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I just tested positive for HIV — what do I do?

Answered in plain language, anchored to primary sources.

Last reviewed:

Health information — Educational information, not medical advice. Talk with your healthcare provider about your care and treatment decisions.
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First, breathe: HIV is treatable. Contact an HIV care provider or health department promptly, ideally today, and say whether the result came from a self-test, rapid test or laboratory. A reactive screening result needs follow-up confirmation. Treatment can often start the same day, while the care team arranges baseline tests, medication access and an individualized follow-up plan.[1][2][3]

The first 24 hours

Call an HIV care provider, a sexual health clinic, or your county health department and say you have a new positive HIV result. HIV.gov's guidance is to find a provider who can help you start HIV medication as soon as possible, and notes your provider may start treatment the same day.[1]

NIH/DHHS recommends ART as soon as possible after diagnosis, often on the same day. A clinician may start treatment during confirmation when acute HIV is strongly suspected, but ambiguous results in someone using PrEP need particular assessment. Certain infections, including cryptococcal or tuberculosis meningitis, can require a planned delay in ART; this is a clinical decision, not a reason to postpone seeking care.[11][2]

You do not need to make every personal decision tonight. Get support from someone you trust if that helps. Also ask about partner notification and local disclosure law: Florida’s section 384.24(2) requires disclosure and consent before sexual intercourse when its conditions apply. If a partner may have been exposed within 72 hours, they need urgent PEP assessment. Tell your care team if notification could threaten your safety.[14][15][17]

The first 7 days

Arrange confirmation promptly rather than waiting a week. After a reactive lab antigen/antibody screen, an HIV-1/HIV-2 differentiation test is generally next; HIV RNA helps resolve negative or indeterminate supplemental results and suspected acute infection. The lab may use the original sample. Some situations require a new specimen or repeat testing, especially with PrEP or PEP use.[11][3][2]

Expect a baseline lab panel including your viral load, CD4 count, and a genotypic resistance test. The guidelines are explicit that the resistance test should be drawn before ART starts but must not delay it.[2]

Start assistance paperwork in the same week if cost is a concern. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program exists specifically to help people with low incomes cover medical care, medications, and support services, and serves more than 600,000 people a year.[4]

The first 30 days

Take your medication daily and go to your follow-up visit. Almost everyone who takes HIV medication as prescribed can reach an undetectable viral load, usually within six months of starting — and many people get there much sooner.[5][12]

Common initial regimens include bictegravir/TAF/FTC or a dolutegravir-based combination. Some are a single tablet; others use multiple tablets. The choice depends on resistance, hepatitis B, pregnancy, interactions and previous PrEP, among other factors. Tell the clinician about every medicine and supplement you use.[6]

Effective ART that keeps HIV RNA below 200 copies/mL prevents sexual HIV transmission. This is U=U, including low detectable results below that threshold. It does not apply immediately after the first dose. NIH recommends another prevention method during at least the first six months of ART and until suppression below 200 is documented.[13][7]

Mental health is part of medical care, not separate from it. Ask your clinic what behavioral health and peer support they can connect you to — most Ryan White-funded programs include support services alongside medical care.[4]

Florida angle: Ryan White Part B intake and ADAP

Florida DOH funds 14 Ryan White Part B care consortia and provides contacts for local assistance. Current ADAP guidance allows direct medication assistance for eligible uninsured people at or below 400% of the federal poverty level; eligible insured clients may receive medication copay/deductible assistance. Premium assistance has not been restored. Income alone does not establish eligibility, so contact your case manager or local ADAP office. The October 2023 Test and Treat guidance asks programs to expedite eligibility and case management on the same day or within seven days.[8][9][10]

Related questions

What if I cannot afford medication?

Tell the clinic immediately and ask about a rapid-start medication supply and a case manager. Florida ADAP can help eligible clients; direct medication assistance and insured medication copay assistance have different requirements, and current guidance does not restore premium assistance. Ask how you will obtain the next supply before a starter supply runs out. Access and approval are not automatic.[9][10]

Do I need to tell my employer?

In most situations you can keep your HIV status private at work. The ADA limits medical inquiries and requires confidentiality, but exceptions can apply, including documentation for an accommodation, certain post-offer questions or benefit eligibility. A more general description such as an immune disorder may be enough for an accommodation. Seek advice for your particular job and request.[16]

Should I stop having sex?

You do not have to give up sex permanently. Use prevention with your partner while treatment takes effect, and discuss disclosure requirements with the care team. Maintaining HIV RNA below 200 copies/mL on ART prevents sexual HIV transmission; NIH recommends additional prevention for at least the first six months and until suppression is documented. A recently exposed partner should seek PEP assessment within 72 hours.[13][14][17]

How often will I see a doctor?

Your care team sets the visit and laboratory schedule. NIH’s general monitoring table calls for viral load at treatment initiation and again after 4–8 weeks, with repeat tests every 4–8 weeks if still detectable until suppressed. Once stable, testing intervals can lengthen, often to 3–6 months depending on the situation. Pregnancy, symptoms or treatment problems can require closer follow-up.[12]

Newly Diagnosed — Start Here
The full guided walkthrough for your first weeks.
Your First Year With HIV
Month-by-month expectations for care and adjustment.
Assistance Programs
ADAP, Ryan White, and copay help, explained.
Treatment Hub
Regimens, adherence, labs, and switching.
Mental Health and HIV
Support after a diagnosis and over the long run.
Last reviewed: September 2026 by the RiseUpToHIV team. Educational content only — not medical advice.

References & Sources

  1. HIV.gov — Living with HIV (Just Diagnosed, What's Next). Advises finding a provider to start HIV medication as soon as possible and notes providers may start treatment the same day. ↩ ↩
  2. NIH/DHHS — Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy: prompt ART, baseline resistance testing and specific clinical exceptions. Source. ↩↩↩ ↩
  3. CDC — Getting Tested for HIV. States a positive antibody test needs follow-up confirmation and that positive self-tests should be taken to a provider. ↩ ↩
  4. HRSA — Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts and Initiatives. Describes RWHAP medical care, medications, and support services, more than 600,000 people served annually, and Part B's ADAP role. ↩ ↩
  5. HIV.gov — Viral Suppression and an Undetectable Viral Load. States almost everyone taking HIV medicine as prescribed reaches an undetectable viral load, usually within six months. ↩
  6. NIH DHHS Clinical Guidelines — What to Start. Lists recommended initial regimens based on second-generation integrase inhibitors. ↩
  7. CDC — HIV Treatment as Prevention. Defines viral suppression as under 200 copies/mL and states no risk of sexual transmission with an undetectable viral load. ↩
  8. Florida Department of Health — Community Programs: 14 Ryan White Part B care consortia and local lead-agency contacts. Source. ↩
  9. Florida Department of Health — ADAP current eligibility and benefits: 400% FPL ceiling, direct medications or medication copay/deductible assistance, no restored premium assistance. Source. ↩ ↩
  10. Florida Department of Health — Test and Treat and Re-Engage in Care Guidance, October 2023: rapid medication access and expedited eligibility/case management. Source. ↩ ↩
  11. NIH/DHHS — Early HIV diagnosis and supplemental testing, including ambiguous results during PrEP. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩
  12. NIH/DHHS — Laboratory testing schedule before and after ART initiation; viral-load follow-up. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩
  13. NIH/DHHS — ART to prevent sexual transmission and additional prevention while starting treatment. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩
  14. Florida Statutes 2026, section 384.24(2) — Disclosure and consent before intercourse under specified conditions. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩
  15. CDC — Partner Services: notification support and applicable state-law considerations. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩
  16. EEOC — Living with HIV: workplace privacy, lawful medical inquiries and reasonable-accommodation documentation. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩
  17. CDC (2025) — Nonoccupational PEP assessment and initiation within 72 hours. Source. Checked September 21, 2026. ↩ ↩

Community publications like POZ, Positively Aware, and TheBody inform framing and lived-experience context on RiseUpToHIV. Every clinical, epidemiological, or public-health claim above is anchored to a primary source.

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