Thirty years of AIDS

[Wajdan]

It surfaced up in 1980 though first news reports were published in mid 1981. So it's almost 30 years of this ravaging plague. Although many books have been written about AIDS but hardly anyone mentions the number of gays died in this epidemic. If you read the news reports of those years you will see that people were speculating that as high as two-thirds of gays were infected. That was not the case as many many survived and did not catch it.

I am from the post-AIDS generation so I do not have any personal experiences about the initial years of this disease. I am sure that many JUBers were sexually active at the time and they can give us some insight. How many friends did you lost to this disease? Also what your estimate is about the percentage of gays that actually caught this bug? There needs to be a detailed survey done or maybe a book written about this issue.

AIDS set a major blow to gay rights and they turned defensive and remained so until 20 years or so until the late 1990s. Safe sex became the norm and people of that generation are the biggest proponents of careful lifestyles. This is nothing short of a tragedy that the young generation is unaware of the consequences. Barebacking is on the rise and all the drugs and other stuff going on. HIV infection rate is on the rise among gay men. Are we waiting for another disaster?

 

[milboy]

To the OP, you got it all wrong. It's HIV, not AIDS. You can later develop AIDS after living with HIV for so long, and it can be triggered by something as simple like getting pneumonia.

 

[Corny]

I think I can write a book with stupid excuses from people who don't want to have safe sex.

The uneducated ... "only if you cum" "top can't get it" "i don't notice anything i am clean"

the idiots "aids is not real" "the chances to infect are too low" "you can treat aids with NaCl .. i have this book to prove it"

the freaks "i'm a doctor, i put myself under constant PEP treatment, i can't get infected"

Yes .. we are running into the knife. Chest first.

 

[Wajdan]

To the OP, you got it all wrong. It's HIV, not AIDS. You can later develop AIDS after living with HIV for so long, and it can be triggered by something as simple like getting pneumonia.

Oh I know that. I tried to emphasize on AIDS because during the initial years HIV was not identified and AIDS is the more apt word to describe the actual disease that all eventually get afflicted with.

 

[Wajdan]

I was 6/7 when HIV first made arrived on the news in Australia.

I'll never forget watching a story one sunday night about the new gay cancer sweeping the world. Even at that age I knew it was something that would affect my life forever. It's something I pray a cure is found for.

Education is the only cure we have right now. Educate yourselves. In this info-generation, you have the collective wisdom of the ages at your fingertips. Use it. Stay safe.

You remember that grim reaper ad?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U219eUIZ7Qo[/ame]

 

[Wajdan]

Many people still think that gays are responsible for this disease. Some pretty interesting and then some blasphemous comments on this discussion.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062603521_Comments.html#

 

[Yooper]

Treanir had a very good thread about this some time ago.

I looked for the last 30 minutes but give up. Perhaps someone else can find it.

I posted some quite personal memories in it but just can't repeat that stuff tonight. Sorry,

 

[Corny]

Treanir had a very good thread about this some time ago.

I looked for the last 30 minutes but give up. Perhaps someone else can find it.

I posted some quite personal memories in it but just can't repeat that stuff tonight. Sorry,

This one?

http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275638

 

[Nomenclature]

Getting HIV in the 80's meant a horrible DEATH SENTENCE and in the late 80's-early 90's heavy courses of AZT. Now you just have to take a few pills and it isn't such a big deal (or they think).

Yeah, I hear a lot of people say this, but. . .


Do you honestly have any idea how much it costs to be on those drugs, and what all the side effects are?

Honestly, drugs like AZT are $1,000 or more a month to be on. If it's a drug cocktail, then it can be $2,100 a month (or more). . . for the rest of your life, or you'll die. That's $21,000 a year, and considering that the average person can live on those medications for 20+ years without progressing to AIDS, then that would be something like $288,000-$300,000 just to stay alive.


That's why South Park made the point about why Magic Johnson has been able to live for so long without any symptoms; Because he has a LOT of money. "Cash injected directly into the bloodstream!" If diagnosed with HIV, most people would have to literally double their yearly income to be able to afford to live at the same rate they're currently living and be on HAART therapy.


I apologize if this posts offends anyone, but I have an uncle (who is gay) who is currently dying of AIDS. I'm a bit biased, but I just can't understand how anyone would think that HIV/AIDS isn't that big of a deal and would willingly engage in risky behavior.

 

[Yooper]

Thank you Corny.

My search skills are very poor.

I reread what I wrote and I'm all weepy. Again.

 

[martin6]

This one?

http://www.justusboys.com/forum/showthread.php?t=275638

Just incredible.

 

[Grimmy]

Getting HIV in the 80's meant a horrible DEATH SENTENCE and in the late 80's-early 90's heavy courses of AZT. Now you just have to take a few pills and it isn't such a big deal (or they think).

It does seem that people with HIV are living much longer on the new cocktails -- but just how long hasn't proven yet. Not to mention the fact that different people's immune systems react differently to different cocktail mixes and therefore, the results can vary significantly. I am happy to report however, that I personally know of several friends who have been living with HIV for many years with undetectable viral loads.

It is a horrible disease and I hope that a cure will be found in my lifetime.

-- Grimmy

 

[BearMagus]

Wajdan, you asked what it was like. It was scary as hell for those of us who were around in the early 80s. I remember lying on the couch and listening to the news. I had been out partying for a few days. Sex, drugs, rock and roll. Peter Jennings was on TV and reported on a new disease that was spreading among gay men. It was really strange. My breath stopped and I froze. Up until that time the only disease anyone worried about hep B. Fear, anxiety, an guilt swept through the community. The number of HIV/AIDS cases sky rocketed. Then the deaths began. I lost track of the number of friends and acquaintances who died a long time ago. HIV meant certain death and people speculated on how they would die: cancer, pneumonia, etc. It was terrible.

There is one thing I will add. As the number of infections and deaths rose, along with fear and guilt, so did the courage and sense of community among gay men. Never in my life have I seen so many people pulled together like we did back in the late 80s and early 90s.

After 30 years, it seems our community has all but forgotten HIV and AIDS. I rarely hear anyone talk about it. It's rarely mentioned in the gay papers or magazines. So many died and the new drugs have been so successful I guess young people today don't worry like we used to.

 

[tonyboy]

It surfaced up in 1980 though first news reports were published in mid 1981. So it's almost 30 years of this ravaging plague. Although many books have been written about AIDS but hardly anyone mentions the number of gays died in this epidemic. If you read the news reports of those years you will see that people were speculating that as high as two-thirds of gays were infected. That was not the case as many many survived and did not catch it.

I am from the post-AIDS generation so I do not have any personal experiences about the initial years of this disease. I am sure that many JUBers were sexually active at the time and they can give us some insight. How many friends did you lost to this disease? Also what your estimate is about the percentage of gays that actually caught this bug? There needs to be a detailed survey done or maybe a book written about this issue.

AIDS set a major blow to gay rights and they turned defensive and remained so until 20 years or so until the late 1990s. Safe sex became the norm and people of that generation are the biggest proponents of careful lifestyles. This is nothing short of a tragedy that the young generation is unaware of the consequences. Barebacking is on the rise and all the drugs and other stuff going on. HIV infection rate is on the rise among gay men. Are we waiting for another disaster?

Yeah, well sorry to use the entire quite from the OP here... but I needed it to make this reply.
I'm in my 50's now..
I was sexually active in my early 20's..

I had sex with four guys that later died of AIDS... during the early 80's I was with lot's of guys.. and many of them wanted anal sex.. lucky for me I did not like too much..
Aside from the four guys that I had sex with that died I've known many other guys that died from that virus.

When I was about 30 I started having night sweats.. I read in a magazine that it was a symtom of HIV infection... I went to the doc, told him what I was going through... he gave me a funny look and ordered blood tests... went downstairs to the lab, gave the nurse my papers... she took a look at what was ordered... she gave me a quizzical look... hell she knew exatcly what sort of test the doc was giving me... but she said nothing..
I was clean..

And stupid me... I still went out and had sex with guys... not as often as before..
but I did..

Lucky for me I was never a guy that topped,... but I did rim, and suck dick...

Ok fast forward to nowadays..
My best online friend is 24... and he has anal sex with lot's of guys... he says it's ok cause they are much older than he is..
Still worries me though..

He has no worries..
Guys my age went through the HIV deal, guys nowadays dont' figure it's any big dieal.
My buddy loves anal sex... and I worry about him so much... I share my worries with him.. he does not seem to understand how serious it is.. He says, well I know these guys... I know if they have been with others... but he does not know..

He says, well if I get HIV well then I will die... But he does not know how painful a death he will face... He loves sports, outdoor activities... he is handsome, and so beautiful, such a fine body.. I dont' tihnk he will get HIV... but who the hell knows..

Four of my friends got that disease.. one was a handsome guy that was brilliant at desiging clothes and costumes, one was a guy that was so gay, but he was a very good guy, the others... well they were all good guys..

I doubt many young guys read stuff on jub... well at least the ones most at risk..
HIV/AIDS can be controlled for some.. but it's not like just taking an aspirin a day guys..
It's a very serious thing.. and some strains cannot be subdued by meds..

The friend I wrote of ^.. well he never uses protecton when having anal sex... he refuses to do it...
AND DAMN IT GJYS... HE IS SUCH A FINE AND GOOD GUY... I LOVE HIM.. I've never met him in person.. but we talk on the phone most every day...

Not sure what I"m trying to say here.. but the deal is that HIV is still very serious..

If you have netflix jsut check out the movie called PEDRO... about a guy that was caguht up with HIV when it was first in the open..
That movie made me cry.

I still thnk that oral sex is ok... it's just anal sex that has the highest problem of HIV..
well, this got a bit emotional for me... wish I could have written my message a bit better.

 

[Grimmy]

Anyway, tell your friends, and this is 100% true, to begin taking COCONUT OIL. Research coconut oil+hiv viral loads (in some cases people near the AIDS stage have had the viral load cut by 75%). It is found in health stores and costs around 11 dollars. I take it almost every day and it is one of the best boosters of the immune system as well as metabolism and other things. Seriously. It contains a lot of immune system builders such as lauric acid which is found in mothers milk and coconut oil and that is it.

Is this a pill supplement? Or do you drink it or add it to food? Do you have any links of the studies that have proven it beneficial. I certainly will pass along the information -- I just want to make sure that I have all the details and facts straight.

Thanks.

-- Grimmy

 

[Wajdan]

Yeah, well sorry to use the entire quite from the OP here... but I needed it to make this reply.
I'm in my 50's now..
I was sexually active in my early 20's..

I had sex with four guys that later died of AIDS... during the early 80's I was with lot's of guys.. and many of them wanted anal sex.. lucky for me I did not like too much..
Aside from the four guys that I had sex with that died I've known many other guys that died from that virus.

When I was about 30 I started having night sweats.. I read in a magazine that it was a symtom of HIV infection... I went to the doc, told him what I was going through... he gave me a funny look and ordered blood tests... went downstairs to the lab, gave the nurse my papers... she took a look at what was ordered... she gave me a quizzical look... hell she knew exatcly what sort of test the doc was giving me... but she said nothing..
I was clean..

And stupid me... I still went out and had sex with guys... not as often as before..
but I did..

Lucky for me I was never a guy that topped,... but I did rim, and suck dick...

Ok fast forward to nowadays..
My best online friend is 24... and he has anal sex with lot's of guys... he says it's ok cause they are much older than he is..
Still worries me though..

He has no worries..
Guys my age went through the HIV deal, guys nowadays dont' figure it's any big dieal.
My buddy loves anal sex... and I worry about him so much... I share my worries with him.. he does not seem to understand how serious it is.. He says, well I know these guys... I know if they have been with others... but he does not know..

He says, well if I get HIV well then I will die... But he does not know how painful a death he will face... He loves sports, outdoor activities... he is handsome, and so beautiful, such a fine body.. I dont' tihnk he will get HIV... but who the hell knows..

Four of my friends got that disease.. one was a handsome guy that was brilliant at desiging clothes and costumes, one was a guy that was so gay, but he was a very good guy, the others... well they were all good guys..

I doubt many young guys read stuff on jub... well at least the ones most at risk..
HIV/AIDS can be controlled for some.. but it's not like just taking an aspirin a day guys..
It's a very serious thing.. and some strains cannot be subdued by meds..

The friend I wrote of ^.. well he never uses protecton when having anal sex... he refuses to do it...
AND DAMN IT GJYS... HE IS SUCH A FINE AND GOOD GUY... I LOVE HIM.. I've never met him in person.. but we talk on the phone most every day...

Not sure what I"m trying to say here.. but the deal is that HIV is still very serious..

If you have netflix jsut check out the movie called PEDRO... about a guy that was caguht up with HIV when it was first in the open..
That movie made me cry.

I still thnk that oral sex is ok... it's just anal sex that has the highest problem of HIV..
well, this got a bit emotional for me... wish I could have written my message a bit better.

Yeah, that's the tragedy that people are turning away from safe sex. It is possible that your friend might have already got the bug. What a waste of life.

I have an interest in knowing the percentage of sexually active gays that actually died from HIV/AIDS during those times. Although there are many books written but there is no statistical survey among gays like the total number or percentage. What's your estimate like among your group of friends how many died and how many escaped the bug, some ratio?

 

[Fuzzy1]

In 1980 I was in nursing school, we didn't learn about AIDS until after I graduated.

In August of 1982 a gay set designer working in London was diagnosed with AIDS , his name was Peter Evans, and was originally from the Ottawa area, Drs. there advised him to return to Canada as there was bit more experience with the disease here. He was a very brave person and started a cross country speaking campaigne talking about what little was known of the disease at the time, about 300 people from the gay community came to listen to him.

As a result of that meeting, I, a gay nursing instructor from my school and a gay Dr. got together and had the first meetings that established the WGCHC (Winnipeg Gay Community Health Centre), Later renamed The Village Clinic because the province refused to fund a soley gay oriented clinic. It became one of the main AIDS education forums in Winnipeg, We did outreach clinics for checking Hepititis, GC and Syphilus, there wasn't an AIDS test yet. Distributed Condoms, We called the Condom outreach "get snapping" to encourage people to snap on a condom. At this point there hadn't been any diagnosed cases of AIDS in Manitoba yet to my knowlege, the first cases that I became aware of were in 1983 and between 1983 and 1992 I was aware of about 60 people that died of AIDS. I know there were a lot more than that but these were people that I actually knew.

It is extremely dangerous to become complacent about HIV, many people don't know they are infected, some people go into such an intense denial phase, that they will continue having unsafe sex. With today's treatment modalities HIV + persons can live a long time and don't look sick but there is no turning back once you are HIV + there is only management. In Canada's sociallized health care system, getting treatment isn't as much of a burden as in some other countries but there are still fairly substancial expenses. Best always be safe, use a condom and not take the chance. It's not what you do but how you do it.

 

[Paws]

Thirty years of AIDS

Should we now celebrate it or what?

 

[Txgoodoldboy]

I came out in 1970.

When the article about "the gay cancer' was printed in the newspaper in 1981, I cut it out.

Several years later, I was going through an old address book, I stop counting at about 200 people, who had died of AIDS. I would say about 90 to 95 percent of people I knew died of AIDS.

If gays today, could have seen it then, they would wear a condom.

 

[Yooper]

A question to the board, how come the people in the 80's died so much more quickly than people do now? I am talking about people that don't know they are infected yet can still live years without knowing? Why did symptoms occur so much more rapidly then as opposed to now?

There was very little treatment available.

Bearskins and Stone Knives was about it.