Question
How can I get my CD4 count to increase?
26 May 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Hi – what can I do to help increase my CD4? I have just found out I am at undetectable level after 8 weeks on treatment which is great. my CD4 has gone from 95 to 166 (after 4 weeks) and is now 173 after 8 weeks. I know it can take time for the CD4 to recover when the base level is low as mine but I am still disheartened as I was really hoping for it to have rebounded a bit better than this. What can I do to help it increase? Many thanks for your advice.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
Your CD4 count is doing really well and increasing nicely. Most people take 6-12 months for their CD4 counts to increase significantly. You are doing really well and have nothing to feel disheartened about.
There is very little anyone can do to increase their CD4 counts accept using HIV treatment which you are already doing. However, there are some things that you can do to maintain your CD4 count and ensure it stays up. This includes eating a healthy balanced diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, not getting stressed out, not smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation and generally looking after yourself.
To Worried and Depressed. I was diagnosed HIV positive at the end of 2011. At that time my CD4 count was 27. I had a variety of problems such as thrush and mouth/throat ulcerations night sweats weight loss and prior digestive issues aggravated by the HIV infection. I started treatment in January 2012. My cd4 counts have been slowly but steadily rising but didn’t rise hardly at all for the first couple of months. However my health improved greatly within weeks of starting treatment even though my CD4 count remained very low. Reducing the virus takes a lot of strain off of your entire metabolism. I do hard physical labor I was out of work for a few months but my strength returned and I resumed work in June 2012 and it felt great. I gained back all my lost weight –no more thrush or oral ulcerations or night sweats. I feel well now and haven’t gotten sick even though my CD4 is not as high as I would like it to be. What I’m trying to say to you is don’t obsess about the numbers —they can be slow to go up. Hopefully your counts will go up quickly but if not hang in there. I am 52 years old and have beaten my body up over the years yet I’m managing to stay healthy and live normally. You’re less than half my age — I would bet that you’ll recover very well. Believe me, I know how scary your situation is, but things will get better.
Hello,
I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis and how worried you are. This is a low CD4 count, but it is very good that you have started treatment. Treatment is very effective even when your CD4 count is this low.
The main aim of treatment is to get an undetectable viral load. This will mean that HIV is no longer replicating and it is not able to keep damaging the immune system. When your viral load is undetectable your CD4 count should start to recover. This can take a long time though, so you shouldn’t expect to see big changes each time you check your CD4 count. It should gradually increase, but it might never reach levels as high as 500. This doesn’t mean that treatment isn’t working though. Just by being on treatment you are less likely to get opportunistic infections, even if your CD4 count stays low.
Because you have a low CD4 count you need to be aware of the risks of developing IRIS, which is where the immune system recognises infections in the body that it was previously too weak to fight off. This can mean that you develop infections like TB or pneumonia. This only happens to about 25% of people with a CD4 count under 100 and it’s usually easy to treat. It’s just important to be aware of this so you can tell your doctor if you experience any symptoms. It is also important that your doctor is checking your eyes because of the risk of an infection called CMV while your CD4 count is this low.
Please try not to worry too much about your CD4 count though. It’s easy to get stuck thinking about these numbers but the most important thing now is that you are on treatment. Talk to your doctor about any symptoms you experience but if you are feeling well this is the most important thing, more than the result of a CD4 test.
Hi, I’m 25., I am a nurse..and I was recently diagnosed and started treatment for AIDS…My CD4 level base is 28 :( and I know this is VERY low…although my doctor says it will go up, I think she is just saying that because I learned of therapeutic communication in nursing school…I am worried and depressed that it is too low…will it really go up? will I be able to reach >500 CD4 count or higher ever?? I will have my CD4 count checked in about a month and viral load as well…I don’t know what to do if it comes out still low (my CD4 that is)
Hi Fortunate,
I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis, bit glad to hear that your CD4 count is high. Do you have any support to help you deal with being HIV+?
HIV+ women can have healthy babies, but it is important to take precautions to prevent passing HIV to your baby. Our pregnancy guide has lots of information about this. Have a look there, and then let me know if you have any questions!
I’m 20 weeks now with hiv positive and my CD4 is high can I have a healthy baby
Hi Millind,
Any Elisa test result higher than 1 is a positive result. This means that you are HIV positive.
Finding out you have HIV is never easy and it is good that you have a friend there to support you. How are you feeling since getting your test result?
There is very effective treatment available for HIV. This is not a cure but it can control the virus and allow people with HIV to live long and healthy lives. Our introduction to combination therapy guide explains how treatment works and when you will need to take it.
I am sure you will have lots of questions about HIV- please let me know if I can help further, or again in the future.
22 march 2013 i tested my blood is positive and then my freind told me for elisa test in that test is hiv is reaction test valua is 3.07 and cut of valua is 0.09 please help me can is there treatment
Hi Paul,
Please see this similar question, and let me know if you have any questions after reading it.
Im 50, I found I had HIV , 3 years ago. I take my medication , exercise. Etc but my cd4 seems to have stuck at 144 , will the HIV become aids
Hello,
Thanks for your email.
A CD4 count of 431 is very good, this is a sign that your immune system is strong. What is important is the pattern of your CD4 count over time. Do you know whether your CD4 count has increased since you started treatment?
Another useful test result if you are on treatment is your viral load. This test isn’t done in every country though because it is quite expensive. Do you know what your viral load is?
Smoking isn’t good for your health generally, whether you have HIV or not. Smoking is linked to various health problems including cancers and respiratory problems.
If you have any symptoms, like fever, you should speak to your doctor so that they can check what is causing this.