Question
Should I worry if my CD4 is 171 after two years ART?
30 October 2024. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Hi there. Should I be worried? I have been on treatment for 2 years and my cd4 is 171 and vl is 20?
Answer
Hi there
Thanks, without more details on your HIV history it is difficult to comment.
For example, knowing what your CD4 count was when you were diagnosed and when you started treatment.
Your viral load result is very good though. Having a viral load of less than 20 is also called undetectable. This shows your meds are working really well.
This link have more info:
https://i-base.info/guides/starting/two-essential-blood-tests
Thank you so much for your kind words worried mum.
You really made our day.
I agree with Simon, the most important thing is that you are on medication and that you keep taking it.
Please don’t worry. Your baby is not at risk.
Thank you so much for your answer Simon so hypothetically speaking if the milk has been coming out before I even noticed it still won’t be a problem?because I may have noticed that day but I just keep wondering if it had been coming out prior to that. But your answer has put of so much weight from my shoulder . This website really carried me through when I was at my breastfeeding stage all my concerns were answered and it made my journey so much easier.Thank you guys for all that you do.
Hi there, please do not worry about this. Even if a small amount of milk was involved your viral load is undetectable and so their is really unlikely to be a risk. Please talk to the clinic who can also confirm this and give you support.
I’m a hiv positive mother to an 11 month old baby…he was born negative and tested negative again for 14 weeks and 6 months …I stopped breastfeeding him at 4 month by the way so the problem now is that at around 7 months he started suckling on my breast just for soothing and sleeping even though milk wasn’t coming out..a few days ago when he did this I saw that some milk came out and I’m so scared that he might get infected…I can’t sleep thinking that I might have infected my baby because maybe the milk has been coming out without me noticing for some time..last time I check my vl I was undectable…what are the chances of him being infected
Hello Samantha and thanks for the question.
Most ARVs we use today can be taken with or without food and drinks.
I can only think of one situation where an energy drink could be a problem to take with ARVs:
If the ARVs contain an Integrase Inhibitor (raltegravir, dolutegravir, bictegravir, etc) and the energy drink has a large amount of metals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, etc.) which sometimes happens.
You can always check interactions here: https://www.hiv-druginteractions.org/checker
Hello..is it true that having energy drinks increases your viral load?
Hi Martyn, thanks, this is a good question.
Viral load tests are only sensitive to a certain level. Depending on the test, this cutoff is usually 50 copies/mL or 20 copies/mL.
If your blood only has 10 copies/mL (10 copies of HIV per millilitre of blood) then neither of these tests are sensitive enough to see this. This is when the result says undetectable – and it doesn’t have a value.
However, even though the test doesn’t have a value – because HIV wasn’t detected – some clinics just give everyone who is undetectable a random low number because computer records need a number. One hospital might give everyone who is undetectable the number 19, or 11 or 5 etc but it doesn’t mean anything.
How can the viral load be called undetectable if it has a value?
Ok, it may be at such a low level that it is unlikely / impossible to cause infection, but to give it a value means it has been detected.
Could this be clarified please?
Thank you