Hey
In January I was diagnosed 36 years ago, 1990. So long ago. But I am doing fine. Better than I ever thought I would. I will be 53 in May. HIV has been my companion for a long time. I am happy that science and medicin has progressed. Today I only eat 1 (one) medicine, that is such a relief. In the early days, for the first years there were no meds at all. Then in mid 90 -ties the first effective ones came,with terrible sideeffects. Since then the meds has got better.
Now as an ageing woman living with HIV, its so important to take care of myself. My doc tried to give me statines, I refused. Now my cholesterol is back to "normal". By me taking care of myself. Going through peri/ menopause can affect all your numbers considering blood sugars, bloodpressure, cholesterols, cortisol ,etc. In this phase we need to get our hormones in balance, Either through diets and exercise or start taking HRT. You might still need to do some changes around diets and exercise, HRT is not a magical solusion , but it can help. I chose to take HRT , it has been a lifesaver, my mentalhealth, for my body aches, eveything. It also protects you in longterm considering Heartdiseases, your bonedensity, your brains, metabolic health. But you still need to take care of yourself, take it slower, cut down on stress, rest, be kind to yourself. Menopause is not the end, but its the end of an era. New adventures awaites on the other side, Im not completely through yet, but hopefully pretty close. Im not sure how HIV affects you in peri/menopause, I dont think my journey has been worse than others so far. There is still so much we dont know, being the first generation ageing with HIV , is kind of exciting. I never expected to live this long, now I just want to feel as good as possible as long as possible.
Thanks for being here
Love Kat
