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Xavier, 2000.Xavier
His house, Los Angeles
September 16, 2000
Xavier: From the time of our last interview, I had become very active with the HIV community. I was involved with a theater troop in San Francisco known as Positive Spirit. We were a group of HIV positive 20-somethings who got together and documented our stories and performed them on stage. We traveled around the bay area performing at various theaters and university campuses. From then I decided to create a documentary of this group and its development. In 1996, I screened my documentary at the 8th Annual International AIDS Conference in San Francisco. Afterwards, I moved down to LA and worked very closely with the Orange County Gay and Lesbian Center doing HIV outreach and education to young people. I also worked with Bienestar. A health center located in LA that offers services to the HIV Latino community. Most of them are immigrants who are struggling with so many other issues besides their HIV status. Issues of finding acceptance in being gay or transgendered. Issues of immigration. Issues of separation with their families back in their country, and of course finding decent health care as well as coming to terms with their HIV status.
There came a point where I decided to take a break from HIV work and focus my energies on other things. I really liked working on the documentary of our theater troop and wanted to pursue this further. I made the decision to finish my degree. So, I went back to school and graduated with a Bachelors in Film and Television Studies. I thought LA would be the place for me to continue doing what I loved, so here I am.
With regards to my health, I still believe as I did before…if it ain't broke don't fix it. Overall my health has been good and I sometimes forget that I have HIV. Back in '98, I had an undetectable reading which was pretty miraculous considering that I had been on the same regimen since our last interview and was doing well with it side-effects wise. According to the doctors I was seeing, this was rare. Especially, since I hadn't been taking them as prescribed; I would skip dosages sometimes for as long as a month. The medical reports claimed this was the worst thing you could do because it allows the virus to mutate and eventually develop a resistance to the medication, which in time, would become ineffective. Having broke that theory; I felt that maybe there was something different in how my body was fighting this virus. Maybe I have something that has yet to be discovered. So, I stopped taking my meds altogether for about a year just to see what would happen. Well, I wasn't the superman I thought I was. My numbers tweeked away and I panicked. I received a lot of pressure from my doctors to get back on a regimen. So, I did. For the first time in my life, I'm taking a cocktail combination now. So far it hasn't been so good. I get stomach pains and diarrhea. I just started so I'll give it a little more time. If it continues then I'll have to figure something else out. Preserving my mental and physical well-being are the most important things in choosing a new drug. So, if this keeps up I won't have any problem finding something else or possibly going back on my old meds.
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