Charlie Sheen reveals he’s the ‘guinea pig’ for a revolutionary new AIDS drug

"And maybe all of the stuff that I've done professionally, to garner such attention and fanfare and whatever else – good or bad – was sort of leading to a greater calling, a deeper calling, rather than fiction.

"I've usually made lemonade out of lemons, so this is another example of that."

Speaking about his decision to go public with his health battle, the former Hollywood party boy said he had no choice.

He said: "Going public? I had to. It was a personal prison.

"There were so many parasites and traitors, that were allies at one point, that saw it as an opportunity for their own gain.

"I just thought: The best way to put a stop to that and to be free and alleviate all this other crap I was dealing with was to come out.

"A lot of it was about shutting down a lot of the blackmail and all that: It was getting too expensive, and I was engaged in that to protect other professional interests and family stuff. And I just finally said, 'There's no other way out.' "

Charlie, who was previously married to actress Denise Richards, said he has had "nothing but love and support" since going public.

He said: "I didn't know how relieved I was going to feel afterwards, until I transitioned through that.

"There's such pressure, this sense of: The other shoe's gonna fall any minute now. You can't live like that.

The stress is incredible. Every time the phone would ring, like, 'Oh, jeez, it's another something.' So to have all that gone? What a relief."

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