Choice of doctor & treatment
Early HIV treatment enables you to live a good and long life. It is important that you find the treatment that suits you together with a specialist. It's not just about the medication, but also about trust: You should feel that you are in good hands at the practice and that you can discuss anything that is important to you.
Protection through therapy
If you are taking HIV treatment as an HIV-positive man and no viruses can be detected in your blood in the long term, HIV can no longer be transmitted during sex. We call this Protection through therapy.
It is important that you take your HIV medication reliably. This is the only way the therapy can have a lasting effect. Your doctor will regularly check whether this is working - usually every three months.
Choice of doctor
If you have received an HIV-positive test result, you should get a medical examination and counselling as soon as possible. It is best to contact an HIV-focussed practice or a doctor who specialises in HIV.
Starting HIV treatment early can enable you to live a long and good life. In order to find the best treatment for you, counselling from experienced experts is particularly important. They can discuss with you when the right time is to start treatment and which treatment is best suited to your life situation.
If you live in a village or smaller town, there may not be a specialised practice or local AIDS service there. In this case, it may make sense to travel to the next larger town to seek advice from specialists there.
A few more tips
Listen to your gut feeling: Do you feel comfortable with your doctor? Can you talk openly about the issues that are important to you? This is crucial, because HIV doctorsaccompany their patientsoften over a long period of time.
Before starting HIV therapy, discuss everything that is important to you - for example, the different forms of therapy, the effect of the medication and possible side effects.
HIV medication must always be taken at set times. Side effects such as diarrhoea, headaches or nausea can occur, especially at the start of treatment.
If these symptoms do not disappear after a few weeks, talk to your doctor. They can often check together whether the combination of medication should be adjusted. There are usually several options for combination therapy. This makes it easier to avoid side effects or resistance.
