text: im having a hard time dealing with this...? my ex-boyfriend recently passed away at the age of 33.  we dated a year before i left him.  two years after i left him i was told he'd passed away from complications of hiv/aids.  he was in denial, refused all meds and didn't tell anyone - not even his family.  i didn't know he was hiv positive until after his death.  since he didn't talk about it - no one knew how long he had it.  i've since been tested and am negative, but my question is (finally i know) how long can it take for aids to develop in an hiv positive person if they refuse all medication?  could he have contracted it after i left?  or before?  his symptoms first developed six months after i left him (he was hospitalized for bloody & loose stools, & dehydration).  he must have felt so alone and so deeply depressed.  please, i prefer answers from those in the medical field only. it can take many years for someone who is hiv positive to develope aids. it would be extremely unlike  that your boyfriend became infected and died in less than 2 years even without any treatment. and contrary to the first reply, i am a physician.