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 Catherine,
Can I ask why someone might stop taking their meds? Is it because of a stock out, or maybe because of a side effect?
However, if you decide to stop treatment, your viral load is likely to rebound within a week or two. If you stay off treatment your CD4 count will start to drop over the next few months. When this happens the risk of developing other infections and getting sick increases.
Please see more info on this similar Q&A.
Please let us know more about the meds, and about your CD4 count and viral load results.
How long does it take to become dectable once someone stops taking there meds?
Hi Peter,
PEP doesn’t work if its taken after 72hrs of a possible exposure. If you’ve recently tested negative then you should be OK. Please see Q 1 here: http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
Hi.. I had unprotected with my HIV positive girlfriend who’s not even on treatment about a month ago and I’ve been testing negative ever since, so I went to get some trivenz pep but it was after 72hours… let’s say it was exactly 78 hours when I start using PeP.. so what chances of me getting infected since we only had unprotected sex twice in that week and founded out about her status 3 days after then started with the PeP?
Hi Takudzwa,
What country do you live in? There could be local support organisations that can help.
She has no access to viral load test she has 4 years on treatment
Hi Takudzwa,
It’s good that you tested negative this January. Does your girlfriend have access to viral load tests? How long has she been on HIV treatment(ART).
Also tested negative this january but dont know how long was her viral load undetectable she is not sure
HI Takudzwa,
It’s great that your girlfriend’s viral load is undetectable. It looks like her HIV meds are working well. How long has she had an undetectable viral load result? Please see Undetectable = untransmittable (U=U) here.
It’s a good idea to see the doctor about your swollen glands. You can also ask them about having another HIV test that will be three months after your girlfriend’s first undetectable result.
Hy had unprotected sex with my positive girl since August up to November this year and tested negative twice in November.She went for her viral load test and the results was undetectable but the problem is that i am having swollen glands one above my collar bone