How advances in antiretrovirals have impacted my life with HIV
By 
Julia Robinson2024-05-07T09:01:00
Eddie Heywood explains how having a range of drugs has helped a whole generation live with HIV – now their biggest concern is remembering to take them
I was diagnosed with HIV on 31 October 2011. I remember the date vividly as Halloween has always been my favourite day of the year.
Around the 2010s, significant advances were being made in HIV treatment. By that point we had access to Pep, or post-exposure prophylaxis, which was for when you knew there was a good chance you had been exposed to HIV – but this was a month-long treatment regimen that generally made you throw up . Studies for Prep, or pre-exposure prophylaxis – which you can now take proactively to minimise the risk of contracting HIV - were only really kicking off when I got infected.