Q: I am a 42 year old female. I used to abuse IV drugs. A number of years ago, I tested positive for the HIV virus. It was many years after I had stopped using IV drugs, and I was tested because of my history. I had no symptoms, and have not been sick a day in my entire life. Since that time, a doctor has started me on a medication for the HIV virus, and according to the doctor, you basically can’t detect the virus in my blood at this time. My question is whether it is clear that HIV is always the virus that causes AIDS? I have read some articles on the internet that question it. And if I don’t have to take these medications, I would like to stop, as I feel great.
A: Very good question, which has been studied extensively. There is overwhelming data that shows us that the HIV virus is in fact the virus that causes AIDS, the auto-immune deficiency syndrome. When the virus grows/replicates in the blood stream, it clearly affects the immune system. The more the virus, the worse the symptoms of AIDS. Back before there were good medications, which are the anti-retroviral medications, people commonly died of complications of AIDS. Today, with such good medications, the signs and symptoms are much less common. So we would not recommend stopping these medications on your own.
To learn more about  HIV and AIDS watch this video on VideoMD.com.
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