How come Magic Johnson is still alive? MILLIONS died of HIV/AIDS during the 80s & 90s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greg Louganis is still alive.
He got diagnosed with HIV in 1988 - 3 years before Magic.
How come nobody's wondering how he's managed to survive?

Nobody knows who Greg is.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are known all over the world.

He's definitely not as popular - but he's still alive.
How come?

What do you mean how come? He started taking AZT as soon as he was diagnosed. He has said publicly that he was very strict about sticking to the protocol. Also, he was a professional athlete. His body started in a healthier place than most. That has to have helped too.

From what I remember, the protocol for taking the drugs is really extensive and precise. Professional athletes, who already have strict physical regimens, are probably really good with compliance and thus get the best possible results.

[Anonymous]

My uncle got HIV back in the 80s when it was a death sentence and he is still alive.

The drugs are really hard on the body though. He's addicted to painkillers to numb the pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why was there never a big announcement that HIV has been essentially cured? With the amount of attention it got in the 80's - mid 90's you would think that these new drugs would be major news. I remember around the mid 2000's wondering what happened to AIDS. I hadn't really heard about it for a few years, and it used to be all you'd ever hear about.

Because it hasn't been cured? We've just figured out how to control the virus to a point with expensive meds with lots of side effects.

I know a young adult who was HIV exposed in utero, and "converted" (meaning he does not have the virus, not exactly the same as cured, because the early meds prevent the virus from developing in the infant so he technically never had it). He was on HIV meds for 3 months, and still as an adult has medical problems linked to side effects during those 3 months. The meds the control HIV have a long way to go.

I'm stunned all the time by the lack of awareness and education around HIV/AIDS these days. I grew up in the era where discussion of it was EVERYWHERE, all the time. On the news, in school, parents' conversations, everywhere. It was part of sex ed.

They don't teach about it anymore. My younger brother is six years younger than me, which is a decent gap of time, but the difference in our understanding/awareness of HIV/AIDS astounded me. He never learned about it in school, it was never discussed in his social circles, and it's not on the news anymore. And he's gay. Several years back when they had that major AIDS forum in DC I was talking to him about it and he just had no idea what I was talking about or the context. It was shocking and terrifying...for both of us. I was so scared that his lack of understanding would lead him to be careless; he was terrified that he could have this disease that heretofore he was only peripherally aware of. He went out and got tested the next day. (He was negative.)

So why isn't it big news that there's a "cure"? As a PP said it's not a cure, it's successful treatment. And not to put on my Big Pharma Tinfoil Hat, but the preventive drugs (which are newer than AZT and are taken prophylactically) are made to be VERY (unnecessarily) expensive and insurance companies don't want to pay for them. My brother takes them and it's always an ongoing battle to get his insurance to cover it. It is absurd. And it makes me believe there are cures out there that have been concealed because they would cause the pharmaceutical and hospital industries to lose a ton of money. A cure for back pain?! Then who will shell out for painkillers, spinal fusions, chiropractic visits, orthopedic specialist care, etc etc etc?

[Anonymous]

It wouldn't surprise me if there was a deliberate choice by public health advocates not to tout any idea of a cure for fear that it would decrease safe sex behavior. People started using condoms religiously in the 80s and 90s because they were terrified of getting a fatal disease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a nurse at an early AIDS clinic from 1984 to 1999 in Chicago. I keep in contact with a good amount of people from the mid 80s who are all doing well. They all had the HIV virus and got their cocktail early and never got off path. It's entirely possible. I knew 3 personally who have undetectable levels. We also lost many many many (sometimes 15 a week) and they were mostly diagnosed with AIDS. I am still upset/ almost offended how little the public knows about the difference between the two. I think as a country we must have really dropped the educational responsibility component. Sometimes Im shocked how little even other nurses know about HIV/AIDS.

PS: The people I know aren't rich like Magic Johnson but they had insurance, jobs, resources, and were able to educate themselves. The people I know who are thriving didn't let the fear of their lifestyle prevent them from seeking help. I probably heard at least 100 patients tell me they knew they were sick but were afraid to find out. Those are the people who died. It was shame and fear and it makes me so upset and sad. To know you are most likely dying of their horrific disease but not want to find out because everyone you love will know you "are one of them" is really soul crushing and heart breaking.

PPS: I read Cookie Johnson's book and you can absolutely feel the fear they all had for their lives during his diagnosis. I don't think it was a government spokesperson. Cookie was pregnant when he was diagnosed. Not to mention what the diagnosed implied on their marriage itself.

???

What's with the ??? She was pregnant when her husband was diagnosed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greg Louganis is still alive.
He got diagnosed with HIV in 1988 - 3 years before Magic.
How come nobody's wondering how he's managed to survive?

Nobody knows who Greg is.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are known all over the world.

maybe YOU don't know who he is, but mostly anyone who knows who Johnson and Bird are - are also of the same generation that would know who Greg Louganis is.

[Anonymous]

Everybody curious about HIV/AIDS medication and why it is now survivable should watch How to Survive a Plague and then read the book. It’s heartbreaking and inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why was there never a big announcement that HIV has been essentially cured? With the amount of attention it got in the 80's - mid 90's you would think that these new drugs would be major news. I remember around the mid 2000's wondering what happened to AIDS. I hadn't really heard about it for a few years, and it used to be all you'd ever hear about.

Because it hasn't been cured? We've just figured out how to control the virus to a point with expensive meds with lots of side effects.

I know a young adult who was HIV exposed in utero, and "converted" (meaning he does not have the virus, not exactly the same as cured, because the early meds prevent the virus from developing in the infant so he technically never had it). He was on HIV meds for 3 months, and still as an adult has medical problems linked to side effects during those 3 months. The meds the control HIV have a long way to go.

I'm stunned all the time by the lack of awareness and education around HIV/AIDS these days. I grew up in the era where discussion of it was EVERYWHERE, all the time. On the news, in school, parents' conversations, everywhere. It was part of sex ed.

They don't teach about it anymore. My younger brother is six years younger than me, which is a decent gap of time, but the difference in our understanding/awareness of HIV/AIDS astounded me. He never learned about it in school, it was never discussed in his social circles, and it's not on the news anymore. And he's gay. Several years back when they had that major AIDS forum in DC I was talking to him about it and he just had no idea what I was talking about or the context. It was shocking and terrifying...for both of us. I was so scared that his lack of understanding would lead him to be careless; he was terrified that he could have this disease that heretofore he was only peripherally aware of. He went out and got tested the next day. (He was negative.)

So why isn't it big news that there's a "cure"? As a PP said it's not a cure, it's successful treatment. And not to put on my Big Pharma Tinfoil Hat, but the preventive drugs (which are newer than AZT and are taken prophylactically) are made to be VERY (unnecessarily) expensive and insurance companies don't want to pay for them. My brother takes them and it's always an ongoing battle to get his insurance to cover it. It is absurd. And it makes me believe there are cures out there that have been concealed because they would cause the pharmaceutical and hospital industries to lose a ton of money. A cure for back pain?! Then who will shell out for painkillers, spinal fusions, chiropractic visits, orthopedic specialist care, etc etc etc?

There’s some crazy stuff in this thread but this is not so crazy. Pfizer had a drug that indicated that it might prevent Alzheimer’s, and decided not to study it.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pfizer-had-clues-its-blockbuster-drug-could-prevent-alzheimers-why-didnt-it-tell-the-world/2019/06/04/9092e08a-7a61-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They don't teach about it anymore. My younger brother is six years younger than me, which is a decent gap of time, but the difference in our understanding/awareness of HIV/AIDS astounded me. He never learned about it in school, it was never discussed in his social circles, and it's not on the news anymore. And he's gay. Several years back when they had that major AIDS forum in DC I was talking to him about it and he just had no idea what I was talking about or the context. It was shocking and terrifying...for both of us. I was so scared that his lack of understanding would lead him to be careless; he was terrified that he could have this disease that heretofore he was only peripherally aware of. He went out and got tested the next day. (He was negative.)

I learned recently from a public health advocate that 50% of all new HIV cases are in DC and Puerto Rico. I would hope the public health agencies in both jurisdictions would make education on HIV AIDS a priority since there seems to be a strong need for it.

[Anonymous]

There weren't millions of deaths in the USA. There were I think at the peak of the epidemic about 40,000 deaths a year in the USA. Many people who were infected survived the 80s and 90s as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There weren't millions of deaths in the USA. There were I think at the peak of the epidemic about 40,000 deaths a year in the USA. Many people who were infected survived the 80s and 90s as well.

This stat says 700,000 since 1981. I had no idea the number, I definitely imagined it to be more. The infection rates today are still staggering.

https://www.kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states-the-basics/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They don't teach about it anymore. My younger brother is six years younger than me, which is a decent gap of time, but the difference in our understanding/awareness of HIV/AIDS astounded me. He never learned about it in school, it was never discussed in his social circles, and it's not on the news anymore. And he's gay. Several years back when they had that major AIDS forum in DC I was talking to him about it and he just had no idea what I was talking about or the context. It was shocking and terrifying...for both of us. I was so scared that his lack of understanding would lead him to be careless; he was terrified that he could have this disease that heretofore he was only peripherally aware of. He went out and got tested the next day. (He was negative.)

I learned recently from a public health advocate that 50% of all new HIV cases are in DC and Puerto Rico. I would hope the public health agencies in both jurisdictions would make education on HIV AIDS a priority since there seems to be a strong need for it.

I'm the PP with the younger brother. One thing I didn't include in my post was that during our conversation about the world AIDS forum in DC, in the coverage out of the event I read that 1 in 4 southern gay men are HIV+. He was a 23-year-old living in Atlanta so that was one of the most terrifying aspects for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Greg Louganis is still alive.
He got diagnosed with HIV in 1988 - 3 years before Magic.
How come nobody's wondering how he's managed to survive?

Nobody knows who Greg is.

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are known all over the world.

He's definitely not as popular - but he's still alive.
How come?

What do you mean how come? He started taking AZT as soon as he was diagnosed. He has said publicly that he was very strict about sticking to the protocol. Also, he was a professional athlete. His body started in a healthier place than most. That has to have helped too.

From what I remember, the protocol for taking the drugs is really extensive and precise. Professional athletes, who already have strict physical regimens, are probably really good with compliance and thus get the best possible results.

Not to mention they can afford to hire people whose job it is to ensure they stick on the exact schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They don't teach about it anymore. My younger brother is six years younger than me, which is a decent gap of time, but the difference in our understanding/awareness of HIV/AIDS astounded me. He never learned about it in school, it was never discussed in his social circles, and it's not on the news anymore. And he's gay. Several years back when they had that major AIDS forum in DC I was talking to him about it and he just had no idea what I was talking about or the context. It was shocking and terrifying...for both of us. I was so scared that his lack of understanding would lead him to be careless; he was terrified that he could have this disease that heretofore he was only peripherally aware of. He went out and got tested the next day. (He was negative.)

I learned recently from a public health advocate that 50% of all new HIV cases are in DC and Puerto Rico. I would hope the public health agencies in both jurisdictions would make education on HIV AIDS a priority since there seems to be a strong need for it.

I'm the PP with the younger brother. One thing I didn't include in my post was that during our conversation about the world AIDS forum in DC, in the coverage out of the event I read that 1 in 4 southern gay men are HIV+. He was a 23-year-old living in Atlanta so that was one of the most terrifying aspects for him.

I’m from San Fran and gay or straight you cannot avoid learning about HIV there, messages are everywhere. I rarely see anything about it in DC.

[Anonymous]

^^ Which is sad re: DC. DC is (and I think mostly always been) one of the cities with the highest infection rates. The Whitman Walker Clinic did a lot of good things in their time.