G'day. While HIV is not the defining aspect of who I am, it has had a big impact on my life. When diagnosed I went onto meds for a year but found the side effects to be too much so went off for about 9 years. I have since been back on meds since mid 2007 with minimal to no side effects. Yipee! I must admit that I let my CD4 cells get a bit low before going on meds (180) and don't recommend letting them get that low before starting as I was getting very fatigued and had diarrheorra ++. Still managed to drag my ass to work but very very tired. Life has improved now ++ and wish others the best.