Sindisiwe Radebe, 42, Vereeniging
Sindisiwe Radebe needed counseling when she first found out that she was HIV positive. It gave her the information that she needed in order to understand and believe that it was not a death sentence for her. “To me, being HIV positive is a blessing. Lots of things have changed since I am HIV positive. I used to drink, I used to party, I didn’t have time for my kids. But now I do. Now I am committed and now I want more in life.” Sindisiwe started taking ARVs in 2002 when she was pregnant. Her child was born HIV-free and she has been on ARVs for 19 years.
When she started taking ARVs she was not feeling sick, and at the beginning, they would make her feel dizzy but that quickly changed and she has felt healthy and well ever since. She has had flu but no other serious illnesses since being on ARVs.
She has been on dolutegravir for three years and says that she is gaining weight on her new ARVs. In the beginning, it also made her very sleepy, this lasted for two to three weeks and then went away. She went to see a dietician and through diet and exercise, she has managed to stabilise her weight.
Sindisiwe says that she can live healthily on ARVs for a long, long time. She says that she doesn’t ever think that because she has HIV, she is going to die. When she first found out her status all she could think about was death but after going to counseling for a month she started to understand that it was just a virus that was living inside her and that she didn’t need to be scared. She says that counseling has been very important in her journey and encourages others to seek help when they find out their status.
Most people that she has met who stopped their ARVs did so because of the attitude that they got from the nurses at the clinics. Sindisiwe does not collect her pills at the clinic, she collects them from the post office every month. She only goes to the clinic once a year to do blood tests.
Sindisiwe Radebe needed counseling when she first found out that she was HIV positive. It gave her the information that she needed in order to understand and believe that it was not a death sentence for her. i
Sindisiwe Radebe, 42, Vereeniging
Sindisiwe started taking ARVs in 2002 when she was pregnant. Her child was born HIV-free and she has been on ARVs for 19 years.
When she started taking ARVs she was not feeling sick, and at the beginning, they would make her feel dizzy but that quickly changed and she has felt healthy and well ever since. She has had flu but no other serious illnesses since being on ARVs.
“To me, being HIV positive is a blessing. Lots of things have changed since I am HIV positive. I used to drink, I used to party, I didn’t have time for my kids. But now I do. Now I am committed and now I want more in life.”
She has been on dolutegravir for three years and says that she is gaining weight on her new ARVs. In the beginning, it also made her very sleepy, this lasted for two to three weeks and then went away. She went to see a dietician and through diet and exercise, she has managed to stabilise her weight.
“I am living a positive life. I take care of myself and I watch everything that I eat. I also exercise, something that I never did before.”
Sindisiwe says that she can live healthily on ARVs for a long, long time. She says that she doesn’t ever think that because she has HIV, she is going to die. When she first found out her status all she could think about was death but after going to counseling for a month she started to understand that it was just a virus that was living inside her and that she didn’t need to be scared. She says that counseling has been very important in her journey and encourages others to seek help when they find out their status.
Most people that she has met who stopped their ARVs did so because of the attitude that they got from the nurses at the clinics. Sindisiwe does not collect her pills at the clinic, she collects them from the post office every month. She only goes to the clinic once a year to do blood tests.
“I explain to my children that I am taking pills but it does not mean that I am sick. It is just that I am living with a virus … so I have to take my pills every day. Without my pills, I am going to get sick.”
Art tools in
your hand!
Add the website on your phone’s home screen to use the handy ART tools to help manage and track your treatment.