Question
How can I decrease my viral load?
1 November 2016. Related: All topics, Newly diagnosed, Starting treatment, Supplements and herbs.
hi my question is that I found out I am hiv positive and my c4 was 64 and am now on treatment. The last time Ii do my varal load was more than 3000, they asked me to do it again this month. I’m stressed to much and that makes me scared. What can I used to boost my viral load? I don’t have a problem with my treatment my problem is the stress I have.
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
What was your viral load when you were diagnosed? How long have you been on treatment? Has your CD4 increased since you started meds?
I appreciate that you are concerned that your viral load is not undetectable. It is though still low, and will continue to go down if you take your meds. It can take up to six months to become undetectable. It is taking your meds that will decrease your viral load, and nothing else.
Hi Nombuso,
Your viral load is still undetectable because its less than 50.
What cause the viral load to increase because it was undetectable but now it shows under 40
Hi James,
Many people become undetectable within a month and most within three months. The time taken partly depends on the choice of HIV meds (ART).
How quickly viral load becomes undetectable will also depend on how high viral load was when you started treatment.
But you can talk to the doctor about having another viral load test to confirm the result.
hi,lam brian,l tested positive in december 2017 and l began treatment immediately,in july 2018 my viral load is 1050,lam taking medication as advised strictly,is there anything wrong somewhere?
Hi Josh,
This is great, like really great. Though a person’s viral load should ideally become undetectable within 1-3 months of starting meds, it can take a lot longer for some people. Yours is nearly there. You should be really proud of yourself.
Hi, I have a question, 6 months ago I started treatment, viral load was about 1200000 and cd4 was 47. Now cd4 is 350 and viral load 100. Is that a good result after 6 months of treatment?
Hi Grace,
This all sounds good. CD4 counts go up and down but 650 is strong. In fact CD4 counts can go up and down during a single day. You can read more info about CD4 counts here.
Being undetectable means having a viral load that is under 50. So a viral load of 23 is undetectable.
Hi
I’ve been taking tribuss for the past year and half…December my cd4 was 754 and viral load undetected.I take my meds daily but to my surprise my cd4 dropped to 650 and my viral load to 23.what could be the cause
Hi Lewis,
Yes, that does sound good. Any viral load under 50 is called undetectable, so you don’t need to get to 40. Being undetectable means your HIV meds have HIV under control.
HIV meds (ART) enables the CD4 count to increase to higher and safer levels. The biggest rise occurs during the first 6–12 months and this continues over the second year. Reaching a CD4 count above 500 is referred to as normal, but even if it doesn’t reach this high, the risk of HIV-related complications is dramatically reduced. You can see more here in ART in Pictures.
Hi. Just started meds 10 months ago. My cd4 was 200 and now its 394 and viral load was 15,500 but now the dr says it’s less than 40. I would like to know is that good and how long will it take for me to have less than 20 viral load and more than 500 cd4 count