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 Nazly,
Its common to feel like this when a person is newly diagnosed. Though it can seem overwhelming it will and does get better. Being able to talk about how you’re feeling may help. Are you able to talk to someone or attend a HIV support group?
Not knowing how you contracted HIV is clearly having an effect on, as too is not knowing if your boyfriend is positive. Though it may be hard, its important that he knows about your status. The reason being is that he may also be positive but not know it.
Being on treatment is a step forwards, this will allow you to control your HIV.
Life may have changed, but its very possible to have a great life when positive.
I’am 41 yrs,it’s 3 weeks since i did my physical and turn up to be HIV postive,still in shock and its seems like am dreaming, to a point that am loosing hope for life,just found my self here reading about what other people who are like me writting to see if could gain strenth,to start a new journey.
I have been in a relationship for one year and half,with a guy who i love most sometimes we brokeup and keep coming back again,since the day i knew that am hiv i refused to make love with him,reason is i have no courange to tell him and i have already started my one day pill biktravy,so far so good no any side effect,my cd4 was 1065 viral load was 2,045,next monday i have doctors appointment to go give blood we could know if my pills is working for me.
Since that day i lost appetite to do sex,and my bf is not awear what is going on, confused if he is the one who infected me though i have cheated him several times,unable to trace when i was infected and who? and since when? Last year i texted negative.. i swear am loosing hope
Hi BB,
Yes, even when someones viral load is undetectable, they will always test positive for HIV. Please see the Q&A answer here
Hi im BB and tested positive.does it mean that when the viral load drops and check HIV status,will it still appear positive?
Hi Meleki,
It could be because she is an elite controller. Please see this link. But even with this good immune response, ART is still generally recommended in the long-term.
Good afternoon can someone who is not yet on ART found with undectable viral load. When can she start ART?
Hi Amanda,
Your partner can help you you by starting ARVs and getting his viral load result to undetectable. Once he’s been undetectable for a few months, HIV is not transmittable – even without using condoms. This can protect you from HIV without using condoms. Please see U=U at this link.
But you shouldn’t plan to have a baby if you’re concerned about it in any way. Can you talk to the doctor and discuss your worries?
However, starting HIV treatment can be beneficial to your partner’s health.
Hi, I am 43 years and HIV negative my partner is HIV positive and he want us to try for a child I am concerns of my age and the fact that he is positive we are using condoms ever since. If he start ARvs will this help me anyway not to be inflected on the process of making a baby. I don’t feel safe and comfortable with this baby making idea but iam scared to tell him he might divorce me.
Hi Buhle,
Do you know what your viral load is? If its undetectable then its perfectly fine to have sex without using a condom as there’s no risk. Please see Q’s 9 and 14 here: http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
With regards to how to tell your partner, I wish there was an easy answer to this. I find that being honest from the beginning helps and also being able to answer any questions. The usual one is about risk to a negative partner. However we’re all different, so we’ll approach this differently.
If you see the relationship progression then in the end its better to tell someone as soon as you can.If they have a negative reaction to you, then its their loss.
I’ve been on meds since January. I met a new partner in June. We aren’t using any protection and I haven’t told him about my status. I’m not sure what to do as he wants a child. Have I infected him?