Brian Stark, NC:

I got infected with HIV in 2012, in August. It was a terrible misfortune for me and an unbelievable mistake of the medics who transfused me the blood of an infected person. In a month after the blood transfusion I started experiencing the first symptoms of the horrible disease - fatigue in the morning at first, then during the whole day; switches from sweating to freezing. At first I thought it was something like influenza or something else. But when a week later I got swollen lymph nodes I went to the doctor and his face looked worried when he told me to undergo a bunch of tests. So, when the tests were ready I was diagnosed with HIV and that was the scariest day in my life. I don't quite remember the day. I don't know how I got back home and what I did there. After the frustration came panic, then denial, anger and finally apathy. At this stage I met a person who is now one of my biggest friends. He brought me back hope and belief. He told me about his success in struggling HIV. And it is due to him I started treatment with optimism. Now I am on Atazanavir and it shows good results from the very beginning. At first I felt dizzy after the medication and I had slightly blurred vision but in a day or two all the bad sensations had gone, my lymph nodes shrank and now I have no side effects.

Gloria H., Chicago:

I have been using Atazanavir now for about three months. It is a way better than the medication I took before. That drug produced average treatment results but the side effects were unacceptable for me - I felt dizzy and had nausea all the time, I had horrible nightmares and sometimes visions in the daytime and when I had no nightmares I had insomnia that would drive me crazy. After I asked my doctor to change my treatment plan he switched me to Atazanavir and now I am much happier as I have almost no side effects, just occasional dizziness, but that doesn't worry me much. Besides my blood tests show that Atazanavir is more effective and my viral load decreases quicker than when on the other drug. Now when I feel so much better I plan to rearrange my life to get it closer to what it was like before the diagnosis. I am still alive and I want to feel the taste of this life at full. I hope Atazanavir will continue being effective and therefore helps me get back my life.

Kevin Luthier, Oklahoma City:

I was diagnosed a year ago and I do not even know when exactly and how I was infected. We all do stupid things when we are young. I was far too stupid, as I can see now. Fortunately my HIV was detected before it developed to full-blown AIDS. My doctor immediately started me on Atazanavir and in less than six months my viral load came from 260K to undetectable. I have had little to no side effects and I can not compare this medication to other HIV treatment solutions as I haven't tried any. But based on the comments I read to other drugs, Atazanavir works great for me and I hope it remains just as effective. It is so strange that some people need to get a hard blow to understand how much they value their life. And it is very sad that I belong to this type of people. Only when my life got in danger and when my health was almost ruined I learnt to cherish every day and see the bright side of the world. I wish I could rewind back but we get what we deserve. Now I do my best to deserve longer life and I carefully follow my treatment regimen, lead a healthier way of life and do not drink alcohol, do not smoke.