Question
How long does it take to become undetectable?
13 November 2015. Related: Adherence, All topics, CD4 and viral load, Changing treatment, Sero different couples.
Me and my girlfriend have been having unprotected sex for 3 months between August and October. She told me around the end of October that she”s been HIV positive for 5 years. She’d been undetectable. I also went with her to get her HIV viral load test and her viral load went up because she stopped taking her medicine in October for about 3 weeks to a month. She stopped taking it cause she felt depressed. Her viral load was about 1600 and her CD4 is over1300. We use condoms now since her viral load went up but we still both perform unprotected oral sex on each other. I was tested almost 2 weeks ago and I was negative. I had a antibody test and a HIV viral load test.
She started taking her medicine again around the end of October and has been taking it since. The name of her medicine is called Complera. How long will it take her viral load to drop? How long will it take her to get undectable again? Will her body become resistant to Complera?
Answer
Hi,
So your girlfriend should quickly become undetectable again. Viral load drops very quickly with effective treatment and you girlfriend’s is quite low already. People often become undetectable within a month of starting.
The risk of transmission of receiving oral sex generally, and giving oral sex to a woman are both likely to be zero, or close to zero. For your test to be accurate you should test 28 days after your last exposure. This means after the last time you had unprotected sex with your girlfriend when she wasn’t on treatment. That test will pick up 95% of infections. This pretty much shows you are HIV negative. Then, a test at 3 months will confirm that.
You can find more information about testing in our guide.
You don’t say if Complera was the same medication she was on before. If it was the risk of developing resistance is lower than if she stopped gradually, taking some here and there.
She could ask at her clinic if they have resistance testing available. If not her viral load going down and then becoming undetectable is a sign that she is not resistant to the meds she is on. In the future it is important for her to keep taking her meds.
If she has side effects that are affecting here she should take to her doctor or clinic. They can change her to a different combination, rather than just stopping.
Hi Mpho, It’s great that you are both on treatment. If you are undetecable the risk of transmitting HIV is zero. You can read more info on a question here.
Hi,my boyfriend and i both hiv positive,can we have unprotectd sex without worriying about reinfection we are both on treatment its been a year now
Hi Annie, most people become undetectable wishing 3-6 months. This means you may already be undetectable. How high was your viral loads when you started and which treatment are you taking. Congratulations for your plans to get married.
My boyfriend is negative and he wsnts us to get married in the nearest future. My problem is he said i must be un detective before we can get married. I started takingvmy treatment nine months ago, how long will it take me to be undetective?
Hi Lindi – if you and your boyfriend want to have a baby, this is great news. Please see questions 6 and 9 – and the related links – for more information.
Hi, I have been on ARV’s for 5years and my cd4 is above 1500 and my viral load is 40. Though my boyfriend is not positive, he strongly wants a baby, so I just want to know if this would be a good period for me to try and conceive
Hi Zozo,
Please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/10140
Have been on art for 17 months lamuvifine 300mg tenofivor 300mg and efavirenz 600mg same with my bf he is reluctant to use condoms arguing we both fully suppressed and on ART and we adhere is there risk of reinfection?
Hi Sbue,
No, this combination isn’t the same. It is however quit similar.
Good day,is this combinatination(tenofovir300,emtricitabine200,efavirenz600)and efavirenz 600,lamivudine300,tenofovir disoproxil fumarate300) the same