Newly Diagnosed?

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with HIV you’re probably feeling a mixture of emotions (eg fear, disappointment, guilt, shame, confusion, shock). You’ve also probably got a lot of questions. Take a breath, try and relax and know that you’re going to be okay. It might take you some time to adjust to and absorb this new piece of information about yourself and work out how it fits into your life but it will and things aren’t going to be as bad as you might think they’ll be.

Being HIV positive is going to change your life in some ways but you can live a full, happy and healthy life. There are many different treatment options that are available these days so it’s important that you discuss those options with your doctor or HIV specialist. If you don’t have a HIV Specialist, or a GP that can prescribe HIV treatments, go to our list of S100 Prescribers (these are doctors who are authorised to prescribe HIV medications) in the links section of our website. If you want to start familiarising yourself with treatment options have a look at our treatments section (but try not to overwhelm yourself by trying to learn absolutely everything there is to know about HIV, that’s going to take some time). Following is a Resource that you might find useful.

Next Steps is for any person who is diagnosed HIV positive – regardless of gender, sexuality, or cultural background. It details how the virus affects your body, offers advice on how to manage your life as an HIV positive person and provides suggestions on how to make decisions around treatments, sex, telling people and your legal rights. It will not answer all of your questions, but it may be a useful starting point. You might also find this resource useful if you have been positive for a while and would like more information. You might find advice in this booklet useful at different times as you come to terms with your diagnosis. You might find some sections more relevant to you than others or you might decide you want to read the entire booklet to learn as much as you can about HIV. This resource was produced by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) in conjunction with the National Association of People Living With HIV (NAPWA) and the Australasian Society for HIV Medicine (ASHM).