Your CD4 count and the risk of becoming ill
Your CD4 count is the most important test for your risk of becoming ill. It is the most important test for deciding when to start treatment.
How quickly your CD4 count is falling is also used in this decision.
- While your CD4 count is above 350 you still have a good immune system. Below 350 you are at a higher risk of infections that cause diarrhoea and weight loss.
- If your CD4 count falls below 200 your risk of developing a pneumonia called PCP increases.
- Below 100 your risk of very serious illnesses increases further.
- A low CD4 count does not mean that you will definitely become ill. It is just more likely. Most drugs used to treat these HIV-related illnesses are much more difficult to take than HIV meds.
Although you may be worried about treatment, HIV is still a very real and life-threatening illness. You can delay treatment until it is too late.
Deciding when to start treatment is discussed in more detail later in this guide.
My first reaction was to put off starting therapy for as long as possible. I tried to improve my immune system by stopping smoking and using supplements, until I realised that my best bet was to use ARVs. They are the only way to ensure my long-term survival.
After 8 months of resisting treatment I eventually started ARVs. I do not say that I gave in, but that I became more clever!
— Vladimir, St Petersburg