Man who initially thought he was suffering from sore throat later finds out he has HIV and is now urging people to get tested

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 – A man, Kyle Dallape has shared how his ‘ordinary’ complaint about having sore throat turned out to be him being HIV positive.

Talking on TikTok, Kyle Dallape, a marketing director from California, US said he thought he had sore throat and believed there was little to worry about.

He was later diagnosed with strep throat, a bacterial infection, by his doctor.

The 27-year-old found his symptoms started worsening, experiencing weight loss, oral thrush and swollen lymph nodes, as well as the bacterial infection returning twice.

Having lost 30lbs, he realised something was wrong.

He had been tested for HIV a few weeks prior to his initial diagnosis, which came back negative, so he didn’t think his symptoms could be linked.

Upon further testing in June 2018, he was diagnosed with the virus, which left him devastated.

“My biggest fear had been realised,” Kyle said.

“My parents, friends and now-fiancé were all instrumental in helping me begin treatment and realise that my life wasn’t over.

“I started Biktarvy, a once-a-day pill to treat HIV, [a month later] and reached undetectable levels of the virus by November that year.

“Since then, my T-cell count continues to rise and my viral load has been undetectable ever since.”

In a bid to spread awareness and break the stigma surrounding HIV, he decided to share his story on TikTok.

In a clip, which has received one million views and over 163,000 likes, Kyle talks about how he lost 30lbs and could barely walk before having further tests to find out what was wrong.

In a final clip, the word “HIV” is written in the centre of the screen surrounded by a dark background.

Kyle captioned the post: “Get tested regularly and ask your partners what their status is! Knowledge is power.”

Kyle added: “HIV is not what it used to be, as modern medicine has come so far – but society has quite a way to catch up.

“I hope that by putting a face to this, I can show how manageable this disease can be and that those who are positive, can live long and healthy lives with treatment.

“It’s time for the stigma to end.”