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A gym buddy said there are:

1) He said small hard pot belly.
2) loss of any fat on upper inside if both thighs.
3) moons missing from all finger nail beds
4) loss of any fat in facial strucure.

Is there a Dr. in the house??? I mean a real MD- infectious disease guy!!

I just wondered if he's right???
Thanks in advancer,
Mike3

I have AIDS and it was because of my homosexual life-style. But I am happy and I will never regret being borned Gay....

Arriba Mexico...Ayyy..

P.S.
I love you Carlos Adrián Núñez Sánchez or as I call you XipeTotec88 !!!

HIV medications can cause fat redistribution or lipodystrophy syndrome. Fat tends to be lost on the arms, legs and buttocks and accumulates centrally. The accumulation centrally causes a pot belly. Protease Inhibitors can contribute to the fat redistribution. Indinavir sulfate (CRIXIVAN ) could cause pot belly and it was named Crix belly phenomenon. Fat is also lost in the cheeks resulting in a sunken look. There are nail changes. One of the more common nail changes is "white nails" or leukonychia. I'm assuming this is what your friend is talking about. Other nail changes include clubbing and transverse lines. The most common nail change is due to fungal infections .

I'm not a real MD- infectious disease guy. I do have some experience with HIV and AIDS patients.

kneedraggen saidHIV can cause fat redistribution or lipodystrophy syndrome. Fat tends to be lost on the arms, legs and buttocks and accumulates centrally. The accumulation centrally causes a pot belly. Protease Inhibitors can contribute to the fat redistribution. Indinavir sulfate (CRIXIVAN ) could cause pot belly and it was named Crix belly phenomenon. Fat is also lost in the cheeks resulting in a sunken look. There are nail changes. One of the more common nail changes is "white nails" or leukonychia. I'm assuming this is what your friend is talking about. Other nail changes include clubbing and transverse lines. The most common nail change is due to fungal infections .

I'm not a real MD- infectious disease guy. I do have some experience with HIV and AIDS patients.

Regardless I think it should be made clear that this is NOT a reliable diagnostic indicator of being HIV+ or -. Some people I know have the symptoms above and are still negative, whereas other HIV+ people I know don't show any of these indicators at all. There is simply no obvious outwardly physical way to distinguish between someone who has HIV or not.

t0theheights saidRegardless I think it should be made clear that this is NOT a reliable diagnostic indicator of being HIV+ or -. Some people I know have the symptoms above and are still negative, whereas other HIV+ people I know don't show any of these indicators at all. There is simply no obvious outwardly physical way to distinguish between someone who has HIV or not.

Correct. While some of these changes may be seen in some individuals, these are usually the result of long-term exposure to HIV, and may include the results of AIDS. Initially HIV produces no obvious symptoms, except upon first exposure some people may develop something similar to a common cold, but even this is not universal.

Another outward sign, a pot belly, may in reality be due to the treatment regimen, not HIV itself. In fact, since I have put on some ordinary middle-age spread myself lately, I've subsequently learned some gay friends erroneously assumed I was on HIV meds. Yet I know a number of gay men who have had HIV for many years, on full meds and a few with full-blown AIDS, and even I forget they are POZ, because they reveal no outward signs whatsoever.

Bottom line: physical appearance is not a reliable indicator of HIV. HIV & AIDS effects may look like other things, and other things may look like HIV/AIDS. Only a test can provide a firm diagnosis.

I checked the medical literature for the prevalence of lipodystrophy syndrome in HIV+ individuals.

A 2007 meta-analysis found a prevalence rate of 14-40% in HIV-positive patients on HAART.
In untreated patients, the incidence is only 4%
Waters L, Nelson M. Long-term complications of antiretroviral therapy: lipoatrophy. Int J Clin Pract. Jun 2007;61(6):999-1014. [Medline].


Like Red said, you certainly can have a pot belly and not be HIV +..the notorious beer belly is a good example
White nails are a finding in individuals with kidney disease so you also don't have to be HIV+ to have the nail disorder
Even Kaposi's sarcoma (the skin lesions Tom Hanks had in the movie Philadelphia) which is usually associated with AIDS can occur in HIV negative individuals. Before AIDS, Kaposi sarcoma was found most often in middle-aged and older American men of Mediterranean and Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish lineage

kneedraggen saidHIV can cause fat redistribution or lipodystrophy syndrome.

That would be the HIV medication that does that and not the virus itself.

BetterThanOne said

kneedraggen saidHIV can cause fat redistribution or lipodystrophy syndrome.

That would be the HIV medication that does that and not the virus itself.

I corrected my post. I forgot the word medication.
Most experts presently believe that HIV type 1 protease inhibitors (PIs) and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) are the culprits in most cases of lipodystrophy syndrome.

Now to muddy the waters.
There is new evidence that HIV-1 can cause the problem without the influence of medications. I found the following article:
HIV-1 may cause dyslipidemia and lipodystrophy in the absence of HAART therapy, via impaired cholesterol efflux from macrophages and increased tumor necrosis factor-alpha, which modulates free fatty acid metabolism and lipid oxidation and attenuates insulin-mediated suppression of lipolysis.

Oh J, Hegele RA. HIV-associated dyslipidaemia: pathogenesis and treatment. Lancet Infect Dis. Dec 2007;7(12):787-96. [Medline].

4% of cases of lipodystrophy occurred in individuals that never received medications.

If there are any HIV experts on RJ, I would like to hear what they have to say about the topic.

How to tell if a person is HIV positive in 2 easy steps:

1.) Look at the subject and determine if it is a human male or female.

2.) If the subject is determined to be human assume subject to be HIV+

Once the determination is made:

A.) Treat all humans with equivalent dignity and respect.

B.) Do not ever engage in unprotected sex with humans.

your gym buddy is wrong

those are drug side effects
not all of us poz guys get them

UrsaMajor saidHow to tell if a person is HIV positive in 2 easy steps:

B.) Do not ever engage in unprotected sex with humans.

But...this statement sort of implies that other species can be engaged without protection.

muchmorethanmuscle said

UrsaMajor saidHow to tell if a person is HIV positive in 2 easy steps:

B.) Do not ever engage in unprotected sex with humans.

But...this statement sort of implies that other species can be engaged without protection.

LOL. That was all based on "if yes" to step 1. "If no" - don't have sex with it! There, better?

How disappointing that such a serious question would get such bullshit answers. This is obviously not the place to gather data on a medical issue, or even fitness issues, quite frankly, after reading answers on here for a year or so. You need to open your front door, and put one foot in front of the other until you find a real doctor. They can order the tests and help you deal with the test results.

Most of the signs in your original post are side effects from certain medications. HIV itself does not have visible signs and the only reliable way to diagnose HIV is through a blood or saliva based test.

SeaSon saidMost of the signs in your original post are side effects from certain medications. HIV itself does not have visible signs and the only reliable way to diagnose HIV is through a blood or saliva based test.

I know that!! I have been tested twice a year since 2002.

However since alot of people lie about their status, it is good to know even if the side effects are from the medication. I have always treated everyone as if they were +, and have been with the same guy for 4.5 yrs. I still wear a condom every time! Being safe/safer is a choice!

MikemikeMike saidA gym buddy said there are:

1) He said small hard pot belly.
2) loss of any fat on upper inside if both thighs.
3) moons missing from all finger nail beds
4) loss of any fat in facial strucure.

Is there a Dr. in the house??? I mean a real MD- infectious disease guy!!

I just wondered if he's right???
Thanks in advancer,
Mike3

No there are not. Period.

What your friend is identifying are the side-effects of some HIV drugs. Many people with HIV (including moi) are very healthy looking and do not exhibit these physical attributes.

SurrealLife said

MikemikeMike saidA gym buddy said there are:

1) He said small hard pot belly.
2) loss of any fat on upper inside if both thighs.
3) moons missing from all finger nail beds
4) loss of any fat in facial strucure.

Is there a Dr. in the house??? I mean a real MD- infectious disease guy!!

I just wondered if he's right???
Thanks in advancer,
Mike3

No there are not. Period.

What your friend is identifying are the side-effects of some HIV drugs. Many people with HIV (including moi) are very healthy looking and do not exhibit these physical attributes.

Yup. I'm over 10 years poz now and I still got me some plump Sally Struthersesque thighs and chipmunk cheeks. I'm trending towards being classified as a treatment naive long term non progressor. I'm happy I've never been on PIs or any other lipodistrophy inducing med for that matter. If I'm going to be fat and sassy, I would rather be proportionately fat and sassy as long as I can.

my spouse has been pos for close to 20 years now and went on meds 6 years ago. He doesnt look pos in any way shape or form.

So...you cant really tell who is or isnt pos.