The nastiest part of HIV is that the things that you're supposed to take to keep you alive wipe you out. Many factors can cause anemia in HIV-infected people. HIV itself can cause anemia. In addition, antiretrovirals , chemotherapy, and many other drugs used to treat people with HIV infection can reduce the number of red blood cells in the body. The drugs used to treat KS are among those that can cause anemia.
Severe anemia can be life-threatening.
But even mild to moderate anemia can rob a person of energy and make it hard to enjoy life. I was tired. I felt like I couldn't get one leg in front of the other. I tried to keep on like there was nothing happening, but that just made me more tired. There are two ways to treat anemia.