Question
How can I improve my CD4 count when I am already on treatment?
2 March 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
How to improve my CD4 count of 210? Is it dangerous at this stage? I was stressed and it has never been so low. I take daily Truvada (tenofovir and FTC) and Viramune (nevirapine). How can I improve it? Will more sleep help? I eat healty foods.
Thank you.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
I am sorry to hear that you are stressed at the moment and that it is affecting your CD4 count. A CD4 count of 210 isn’t bad at all and is nothing to worry about.
How long have you been on medication? If you have recently started then it is possible that as you continue taking your meds your CD4 count will increase. Trying to reduce your stress levels or learning to manage your stress better could also help.
Other things that can help to increase CD4 counts include the same things that are advised for general health. Try to eat a balanced diet, sleep well, exercise, stop smoking, and only use alcohol or recreational drugs in moderation.
It is also possible that your CD4 count is just fluctuating and that it will naturally go back up on its own. Either way it is nothing to worry about. Once you have started treatment the most important thing to monitor is your viral load. As long as that remains undetectable your treatment is working.
Hi Cebs,
Is your viral load still undetectable? To know if there’s been any improvement with your CD4 you’re going to need to have this tested, only a test can tell you what it is.
Hi. I’ve been on arvs since 2012 and in 2017 my cd4 count started dropping but the viral load always undetectable. The doctor said there’s no problem. My worry was it’s now below 200, then I called my medical aid scheme doctor and they decided to put me on purbac for six months. I started taking it in January this year. Will my cd4 count increase now?
Hi Anthea,
Yes its still very possible to have a negative child, even when you’ve been diagnosed late in pregnancy.Please see the following for more info: http://i-base.info/guides/pregnancy
Weight loss can be due to a lot of different things, one of which is stress. Talking to a doctor about this is a good place to start.
Hi,
I have recently found out on my first pre natal booking that I was HIV positive. My blood was sent for testing and cd4 on second visit was discovered 199. I was worried well but the doctors immediately put me on ARV’s. They also said that I should be taking a VL very soon. My only worry is that now it seems that im loosing weight unlike when I didnt know my status and was on no treatment. Should I be worried? And is my unborn going to be fine. I also work long hours and don’t get time to eating enough healthy foods although now I have started concentrating on my health and eating healthy. I really need more advice on all this. Thanks.
Hi Monica,
It’s great for you and your baby that you started HIV treatment immediately. That’s because the way to help protect your baby from HIV is to have an undetectacble viral load (VL). Please ask the lab for your VL result. Undetectable means having less than 50 copies/mL. HIV treatment (ART) can bring down your VL very quickly.
The benefits of ART are not just to your own health. Treating your HIV will reduce the risk of your baby becoming HIV positive to almost zero.
Your CD4 count tells you how strong your immune system is.
There’s much more info in this guide to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
I was diagnosed with hiv in May when I found out that I was pregnant,and I started treatment immediately.the results from the lab came back saying my cd4 count was 274,does that mean my baby will be negative
Hi Matt,
A CD4 count of 735 is strong. The normal range for a person who is HIV negative is between 460 to 1600. So your CD4 is normal, it shouldn’t be the cause of fatigue. CD4 counts go up and down, often during one day. And it looks like your medication is working very well.
As CD4 counts can change perhaps you can ask for your CD4%? The CD4% is a more stable marker of immune function than the absolute CD4 count. You can read more about it here.
So all this looks good but you can talk to your doctor about your fatigue and have it checked out.
Hi, I was diagnosed with HIV infection in November of 2013. Initial tests showed my viral load at about 4-5000 copies and my CD4 count was around 650. My Doctor immediately started me on drug therapy and I saw tremendous improvement. My RNA has been undetectable ( < 20 copies) the entire 4.5 years I have been on this medication. My CD4 count rose as high as 1400. However, the last 2 years I have seen my CD4 count drop significantly. It has now dropped to 735. Should I be concerned with this? Should I look at taking a different medication? Also, I have felt very fatigued the last year or so. Could this drop in CD4 cause this symptom?
Hi Penelope,
How are you coping with your diagnoses? Are you able to talk to anyone?
Feeling tired can be due to a number of things, once of which is starting ARVs. Before you think about taking any supplements you should talk to your doctor. They may be able to advise you what you could take.
Hi ive just tested hiv positive and started my Atrioza arv”s a month ago and sometimes i feel tired is it wise for me to take a B12 shot for energy?