Methamphetamine Use and HIV Symptom Self-Management

This study describes HIV-related symptoms in a methamphetamine-using sample of 20 men living in southern California. Data were obtained in 2004 and 2005 using a cross-sectional design. Participants were administered the Revised Sign and Symptom Check-List for Persons With HIV Disease and the Addiction Severity Index and were engaged in a semistructured interview. Participants reported using methamphetamine to treat HIV-related depression, fatigue, and neuropathic pain. HIV-related diarrhea seemed to diminish with methamphetamine use, although this was not a motivation for use. These results, although preliminary, suggest that further study of the interplay between methamphetamine use and HIV symptom management is warranted.