乌鸦传媒

Did you know that taking your HIV medication not only leads to a longer, healthier life, but can help restore your sex life?

When you're first diagnosed with HIV, you may avoid sexual activity with your partner, especially if they don't have HIV. But if you continue to and show up for all your appointments with your doctor, the levels of HIV in your blood may go down to a level that cannot be detected by a blood test.

This won't happen right away. It may take , but if the HIV levels in your blood are low enough, your doctor will let you know that you can no longer transmit HIV to your partner through vaginal, oral, or anal sex.

In other words: your levels of virus are undetectable, which means that you cannot sexually transmit HIV to another person. This is known as (undetectable = untransmittable).

As long as the level of virus in your blood remains undetectable, you may be able to resume a sex life with your partner similar to before being diagnosed with HIV. So, it's even more important to keep those doctor's appointments.

While you , this will not protect you or your partner from other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), so it's important to continue using condoms during any sexual activities, and keep getting screened for STIs if you think you're at risk.

And having undetectable levels of HIV in your blood may also reduce your risk of other forms of HIV transmission. For example, if you're able to become pregnant, being undetectable may substantially lower your risk of transmitting HIV to your baby through pregnancy, labor, or delivery. It also lowers the risk of transmitting the virus through your breast milk. Taking your HIV medicine as prescribed though pregnancy, labor, and delivery, as well as taking HIV preventative medicine for the baby makes the chance of the baby getting HIV .

Explaining U=U may you've faced from your sexual partners or loved ones due to your HIV diagnosis. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and only about 15% of people believe HIV medicine can prevent you from getting HIV. It might be challenging to talk about this, but your doctor will have more information to get the conversation started.

Your mental health is important -- feel free to talk with your provider about it at your next appointment.

And if that's not enough, there's an entire social media campaign behind you! Check out the hashtag on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Read previous installments in this series:

For Your Patients: Knowing Your Risk for HIV

For Your Patients: The ABCs of HIV Medication

Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by physicians, meant for the medical team as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.