But with infection rates in Britain rising maybe it is time that people were again reminded of the risks of HIV so they can protect themselves and understand better what it is like to live being HIV positive.

Helen Beighton spoke to one Derbyshire resident who is sharing his experience to help educate the public.


Waiting for the doctor to call him into her office to reveal the results of his HIV test, Andrew Breen already knew what she was going to say.

He had gone for the test because he and his girlfriend at the time were thinking about starting a family and wanted to be sure they had a clean bill of health.

But instead, that day back in 1992, changed his life forever.
Andrew (40) said: "The day before I was due to go back for the results I was awake all night. I smoked 60 cigarettes and I knew. I don't know how but I knew.

"When I went to the hospital in the morning the doctor called me in and I said I already knew the results, I'm HIV positive.

"She phoned through for the results and they told her I was HIV positive.

"They gave me five years to live."

Andrew does not know from whom he contracted HIV but says it was from unprotected sexual contact.

He was put on medication to stop the virus progressing – having to take 32 tablets twice a day – but said the side effects, including nausea, diarrhoea and headaches, were horrendous.

"I took the morning dose once and said 'no way, I want to lead a normal life'," said Andrew, of Market Street, Ironville.

Being faced with an uncertain future, Andrew experienced a range of emotions and struggled at first to come to terms with the effect being HIV positive would have on his life.

He said: "You go through a really bad depression, even think about suicide.

"It's really hard to get your head round. It's a case of coming to terms with it and then having to start life all over again and be more aware of everything you do."

Andrew's health was generally good for years after his diagnosis and though he has had spells where colds have made him very poorly he was even well enough to work as a security guard for a period of time while living in London.

But in October 2006 he had been ill for a while and during a routine check-up at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital his consultant suggested doing one more blood test before he left.

It came back positive for the human form of the parvo virus and he was immediately admitted into hospital.

He was so ill that he was given just two weeks to live.

But luckily the medication and blood transfusions he was given worked and he pulled through. He was then put on new tablets to keep the HIV under control and boost his immune system.

Andrew said: "The first four months on them was hard because of the side effects – it feels like your stomach is being ripped apart but my consultant said they are the last there is to try, so if they don't work we are in trouble, but touch wood, they are working."

Andrew says he is now the healthiest he has ever been, only suffering with a few colds every now and then.

His doctors have predicted that he will live to be at least 60 and are monitoring his health with check-ups at hospital every three months.
He is able to lead quite a normal life but was forced to medically retire due to the side effects of his medication. "I would love to be able to work," he said, "but I cannot do it. It's a case now of just getting on with life.

"I feel like I have been reborn with a different outlook on life."