What to Do After Being Diagnosed As HIV-Positive

HIV Care and Support Groups

If you've just found out that you're HIV-positive, you may feel many overwhelming emotions--fear, confusion, disbelief, anger,...--but one feeling that is sure to come is this: the feeling of being alone. Know that you are not alone. Many people in the Philippines are now living healthy, productive lives, and they are like you: a person living with HIV. 

Remember that being HIV-positive is not the virtual death sentence it once was. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), yes, but being HIV-positive does not necessarily mean that you already have AIDS. With a healthy lifestyle and the right medical care, many HIV-positive people are living long, productive lives, without AIDS.

You are considered HIV-positive once you receive your confirmatory results, which in the Philippines, come from a central laboratory (NRL-SLH SACCL, or National Reference Laboratory San Lazaro Hospital STD AIDS Cooperative Center Laboratory). The next step after confirming your status is to go for Baseline Testing, so as to assess the current status of your health, specifically your immune system.

Here below is an infographic showing an easy, breezy way of going for your Baseline Tests at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (AIDS Research Group) in Alabang, one of the 3 public HIV treatment hubs in Metro Manila.

For the high-resolution PDF version: DOWNLOAD HERE

Credit for the infographic: Raymond del Rosario

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