Question
My HIV is under control, how long will I live for?
19 August 2020. Related: All topics, Life expectancy.
Hi, I am 34 years old, diagnosed 2 years ago HIV Positive.
My CD4 is 660 and I am maintaining Undetectable level for last 1.6 years, When I diagnosed I started ART within month’s. I have no other health problems, don’t smoke, eat well. How many years I can live.
Answer
Thanks for getting in touch.
It’s great to hear that your viral load is undetectable and that your CD4 is also high. What this means is that your HIV is under control.
With regards to life expectancy, due to your HIV being under control, there’s no reason why your life expectancy will be any different to what it would have been had you not contracted HIV. With modern ARVs it’s possible to live a normal life as Q 10 explains: https://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
Hi Vijay,
What does your doctor say about not taking medicines?
The only way to increase your CD4 is to use HIV treatment (ART). Please see this Q&A for much more info.
Unfortunately a CD4 count of 28 is very low. This means that your immune system will not be able to fight off infections.
Please talk to your doctor about starting ART. You can also talk about other meds, such as antibiotics, to help stop other infections while you start ART.
Please see the Introduction to ART for much more info.
And here’s a link to a page in ART in Pictures that shows how your CD4 count gets the chance to recover when you start taking ART.
Please let us know how you get on.
I am 38 year old my cd 4 is 28
How can I improve till now I am not taking any medicine related to hiv