parties. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

In the case of rape then there should be a punishment, because rape is rape and no means no. Also if someone knows they are HIV positive and they are not disclosing to their wife, husband or partner than something needs to be done.

A friend of mine Mindy summed it up perfectly, “If this bill passed, the police could treat people with a chronic disease as dangerous threats to society. The bill does not address a continuing public health crisis. Instead, it perpetuates stigmatization of HIV+ people. In fact, it violates several international human rights conventions and declarations.”

We as Marylanders should be focused on prevention and education and not criminalization. This is not right. I wish this Senator would understand that even putting this bill in front of the Maryland General Assembly is in itself ludicrous. Look at this bill, it’s very vague and if put into law it will clearly label all of us as criminals before we have done anything and even if we were planning on causing bodily harm or not. This is just so wrong, I personally feel that if this bill is passed arrest will go up and what is important like education and prevention or even harm reduction will go out the window. Also the real enemy is HIV, how do you expect people to disclose their status if they will be tried and convicted for it? How can you expect anyone to be able to tell someone they’re dating that they have HIV if they don’t want the police called on them? How do you expect people to be comfortable about being HIV positive themselves if they are branded as criminals? How do you expect stigma and shame to be overcome when self esteem will be hindered if this bill is passed? This bill could jail a HIV positive person for having protected sex with anyone. I can’t believe that this bill is even being proposed this is not where our energy needs to be.

Proposed Bill: http://mlis.state.md.us/2012rs/bills/sb/sb0060f.pdf

THIS IS LAW IN WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

Justin's HIV Journal: National Youth Leadership Forum on Med. Keynote Sp...

On December 5th, 2010 I was given the honor of being the Keynote Speaker for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. Before I was going to speak I was so nervous that they wouldn't like me or I would do really bad, but all in all I think I did OK. Keep in mind there were about 200 hundred students and they are handpicked scholars from around the country. Some of the students were all the way from Hawaii and Puerto Rico. These young and impressionable men and women are the leaders that go to school and decide to earn a degree and practice in the medical profession. They were so receptive and amazing. I couldn't believe the questions and comments I received afterwards. I do have that video of the student asking questions but it needs to be edited to protect the students' identities because they are all underage. I've been asked to speak at colleges, forums and other places but this was really an inspiration because these young people concentrate their studies and time on areas of medicine. They will be the professional that will help the younger generation through illness and plagues like HIV.

I need to say Thank you so much to all the staff and students that make this event possible, it's really important that we inspire these young people to go onto study medicine and help not only the future of America but the world.

All in all I think I was a little nervous but I think I held my own and the experience made me cry a little. Those young people's faces are instilled forever in my mind. They make me think that what I do is right and make me want to keep on loving & living life . THANK YOU


I HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS TO SHARE AS WELL BUT I WILL KEEP IT A SECRET UNTIL IT COMES TO LIGHT.

Justin's HIV Journal: HIV positive & HIV negative Dating Advice

Hello EVERYONE,

I received an e-mail from someone that is actively dating and I will call him Jay. Jay is HIV negative and is dating a guy name Tom. Tom and Jay have been dating for about 2 months. Things are going great with both of them but in those two months they have not been intimate at all. Tom has been pressuring Jay to have sex, but Jay has stated that he is not ready. The reason Jay is not ready is because he is having trouble with Tom’s HIV status. Jay has also stated that he knows that HIV is preventable with a condom

My ADVICE

Listen Jay is you cannot be comfortable with having sex with someone who is HIV positive than don’t, even though I would love for you to be able to be happy with Tom intimately I can’t make you. Don’t do any you’re not comfortable with.

Listen, Tom stop pressuring Jay for sex. You can’t make someone be intimate with you unless they want to. I know that you love Jay, but if you cannot find the kind of love that you need either something has to change or you have to move on.

I also asked Jay how many people he has been intimate with. He told me the number and it was in the hundreds. So I asked, “Did you test them all?” He said, “Of course not!!” Then I asked, “Did you ask all of them what their HIV status was?” He said, “No”. Then I said, “How do you know you haven’t slept with someone who already had HIV?” He became silent.

The fact is people sometimes don’t like knowing the truth and then when confronted with it they get scared. Being upfront with ones HIV status is a brave, personal and intimate thing. If someone does not want you because you are HIV positive then move on, there is hope to find someone that loves you for you. If you cannot date someone with HIV well its simple don’t. Find someone that you can be comfortable with physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and of course sexually.

Justin's HIV Journal: Being Honest Even When You're Scared & Complera Update

I’ve been on Complera for about three months now. It has gotten better for me. I don’t know why my Viral Load shot up and my T-Cells when down a little before I started this new treatment. When you are public about what you have you tend to not be public about when you are scared or when it doesn’t seem like it is going to get any better. I’ve not been told everyone that my VL shot up and my T-Cells went down again. I was scared and all I can say it that I’m only human. I’m human and I do make mistakes. I don’t want to feel like I’ve not been honest nor do I feel like I should be chastised for not telling all, all the time. But I have to be honest.

Right before I started Complera my Viral Load was 1,207. I thought I was undetectable and I wasn’t. My viral load shot up from 0 to 1,207 and my T-cell count was 363. I was shocked and shaken. Then I get e-mails and text from friends saying that there T-Cell counts are in the 1000 and they are undetectable. It is a little discouraging, trust me. But I don’t let it discourage me from doing what I need to do to survive.

Now after about 3 months of being on Complera my Viral Load is now 763 (DOWN FROM 1,207) and my T-cell count is 380 (UP FROM 363). My doctor is keeping a close eye on me and he wants me to do better. I have been stressed out so much that it is really taking a huge toll on my skin. My Rosecea is out of control and I’m a little scared I just wish I had that complexion that I had before HIV but alas that isn’t happening anytime soon. So I’ve decided that it is time for a change and I need to start with the food I put in my body and the start of my exercising more and more.

DIET

BEFORE	NOW
Breakfast	Breakfast
Ham, Egg & Cheese Sandwich	Oatmeal & 2 Strawberry Yogurts
Lunch	Lunch
Noodles	BLT Sub Sandwich (Sometimes w/o bacon)
Dinner	Dinner
Fast Food	Fish, Rice, Veggies (Protien)

SUPPLEMENTS:

Centrum

Fish Oil (2 Pills)

Vitamin D (2 Pills)

I will have an exercising regime ready when I know what I can do and when I can do it, but I will try to start Yoga again on Saturdays.

Justin's HIV Journal: Maryland Renaissance Festival, Prince for A Day?

Since I was a little boy I remember a certain John Singleton movie called, "Boyz N Tha Hood". In that movie it depicts a young man and a group of his friends who were growing up in the ghettos of LA. Laurence Fishburne played the father of the young man, who had just been moved to LA by his mother, who is played by Angela Bassett. The thing that stuck out in my mind was when Fishburne told the boy that he was the Prince which in turn made Fishburne the King. He also I believe called their house a Kingdom. When it came to chores Fishburne told the boy, "Right now, the king says it's time for the prince to go to bed". I thought a lot about my own Father and how our house was really like that. I got whatever I wanted as long as I took care of the Kingdom and myself.

This got me thinking a lot of us who are HIV positive don't think much about being a Prince for a day for just cherishing life. I decided to go to the Maryland Renaissance Fair as Prince Justinian of Moco (Montgomery County) from the Province of Russett and I loved it. My friends Spike and Lisa got me a crown. I loved it but maybe it did go to my head just a tad. ROFLMAO Okay more often than not. My husband had this look of "OH GOD I hope he doesn't keep it or have it on in the house". Sometimes you just got to treat yourself. I decided to do this because I want people to know that YES you can still be that little Prince of Princess that you wanted to be when you were younger. You can still be whatever you want to be when you were younger.
Don't let HIV steal your dreams or your life. Strive to be the best you can be in whatever you do. Be happy and don't get bogged down. I know it's easy to beat yourself up or to think less of yourself but you have to push on and move on up. The more you think more of yourself the more you will better take care of your kingdom. I know I have bad habits of my own and I accept them and try to change them. It all takes time, but I still strive to be better.
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP and be that little Prince or Princess you've always wanted to be. Or whatever you've wanted to be. IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

Justin's HIV Journal: HIV positive 13 y/o Honor Student DENIED Education...

A 13 year old teenager was denied entry into the Milton Hershey School of Hershey, PA because he is HIV positive. The spokesperson for the Hershey School, Connie McNamara has said,

"We had to balance his rights and interests with our obligation to provide for the health and safety of other students," she said. "And this meets a direct threat."

I teenager with HIV is NOT a threat to anyone. How dare the Milton School in this day in age do something so damn ignorant? I cannot believe that this is going on today. McNamara knows very well that HIV is not transmitted through everyday behavior, so she says this statement:

"Our kids are no different than teenagers anywhere else," she said. "Despite encouraging abstinence, we can not be 100 percent certain our kids are not engaging in sexual activity."
Honestly is this the reason you are citing. This is pathetic and the educators that are doing this should be educated themselves. READ A BOOK. How dare you deny this young man the education that he so justly deserves? What is the matter with you? You should be denied the right to educators because of these discriminatory acts towards this young man.
McNamara also said this

"We looked at the law and our unique program and made the best decision we could," she said. "Our heart goes out to this young man."

I don't anyone who denies a child an education has a heart and if they do its cold as ice. Unfortunately history has reared its ugly head again. Ryan White has to go through a lot trying to get into public school because he had AIDS. Hopefully this young man will come out on top like White did.

Did you also know today is Ryan White's birthday?

Justin's HIV Journal A Mother's Love for her HIV + son

Sometimes I get personal e-mails about my blog and I haven't really shared them with you all. But I think I will start to do so, but of course changing the names so that I protect people's identities. I received this e-mail from a woman I'm going to call Amanda. She and her son discovered he was HIV+ and this letter made me cry.......twice.

"Dear Justin,

I have spent the last two hours listening to your YouTube blog. I just want to tell you how much of a blessing your words have been. My son (______) and I learned two weeks ago that he has HIV. Life has been a roller coaster since then, as you well know. We have seen so many doctors and specialist that my head and his is spinning. He is so sick right now that he can't see this disease as anything but a death sentence. He had outpatient surgery Thursday for an infection related to the disease, and his plans to start school on Tuesday have had to be put off. Right now, he is feeling pretty hopeless. Right now, he doesn't want anyone but me and his step-dad to know about his diagnosis. I see his daily depression getting worse and worse. I mentioned he might consider therapy when he feels better, but he worries that he will run into someone he knows. I know I can't be his sole support. I feel like I would like to find support, but I wouldn't want to "Out" him in any way. He has had more confusion and angst about admitting he is gay than I did in telling people my son was gay. It is not my secret to tell, but I pray he can someday feel confident enough to share what he is going through. Meanwhile, I want to do what I can with my limited knowledge. So, in my effort to see what was out there, I started Googling, "living with HIV," your videos came up on the screen. I was terrified that your story would be a story of hopelessness. How amazing was it to find that your message was that of hope.

I plan to share your videos with my son, ______. I hope they will inspire him the way they inspired me. I read somewhere that there were people who sent you ugly emails and you considered stopping. I hope you don't. Because your videos were there, you helped a frightened mom see that HIV does not mean the end. I can now say to my son without hesitation, "See, Justin is out there living and loving. He's fighting HIV and he is WINNING!" Thank you so much for telling your story and thank you for being a living testament to Moms and young men who are new to this fight. Today, you were my Moses leading me out of the darkness. Be blessed, Justin.

Best always,
Amanda"

This was so moving to me...
To her son I say Don't Give Up stay in the game. You mother is trying and she loves you very much. Be gentle with her you will need her and she will need you stay strong.

Justin's HIV Journal New HIV Meds and Rosacea

Regime Change and Rosacea

In 2008 I started my HIV medications my first regime was Truvada, Reyataz, and Norvir a three pill a day regime that my body, at least at first, was fine dealing with. Then after a couple of months of taking the medication my eyes began to turn yellow and my new doctor said that Jaundice is why your eyes are turning yellow. Jaundice is a yellow color of the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes. The yellow coloring comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells. Jaundice can be a symptom of other health problems. Every day, a small number of red blood cells in your body die, and are replaced by new ones. The liver removes the old blood cells, forming bilirubin. The liver helps break down bilirubin so that it can be removed by the body in the stool. When too much bilirubin builds up in the body, jaundice may result. Jaundice can occur if there are too many red blood cells are dying or breaking down and going to the liver, the liver is overloaded or damaged and/or the bilirubin from the liver is unable to move through the digestive tract properly. So because of that I was put on another regime

The second regime that I was put on was Prezista, Truvada, and Norvir. That is a four a day regime. I often wondered if the reason why I sometimes forgot to take my meds is because of how many medications I had to take daily. My T-Cells remained the same but were not where they needed to be. My T-Cells have been as high at 500 to as low as 300, and right now they are the later. I’m starting to cut back more and more or bad habits like smoking and drinking. But now I’ve been put on a new regime called Complera.

I started Complera about 1 week ago; it is a 1 pill a aday regime. The FDA approved the new drug this year. It’s been about a week and I haven’t had any bad things or side effects yet. I’m just now very tired usually, but the other side effects haven’t happened to me. I’m very happy about this one pill a day regime this is what I’ve been waiting for and I’m so happy about it. Now there are side effects to Complera

Side Effects of Complera

All medicines may cause side effects, but many people have no, or minor, side effects. Check with your doctor if any of these most COMMON side effects persist or become bothersome when using Complera:

Back pain; cough; darkened skin color on the palms of hands or soles of feet; diarrhea; dizziness; gas; headache; indigestion; joint pain; loss of appetite; mild stomach pain or discomfort; nausea; sinus drainage; skin discoloration (small spots or freckles); strange dreams; tiredness; trouble sleeping; vomiting; weakness.

Seek medical attention right away if any of these SEVERE side effects occur when using Complera:

Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, throat, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); bone pain; chest pain; fever; irregular heartbeat; mental or mood changes (eg, depression, unusual negative thoughts, anxiety, restlessness); muscle pain or weakness; numbness, burning, pain, or tingling; severe or persistent dizziness; severe or persistent nausea, vomiting, or stomach or back pain; shortness of breath; suicidal thoughts or behaviors; symptoms of kidney problems (eg, increased or decreased urination, increased thirst); symptoms of lactic acidosis (eg, unusual weakness or tiredness; unusual muscle pain; fast or difficult breathing; stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; feeling cold, especially in the arms and legs; dizziness or light-headedness; fast or irregular heartbeat); symptoms of liver problems (eg, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, persistent loss of appetite).

SO BASICALLY WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS I WOULD GET THE SAME SIDE EFFECTS AS IF I WAS ON ANY OTHER MEDICATIONS. LMAO OKAY NOT A BIG DEAL.

Tony Mills, MD, Director of Medical Research, Anthony Mills MD, Inc. and a participating investigator in ongoing Complera studies, said:

"In the 30 years since the first AIDS cases were reported, we've made incredible strides in the treatment of this disease. The concept of a single-tablet regimen has become a goal in HIV drug development, and the standard of care in medical practice in the United States. However, no one therapy is appropriate for all patients.

Given its efficacy, safety and convenience, the availability of Complera represents an exciting milestone in addressing the individual needs of patients new to HIV therapy."

Complera's approval is supported by data from two Phase III active controlled, double blind, randomized studies carried out by Tibotec. The ECHO and THRIVE trials evaluated rilpivirine compared to efavirenz for efficacy and safety among HIV-1 infected adults who had not received medications before. John C. Martin, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gilead Sciences, said:

"Complera is the second complete single-tablet regimen that Gilead has introduced, and it represents a collaboration between two organizations that share a vision of simplifying HIV therapy for patients. Tremendous progress has been made in the field of HIV, but we recognize new therapies are still needed, and we continue to work to advance options that address the needs of patients."

Gilead wrote that Complera is the second complete antiretroviral treatment regimen for treatment-naïve HIV-1 patients in a single pill that is taken once a day. The first was Atripla (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg), which is marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead.

But I am the producer for and event which at times can be stressful around the same time of year. Because of this stress I’ve been diagnosed with Rosacea. Rosacea is a chronic skin condition involving inflammation of the cheeks, nose, chin, forehead, or eyelids. It may appear as redness, prominent spider-like blood vessels, swelling, or skin eruptions similar to acne. Symptoms are Redness of the face in discrete areas or covering the entire face, A tendency to flush or blush easily, Increased number of spider-like blood vessels (telangiectasia) of the face, A red, bulbous nose, Acne-like skin eruptions (may ooze or crust), A burning or stinging sensation of the face, Irritated, bloodshot, watery eyes

INFORMATION ON ROSACEA

There is no known cure for rosacea. The goal is to identify and avoid possible triggers, and thus reduce flare-ups. By keeping a symptom diary to identify the specific triggers you may have, you may be able to see a pattern of what makes your rosacea worse. Use this information to avoid future flare-ups.
Here are some steps that may help: Avoid sun exposure. Use sunscreen every day, Avoid prolonged exertion in hot weather, Try to reduce stress. Try deep breathing, yoga, or other relaxation techniques, Limit spicy foods, alcohol, and hot beverages.
Triggers vary from person to person. Other triggers may include wind, hot baths, cold weather, specific skin products, exercise, or other factors.
Antibiotics taken by mouth (such as tetracycline, minocycline, or doxycycline) or applied to the skin (such as metronidazole) may control skin eruptions. Other medications (isoretinol or Accutane), which are similar to vitamin A, are stronger alternatives that your doctor or dermatologist might consider. Rosacea is not acne and will not improve with over-the-counter acne treatment.
In severe cases, laser surgery may help reduce the redness. Surgical reduction of enlarged nose tissue may also improve your appearance, if you so choose.
AND YES BLACK PEOPLE DO GET ROSECEA TOO. I can’t tell you how many people have said to me “Really??, I didn’t know black people got Rosecea”. Come on people JEEZ!!!