Question
My CD4 and viral load has risen lately – should I be concerned?
30 November 2011. Related: All topics.
My CD4 values this year have been: Jan – 229, May – 350, Jun – 436, Oct – 500 but in Dec it was back to just below 300.
My viral load count has been: Jan – 29, May – 32, Jun – 60, Oct – 37 and finally in Dec – 142 so the highest it has been this year and well above detectable levels.
The results do not sit easilly with me; do I have reason to be concerned as well as of course, naturally disappointed?
Answer
Your results are likely to just be natural fluctuations and your doctor would probably see these as the same. Your average CD4 count is probably around 400 and sometimes it will be higher and sometimes lower. You could check whether there is a real chance by seeing whether your CD4% has been stable.
Can I ask whether you have missed or taking late dosage lately? Adherence is important and if you do not take your medication as prescribe – every time, on time and following diet restriction, then you can develop resistance.
You did not mentioned about your 1st line treatment drugs? Can you please tell us more about the previous drugs that was prescribe to you. You did mentioned about the side effects – do you which drugs that causes the bad side effects?
Another reason could be that you had a ‘blip’ in your test results. Most people have a blip for one of their results and this is because viral load often fluctuates at low levels. Single low-level blips (to less than a few hundred) are not linked to a higher risk of treatment failure in the future. Your clinic should already have taken a second viral load test though to confirm these results. If not, this would be a good idea.
For more information on blips please go to this link.
Hi Mitch,
Are you on medication?
Hi my viral load is 11328 and my cd 4 count is 500
Hi Nono,
Are you on medication? If you are, how long have you been on it for? If you aren’t on meds, then you will need to start. Please see here for more info:
http://i-base.info/guides/starting
Once on treatment, that is if you aren’t already on it, your CD4 will rise and your viral load will decrease.
My CD4 is 274 and viral load is 3421 should I be worried?
Hi Mary,
Are you on treatment? A CD4 count of 783 is very good. Above 500 is considered ‘normal’ for somebody without HIV.
If you are not on treatment- or if you started in the last few months- then your viral load is very good. If you are on treatment and your viral load was previously less than 50 then you would want to find out why it has gone up. Please follow this link for more information about CD4 counts and viral loads.
I just got a report of my CD4 being 783 and my viral load being 170! What does this mean? Should i be concerned or not?
Hi Chris
Although it is easy to get emotionally affected by your CD4 counts, your doctor is unlikely to see any difference in your last result. It looks like you are fluctuating at around 150 – sometimes a bit higher and sometimes a bit lower. Because you started with a low CD4 count (less than 50) it might take several years to get much higher that 200, but slow and steady is fine. Your CD4 count on treatment is better than a similar count before you were on treatment. Your next test is likely to be higher than 140 without changing your treatment. You could also ask your doc whther your CD4% has changed as this is usually a more stable indication of whether anything has changed.
I’m in the same situation. Previous CD4 counts were 17, 170, 170, 200 (over a 6 month period) and today 142. VL undetectable.
I’m terribly disappointed and it’s knocked me back a bit. I thought I was getting better. My consultant is arranging for another blood test to check.