Question
Am I at risk of opportunistic diseases with a low CD4 count?
10 July 2023. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Newly diagnosed, Opportunistic infections.
Hi ;)
I was diagnosed with a low CD4 count = 120. I panic all the time and check my body carefully to see if I am sick. After 3 months and viral load=120.
How soon will I know that I am no longer suffering from opportunistic diseases? Or that they didn’t develop in me when I had a low CD4 count?
What research to do? I can’t deal with my nerves and I get panic attacks because of it ;(
Answer
Hi, how are you doing?
It is great to hear how quickly your CD4 count has recovered and your viral load is now suppressed.
Had you been taking Bactrim (co-trimoxazole) while your CD4 count was recovering?
Recovery of CD4 count is slow, but it is really encouraging how quickly yours has bounced back. It is likely it will return to a healthy range within the year (430 -1690).
Unlike viral load which responds very quickly after starting treatment, CD4 count rebuilds slowly but as it has risen so quickly after 3 only 3 months you have a very low risk of opportunistic diseases.
Having a low CD4 count does not mean that you will have acquired an oppurtunistic disease, rather it means you are at higher risk. As you are recovering well this suggests that you have not had one previously and even if you had, they are often treatable and will not have a significant impact.
Josh.
Hi Adrian, yes there is some increased risk of cancer. However being on treatment can significantly reduce this. Even on treatment there is some level of background inflammation which can lead to increased risk of developing cancer. However this is balanaced with increased screening programmes for people living with HIV. This means cancer can be found early and treated before it is irreversible. So while there is an increased risk of cancer, when engaging with healthcare this does not have a significant impact on life expectancy.
For more in-depth information about this please see here:https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/infections/hiv-infection-aids/hiv-aids-and-cancer
what does it look like with cancer?
In the literature it is stated that people with low immunity are susceptible to the development of diseases, if a person infected HIV has a CD4 about 500 is treated the same as a healthy one or not? Is the probability of the disease still higher than in the general population?