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Charlie Sheen Says HIV Medication Gave Him ‘Borderline Dementia,’ Endorses Experimental New Drug PRO 140

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 23:49 PST, May 5, 2017

Charlie Sheen has revealed that he suffered from “borderline dementia” after taking his HIV medication, but now claims he’s feeling much better after using an experimental anti-HIV drug called PRO 140, the Mirror reports.

Mr. Sheen, 51, was diagnosed with HIV in 2011. He kept his diagnosis a secret for years for fear that it would ruin his career. In November 2015, Sheen shocked the world by announcing that he is HIV positive in an interview with Matt Lauer. The Two and a Half Men actor said that he had spent millions of dollars to keep his diagnosis private.

Charlie Sheen waits on the set of the Today Show before formally announcing that he is HIV positive in an interview with Matt Lauer. [Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

Charlie Sheen told the crowd gathered at the Hollywood Roosevelt that he initially treated his HIV infection by taking four pills daily. He said the “cocktail of drugs” caused serious side effects.

“[The drugs] kept me suppressed and alive,” he said, “but I struggled with a constant migraine and at times, borderline dementia.”

Mr. Sheen said he is now using PRO 140, an injectable therapy for HIV patients that works as an antibody which controls an infected person’s HIV levels.

“I’ve started to feel back to myself again and back in touch with all aspects of my life,” Charlie said.

Charlie Sheen said he is endorsing PRO 140 in the hopes that the anti-HIV drug will be approved by the FDA and be made available in the United States.

“It’s impossibly amazing. Personally, I think about how I felt on the day and how I feel today. Wow. Talk about a transformation. One minute you’re on the road to perdition, the next you’re on the road to providence. It’s amazing.”

Mr. Sheen was introduced to PRO 140 on Dr. Oz’s show in February. CytoDyn’s CEO Dr. Nader Pourhassan offered to enroll the actor to a clinical trial for the injectable drug. The actor eagerly accepted the offer.

Since PRO 140 can be administered by being injected into pockets of fat, Charlie Sheen joked that the drug gives him “a lot of opportunities.”

Sheen made it clear that he suffered no side effects from the treatment.

“When I was first diagnosed, I knew it wasn’t a death sentence but it was just a giant frickin’ bummer,” he revealed.

Charlie Sheen also commended his “compassionate” doctors and promised that he would use his fame to back the product and help make it available in the marketplace.

“I accept the gift of being alive,” he said in closing. “I could run and hide from this whole thing and not be outspoken and honest and open about it, but I’ve chosen a path that’s the opposite.”

On Friday, the actor was ordered by U.S. Customs officers to land his private plane at Brown Field Airport in San Diego, where he was investigated for drug possession, Crime Online reports.

Charlie Sheen cooperated with the federal police, allowing officers to lay out all his luggage on the tarmac for inspection. No drugs were found, and Sheen was allowed to continue with his trip.

Sheen, who was booted from Two and a Half Men in 2011, became infamous for his struggles with drug and alcohol abuse as well as his shenanigans with prostitutes. In 1998, he was sent to the hospital following a cocaine overdose.

Charlie has been beset by financial difficulties in recent years. In 2016, he requested that his $55,000 monthly child support obligation to his former wife, Brooke Mueller, be reduced. He and Mueller broke up in 2011 after nearly three years of marriage. They have two twin boys together.

Charlie Sheen also has two daughters with ex-wife and actress Denise Richards.

Sheen recently purchased a home in Mexico to avoid the “rat race” in Hollywood. He now lives in a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath, 2,700 SF home purchased from Baja realtor Scott Weird.

[Featured Image by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]

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