When should I start treatment?
If you are not yet on treatment then this is probably something that you think about.
The answer depends on many things:
- Your CD4 count, CD4% and viral load, and how fast they are changing.
- Your current health, including whether you have other complications such as TB or hepatitis coinfection.
- Your age and how long you have been HIV positive.
- Whether you are pregnant.
- Current guidelines and available drugs.
As long as there is not a medical urgency (such as pregnancy or a very low CD4), it also depends on whether you are ready to start treatment.
You are the person who has to take the meds. You have a choice over when to start and the drugs you use.
Discuss this with your doctor before you need treatment.
- Ask about the different drugs. You need to know the good and bad things about each of them.
- Take time to think about what you want to do. Do not feel rushed or pressurised into doing something you don’t understand.
- If you have just been diagnosed, you may want time to think about this before you feel ready to start treatment. Unless your CD4 count is very low this should usually be ok.