How bad is HIV? Re "Magic" Johnson...

[lenny]

How bad is HIV? Re "Magic" Johnson...I read this comment:

"In September 1991, just before Johnson learned he had HIV, he married longtime friend Earletha "Cookie" Kelly. They had a son in 1993 and adopted a daughter in 1995. Johnson also had a son from another relationship who spent the summers with him. Johnson continued to take medicine, eat right, and exercise. As recently as September 2002, his doctors said he is free of AIDS symptoms. Doctors credit Johnson's exercise habits and his use of powerful drugs; Johnson's wife Cookie has credited God, stating, "The Lord has definitely healed Earvin. Doctors think it's the medicine. We claim it in the name of Jesus." "

http://forum2.therx.com/showthread.php?t=421440&page=2

"Does everyone who has HIV eventually develop AIDS? We don't know for certain. Studies show that the majority of untreated people do eventually become ill from HIV. However, with regular medical care and other positive lifestyle factors, such as emotional support, many long-term survivors have been living with HIV/AIDS for upwards of two decades. As existing treatments are used earlier in the course of HIV disease and new treatments are developed, it has become possible to further postpone, and perhaps even prevent, illness."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

"Here is what's strange about Magic's HIV. The disease can be supressed by antiviral drugs but Magic never seems to be suffering from any side effects. One of the side effects is suppose to be a daily version of Montezuma's revenge. Magic does live TV on TNT. He is out all day doing business deals. Magic has boundless energy. People who have had AIDS a long time are running out of effective Antiviral combos. He's been really lucky. When the news came out I know most of us thought he would be gone within 5 years."

 

[luv-em-n-lv-em]

If Mr Johnson is doing well that's great. There have certainly been significant strides in treatment of this nightmarish disease. And for whatever reason, some people are luckier in their disease progression than others.

I can clearly recall watching the struggle and decline of Dr. Peter.

You said "However, with regular medical care and other positive lifestyle factors, such as emotional support, many long-term survivors have been living with HIV/AIDS for upwards of two decades." As I recall, Dr. Peter had all of these. He was living life as fully as possible - but I wouldn't call it "living" in the same way as most of us healthy people would probably understand this word.

I recently saw a report of how his loving mother, still works at the center one day a week and how much she and her efforts are appreciated by the staff and patients alike. That report was very heart-warming.

I am concerned that some people may come away from your post with the idea that complacency with HIV/AIDS is OK.

Knowing your sense of "humour", I strongly urge you to refrain from any jokes regarding these 2 gentlemen's last names (or for that matter any comments on the manner in which many people contract this awful illness).

That's my 2 cents.

 

[luv-em-n-lv-em]

Hmmm. I obviously should read things more carefully in the early morning.

The first link is to a forum which is not exactly a wonderful source of unbiased information (with the obvious exception of perb).

The second link doesn't even work. I just saw NIH in the URL and assumed it was credible. I'm not saying there is no such document but as it stands, your post is not as well supported as it may appear.

 

[luv-em-n-lv-em]

The more I check, the worse your research skills appear to be (and I'm just a hacker myself). The second quote you give that starts with "Does Everyone ..." originates from http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/hiv_disease.html

And I'm confused by the fact that you have 3 quotes and only 2 citations. Is one of these quotes really your words?

I'm going to take a break from this for a bit. I'm feeling ill myself.

 

[therealrex]

What I want to know is when Magic's going to admit he got it from having sex with a man?

 

[kehoe]

I think all that he's saying is isn't it funny how someone who has had the virus that causes AIDS has been living virtually symptom free for upwards of 15 years? Any reasonable person should be able to deduce that he is not advocating that we go out and have unprotected sex with everything that moves. Rather I think it serves as hope that maybe we're closer to being able to combat the disease and it's not as bleak as once thought.

 

[luv-em-n-lv-em]

I think all that he's saying is isn't it funny how someone who has had the virus that causes AIDS has been living virtually symptom free for upwards of 15 years? Any reasonable person should be able to deduce that he is not advocating that we go out and have unprotected sex with everything that moves. Rather I think it serves as hope that maybe we're closer to being able to combat the disease and it's not as bleak as once thought.

Hmm, I'm not so sure. He never expressed any opinion himself and merely slapped together a bunch of quotes. I think he was fishing for a response - what's the term for that?

 

[Sonny]

Rather I think it serves as hope that maybe we're closer to being able to combat the disease and it's not as bleak as once thought.

There are better drug combos now that help prolong a HIV/AIDS person's life with fewer side effects. But it is still a rampant contagious plague that is fatal -25 million dead so far and counting. No room here for complacency or misguided notions of success at a vacination for or at curing the disease. Check a real website for real info.

http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/abouthiv/record.html?record=3&gclid=COuw-bWKs4gCFSGtYAodNH2qzA

from the above site, I extract the following:

"There is still no cure for AIDS. And while new drugs are helping some people who have HIV live longer, healthier lives, there are many problems associated with them:

Anti-HIV drugs are highly toxic and can cause serious side effects, including heart damage, kidney failure, and osteoporosis. Many (perhaps even most) patients cannot tolerate long-term treatment with HAART.

HIV mutates quickly. Even among those who do well on HAART, roughly half of patients experience treatment failure within a year or two, often because the virus develops resistance to existing drugs. In fact, as many as 10 to 20 percent of newly infected Americans are acquiring viral strains that may already be resistant to current drugs.

Because treatment regimens are unpleasant and complex, many patients miss doses of their medication. Failure to take anti-HIV drugs on schedule and in the prescribed dosage encourages the development of new drug-resistant viral strains.

Even when patients respond well to treatment, HAART does not eradicate HIV. The virus continues to replicate at low levels and often remains hidden in "reservoirs" in the body, such as in the lymph nodes and brain."


A second website from the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine is pretty extensive, and I include a quote from there about identifying the presence HIV in others.

http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite

"There is no way to know for sure if someone else has HIV. Many people with HIV look perfectly healthy. Other people who are sick with HIV may have symptoms that are identical to other common illnesses. You cannot tell by looking whether someone is HIV positive. The only way to know for sure is if someone tells you. It is important to consider how well you know someone and how much you trust them when talking about sex and HIV."

 

[gravitas]

How bad is HIV?

oh I don't know.....it still kills ya so I'd say pretty bad


as for MJ and his ability to stay healthy this long.....no doubt that he's maintained a positive attitude and stayed very fit and probably does a hell of a job in eating right, getting lots of rest and basically giving his body the help it needs to cope with both the infection as well as consequences of the treatment. That said he has a TON of money so I'd imagine he's buying treatments that simply aren't available to the rank and file. I had a friend of the family who was diagnosed HIV+ in the late 80's when they were just coming out with the first anti-virals and other treatments. In addition to being able to buy drugs available in the US he also traveled to Europe for medications that weren't yet approved and purchase other treatments like full transfusions.

 

[necko]

I have had friends who were HIV Positive and they got so sick in a hurry and puff then they were gone and I have other friends thank God who just didn't get sick better Karma maybe I don't know they are still with us. One friend who was diagnoised nearly 20 yrs ago as HIV pos. he's nearly died 2X and hes still with us.

 

[BC visitor]

I thought this was an interesting read...

http://men.style.com/details/features/full?id=content_4979

 

[Randy Whorewald]

Gotta agree with Gravitas - if its risky enough to kill you it is plenty bad!!

 

[lenny]

The second link doesn't even work. I just saw NIH in the URL and assumed it was credible. I'm not saying there is no such document but as it stands, your post is not as well supported as it may appear.

I just tried it and, for some reason, it didn't work here, although it did
moments ago from where i found it {cf post #50}:

http://forum2.therx.com/showthread.php?t=421440&page=2

However it appears that i may have posted the wrong link for the
particular quote and that this is the correct one:

http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/hiv_disease.html

 

[lenny]

And I'm confused by the fact that you have 3 quotes and only 2 citations. Is one of these quotes really your words?

Sorry, i omitted the link for the third quote. It is not me talking
& also cums from the forum thread of the first quote.

 

[lenny]

I think all that he's saying is isn't it funny how someone who has had the virus that causes AIDS has been living virtually symptom free for upwards of 15 years? Any reasonable person should be able to deduce that he is not advocating that we go out and have unprotected sex with everything that moves. Rather I think it serves as hope that maybe we're closer to being able to combat the disease and it's not as bleak as once thought.

Thank you all for your feedback. Excellent info & insights here.

 

[JustAGuy]

What I want to know is when Magic's going to admit he got it from having sex with a man?

Yeah, it's impossible to contract HIV from sex with a woman. I'd forgotten that. And an NBA star would hardly have any groupies chasing after him. And those groupies would absolutely only do the deed with one star, never multiple stars in multiple types of entertainment. Magic HAD to have got it from having sex with a guy.

 

[Randy Whorewald]

Yeah, it's impossible to contract HIV from sex with a woman. I'd forgotten that. And an NBA star would hardly have any groupies chasing after him. And those groupies would absolutely only do the deed with one star, never multiple stars in multiple types of entertainment. Magic HAD to have got it from having sex with a guy.

Do you mean Just A Guy?