Hints and Allegations

Moving On

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 11:21:00 GMT

New Years has a funny effect on us human. We get all nostalgic, hopeful for the future and emotional. Okay, maybe the Holiday parties with lots of alcohol have something to do with that, but it's also our nature to look back at the year that was, and dream about what the new year will bring. After all, who doesn't want the coming year to rock, so of course we're going to start it off with high hopes.

Desperate Measures: The Fight for ATC, a New NRTI to Treat Multidrug-Resistant HIV

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 12:00:00 GMT

It seems we've come full circle. I can remember a time in the late '90s/very early 2000s, when the sheer amount of "me too" drugs pouring out of the pipeline seemed to me, well, lazy on the part of Big Pharma. At first the NRTIs, protease inhibitors and NNRTIs were Godsends; but after a much-needed few of each were approved, it seemed that the pharmaceutical companies were taking the easy way out by finding something that worked, tweaking them a bit, slapping a new name on them, chucking them in a bottle and calling it a day.

How Many People Have Been Cured of HIV?

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 02:08:00 GMT

Several months ago a media frenzy reported Danish researchers as being months away from curing AIDS. During this time, countless individuals discontinued their HIV medication, believing the cure would soon be available.

With the recent flurry of HIV "cure" reports, it's becoming increasingly more difficult to sort out who's actually been cured and what stories are media hype, wishful thinking, or premature reports of success.

Being HIV+ with an HIV- Partner Comes With Some Challenges

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:17:00 GMT

When it comes to relationships, some HIV positive people have a clear cut policy on the serostatus of potential partners. Some will only be with another HIV positive person, some will only be with an HIV negative partner and for some it's not even a part of the 'should I get involved with this person' decision. Of the four relationships I've had since the person I became positive from, only one was HIV positive. I'm one of the 'it has no bearing on my decision' people.

You Can Be Heard, Without Feeling You Have to Disclose Your HIV Status

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:19:00 GMT

During the opening plenary at AIDS 2012 Phill Wilson, President and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, delivered a highly passionate and inspiring speech to help kick off the conference. During his speech he called for all people living with HIV to reveal their status to help end HIV stigma. He did say that for some people this isn't possible because of certain issues. I worryingly see a movement in the making asking people to come out as HIV positive and this concerns me.

HIV Home Testing: More Problem Than Solution

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:56:00 GMT

Take a moment and think back to when you tested positive for HIV. What was your initial reaction? What went through your head? For most of us it was sheer panic. "What now?" is usually one of the first questions that comes to mind.

If you're not HIV positive, think of a time where you were tested for HIV and sweated it out while waiting for the results. Some of us thought we'd kill ourselves rather than live with HIV/AIDS, believing our lives would be over.

HIV Stigma and Awareness: Time to Change Our Message

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Thu, 5 Apr 2012 16:08:00 GMT

I am not a victim of HIV or AIDS. I am not someone to fear or pity. I am not beneath anyone, less of a person, or unworthy because I am HIV positive. I am a person living with HIV. I am me! Not the same person I was before I was diagnosed, I am better than I was. I am more than I was. I am more now than I probably ever would have been without HIV because the virus has made me, allowed me, facilitated me, to grow and evolve in ways I never would have been able to without it. I know this. I will not allow ANYONE to pity me, stigmatize me or try to make me feel less than who I am. I do not give anyone that power over me. Because of this I say here, LOUD and CLEAR, for me as a person with HIV, personal stigma is irrelevant!

The Death of the Pariah

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:59:00 GMT

Almost everyone with HIV has felt from time to time, or been made to feel, like a "pariah." We've all heard the word. Most of us know the feeling. As if other people need to be protected from us. We've heard people say "HIV is the new leprosy" or in our defense "HIV's not leprosy you know." How about the ad with the scorpion in bed as if we were poison?

Should HIV Meds for HIV-Uninfected People Be a Priority? And Other PrEP Questions

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:27:00 GMT

Groundbreaking results of two large pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) studies may lead to a new prevention option to reduce HIV transmission. Data released on two PrEP studies showed high levels of protection against HIV infection when tenofovir (Viread) or Truvada (tenofovir and emtricitabine) were taken daily by HIV-uninfected individuals at high risk for infection.

The Partners PrEP trial, the largest PrEP study to date, was conducted at nine centers in Kenya and Uganda. A total of 4,758 heterosexual couples, in which one partner was HIV infected and the other HIV uninfected, were enrolled. The HIV-uninfected partner was given either tenofovir, Truvada or placebo. The study was stopped a full 18 months before it was scheduled to end due to a demonstrated high rate of protection against HIV.

We Are Not OK -- Until the Cure

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Tue, 5 Jul 2011 07:11:00 GMT

The epidemic has changed so much since I've been involved in the AIDS crisis. When I was first diagnosed, HIV really was a death sentence. I remember my first doctor telling me that I could live as long as 10 years. I smiled and walked out of her office happy. I made it to my car before I realized that she had just told me I'd be dead before I was 38 -- if I was lucky!

The waiting room of my first clinic was like a party every 3 months. We all came on the same day and many of us already knew each other from school or the street or drug programs or elsewhere. We'd go from one person to the next, one group of familiar faces to the next, until our names were called and then we would do our triage and blood draws and wait in the back to see our doctors together. After about a year I noticed the crowd getting smaller and smaller each time. Each visit became less and less of a party atmosphere and more of a telling session of who didn't survive the last 3 months.

It Is What It Is

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Tue, 24 May 2011 09:47:00 GMT

I know I must really look sad as little kids keep smiling at me. I try to remember that I've left this building many times feeling this way -- scared, sad, disappointed and time after time things ended up not so bad.

Even though they don't always go great, I've always liked coming to New York Presbyterian for my pulmonary hypertension appointments. For years I was seen at the pulmonary clinic. Six month ago I graduated to the heart failure clinic.

From Addict to Activist With 3 Easy Letters

hintsandallegations@hivhaven.com (Jeannie Wraight) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:48:00 GMT

I felt sorry for people. I felt sorry for animals. I even felt sorry for my stuffed animals when I didn't give them enough attention or got tired of playing with them. I was the kind of kid that dogs and cats 'followed home' all the time. By the time I was 8 I had already realized that there was a tremendous amount of pain in the world. Although I also saw so much beauty in life, the suffering of others was overwhelming, suffocating. It haunted me.

The transition from smoking a few joints and swallowing my mother's Valium on occasion to becoming a full-fledged drug addict was an easy one for, among other reasons, it numbed the pain. I didn't think about the lonely old man with the sad eyes or the dog that stayed tied up, alone, outside, 24 hours a day; and I especially didn't think about what was going on in my own life on a daily basis. I simply forgot the world existed outside my quest to stay continuously numb.