Question
Will Chinese herbs increase my CD4 count? Can I wait for symptoms before starting treatment ?
2 August 2007. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Newly diagnosed, Starting treatment, Supplements and herbs.
Answer
Hi
Your question addresses 3 main points.
1. CD4 counts go up and down quite regularly. A doctor would not see any difference between 360, 300 and 310. The trend over time is as important as the actual count. Continue monitoring – currently things look good and stable. Your viral load is also currently very low. Most people do not start treatment until their CD4 count is around 200 cells/mm3 and their viral load is over 50,000 copies/mL.
2. I know of no study that shows that any herbal medicine, Chinese or otherwise, can have any positive impact on your CD4 count.Whatever the website says, it is likely to be false advertising rubbish at best, and at worse could make your health worse.
3. You dont need to start HIV drugs until you feel happy about this. Getting more information is a good idea, and taking time to weigh the benefits and risks in your mind may change how you feel over time.
However, it is very risky to wait until you have signs or symptoms.
Starting treatment before your CD4 count drops below 200 will protect you from most serious illnesses, will keep your CD4 count higher over a longer time, and is less likely to cause side effects.
Keep an open mind when talking to your doctor and ask as many questions as you need.
Hi Zebelon,
Are you on HIV treatment? What meds are you taking? Fat loss is not longer reported with modern HIV treatment. But if you’ve lost a lot of weight you should talk to your doctor and find out what’s causing it.
Hi. I am 32 years old and am living withhiv. My waist was 44 but within 3 months I went down to 36
Alcohol does not interact with ARVs so it is fine to drink wine when taking them. Excessive use can cause people to forget to take their medication.
Is it okay to take red wine while on ARVs?
Hello,
You are right to be worried. The World Health Organisation is recommending starting treatment when the CD4 count is around 350. Most countries have now adopted this practise. In the USA treatment is now recommended at a CD4 count of 500. If your friend is having continuous infections and her CD4 count is 200 or below then she needs to start treatment straight away. If she waits until her CD4 count is too low then the CD4 count is less likely to increase to ‘normal’ levels once she does start treatment.
For more information on starting treatment please follow this link