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.
That weight loss is not really dangerous. If you are worried though, it is a good idea to discuss the situation with a dieticianin your clinic. They will suggest what your diet should be like, keeping in mind the type of food available locally.
I’m 22 year old South African with HIV.
I lost my weight; moved from a size 40 to a size 38, of which size 38 is the weight
I am afraid, once you are HIV-positive, this currently means that you are HIV-positive for life. No number, being it CD4 count or viral load will make you HIV-negative. Sorry for this news. We all hope that a cure will be invented soon.
Dear sir/madam,
Please,
Personally, I’ve not seen any basis for the claims made by internet sites offering herbal treatments for HIV. I think that at best you are wasting your money and at worst they are exploitative and are guilty of extortion.
Instead look at traditional approaches to health, most of which have been supported by results from scientific are HIV-positive:
Hi Simon,
I have just learnt that i have the HIV Virus and my CD4 count is still within range 524. I read on a site about chinese medicine that herbs can make the CD4 cell can improve and suppress the virus in the body. I am really confused as to what to do. if you advise not to waste money on such sites, please what do you suggest i do?
If your immune system is already reduced you need HIV treatment, not tea.
If your CD4 count is still very high, you are welcome to try drinking tea to try and keep it high, but I don’t see any evidence for the claims on this site.
In my opinion you would be wasting your money.
Hi Simon
I hear what you saying about these Chinese herbs and how they are unlikely to have any positive effect on one’s HIV status, especially if they have no mention of CD4 count. I came across this website while surfing the net.
This website comes highly recommended. They do mention how it increases one’s CD4 count. The whole point to managing HIV is keeping your CD4 count high & your viral load low. I still dont believe one should start taking ARV’s just because one’s immune system is compromised. One should be given an opportunity to boost their immune system before having to commit themselves to a lifetime on ARV’s.
As long as one’s immune system is strong, you dont need to start taking them. I have read so many testimonials about the incredible results people have had since they started on the medication.
Will you please go and have a look and tell me what you think. I dont want to raise my hopes & have them shattered if this is only a money making scheme. I’m so tempted to use it , but I cant afford to have mores stress if this product doesnt work. After all, what more do I have to loose ?
I visited the site and the oil they recommend is very unlikley to have any effect on your HIV. The one tiny study they refer to does not contain any information that would lead me to want to take this.
The internet is full of dubious claims about quack remedies. There is nothing here that I would recommend spending money on. The study report has nothing that shows this. It doesn’t even refer to CD4 count, which is the critical thing to measure in terms of HIV.
There is no benefit from increasing your CD8 count – though this study doesn’t convince me that the oil would do this anyway.
When you need treatment, combination antiretroviral therapy will be more likely to increase your CD4 count, and there is wide and substantial real scientific studies that supprt this.
Thanks Simon for providing me with the answer but I want you to go on this website. Its about fighting HIV/AIDS naturally and it says that it is clinical proven. I have never tried it but I want to start it. Can you come back to me before I consider it?