In addition, antiretrovirals, chemotherapy, and many other drugs used to treat people with HIV can reduce the number of red blood cells in the body. For example, AZT is a major cause of anemia in people receiving this drug. AZT completely blocked my bone marrow and made me very anemic. I was like a walking corpse. I was so tired I could hardly stand.
Severe anemia can be life-threatening.
But even mild to moderate anemia can rob a person of energy and make it hard to have a normal life. There are different ways of treating anemia. Severe anemia is usually treated with blood transfusion. Since transfusion always carries the potential risk of infection or reactions, patients generally are not transfused unless their anemia is serious. I couldn't go to work.