ARV's: Worse than Any Virus

Amazing the commitment of people taking aids drugs to the very thing that is causing their bodies to break down. Sean Strub, founder of poz, is losing bone density and has the "bones of an '85 year old woman'" because of the drug Viread. Of course he still takes ARVs and is still committed to ARV treatment. Is he another victim of the Stockholm Syndrome? The love of the victim for his abuser?

Sean fully admits he is an "...experimental canar[y] in the pharmaceutical coal mine" and that the pharmaceutical companies either do not know or do not convey the side-effects of their "treatments."

Sean says:

Six years ago, when I started Viread, I was told nothing of this possible side effect

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He also points out that this is not an isolated problem:

Overall, bone fractures amongst people with HIV are increasing at an astonishing rate. The HOPS study, as reported by AIDSmeds.com's Tim Horn, showed that from 2000 to 2008, people with HIV had seven times the rate of fractures requiring hospitalization and three times the rate of fractures treated on an outpatient basis, as compared to a similar HIV negative cohort. Three quarters of the HIV positive arm of their study were also on anti-retroviral therapy.

Note for future reference: A quarter of the study participants are not taking ARVs.

But, apparently it is not just Viread that causes bone density issues. Sean lists Truvada and Atripla as containing the "demineralizing" ingredient tenofovir. Of course though, he also claims hiv also can cause demineralizing.

HIV itself, as well as a number of other anti-retroviral AIDS drugs may also contribute to bone loss, but there is growing evidence which points to tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) as a particularly intense demineralizer [sic]

Considering the shrill cries of pro-aids people though, one would have to conclude, if they are correct, that a virus would have MUCH WORSE effects than these drugs. They still say at least 1 of 5 people "don't know" they have hiv, and that even in the study referenced about 25% of the participants do not take ARVs (and that there is speculation that a good 50% of supposedly hiv infected people do not take ARVs) then they would be suffering far more than Sean! But I don't know any person not on those drugs that have the bones of an 85 year old woman--except for 85 year old women! We have to conclude that, even if there is a virus, the pro-aids people have not made a convincing case that hiv left untreated is any worse than their treatments.

Look, I feel very sorry for Sean. He is suffering as a canary in a coal mine and he doesn't have to! There is no virus worse than those drugs.