Question
I don't want to take treatment, how can I increase my CD4 count?
4 March 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Side effects, Starting treatment.
Hello,
I was diagnosed HIV positive in 2009 and at that time my CD4 was over 400. It then slowly dropped and the latest CD4 was 187. My doctor asked me take HAART medication plus he also ask me take bactrim. I started HIV medication and after I took the medication, within 30 minutes I had a headache, very high fever, rash all over my body, vomiting, loose stool and I became so weak. I couldn’t even wake up from my bed, it was that terrible what I went through. So I just took HIV meds only once and then I stopped taking the medication because medicine should help the patient, not make my bad condition even worse.
Can you advise me how I can maintain my CD4 and CD8 because I just plan to not take modern medicine plus I am working person and I can’t take off all the time.
Answer
Thank you for your question.
I am sorry to hear you are having so much trouble taking HIV meds. Unfortunately the only way to increase your CD4 count is by taking antiretroviral drugs that make up HAART medicine. Many people have problems with side effects when they first start treatment. However, within 2-4 weeks your body will become used to the drugs and these side effects will lessen.
If you are suffering from side effects there are additional treatments the doctors can give you to prevent nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches etc. to help you get through the first few difficult weeks. If you start treatment and then stop you are in danger of becoming resistant to your medication. This means you may reduce the number of treatments available to you in the future.
If your CD4 count is only 187 then you need to start taking HAART as soon as possible. Before doing this you should ask your doctor for a resistance test. Which treatments did you take before? If you took nevirapine or efavirenz and got a rash then you should try to avoid these treatments.
For more information on side effect please follow this link to our guidebook on HIV and your quality of life
It might also help to view similar questions on starting treatment
HIV treatment is very individual and it is about finding the right combination for you. If you give the medication a try and are really not getting on with it then you can speak to your doctor about changing the meds to something that is more suitable for you.
If you decide not to take treatment then your CD4 count will decrease until you become very sick and eventually die. At the end of the day it is your decision whether or not to take treatment but you should be aware of the consequences if you are to make an informed decision. Good luck and please do not hesitate to contact us again if you need any more support.
Hi Chioma.
Please talk to your doctor about your decision.
There is much more to life than a CD4 count number. Keeping your CD4 count above 200 is still really good. It will protect you from nearly all serious HIV complications.
You have done amazingly well to manage on treatment for the last 10 years. You are still really young and could have many happy years ahead of you.
Also, which drugs are you currently taking? If this includes efavirenz then the meds could be bringing you down and making you feel this way. By stopping treatment you risk lots of really horrible and difficult to treat infections.
Please contact your doctor to talk about how you feel. If you want to email me personally off-line my address is: simon.collins@i-base.org.uk
I was tested positive 2007, while i was still 16years old. I have being on drugs but the problem is my CD4 never rises always same digit 226, 206 etc always. It’s trying, now this is 2016,i decided to stop taking the drugs really there have not being inprovment. Life has never being easy. So if i died am not scared anymore.
Hi Isaiah
It is good you tested and are now on treatment. Which meds are you on.
If your combination includes efavirenz this is likely to be the one causing side effects. These should get better soon. Are you taking this medicine at night before you slepp?
See this link for more information.
http://i-base.info/guides/side/cns-side-effects
Please talk to your doctor about all these things.
Recently I Tested HIV postive and i found my CD is 287 and started taking drugs but the side effect of the drug is too much
A question about starting medication is answered here.
The START study showed the benefits of starting medication (ART) early. START showed that early ART was also safe and effective. It more than halved the risk of serious illness.
You can find out more about START and its results here:
http://i-base.info/start/
My CD4 is 402 should I wait for medicine or start
Hi Olawunmi
It is good that your wife tested and it is good that she started treatment. She has had a very good response by getting her CD4 count to much safer levels, so that HIV should not cause new problems.
It is worrying though that here daily health is not good. This could be due to two things and her doctor needs to understand the current problems and find out the cause.
One possibility is that your wife has a second health complication that needs treating.
The second is that your wife may have side effects from the current treatment. If this is the case, the doctor should be able to try an alternative treatment to see if this helps.
My wife tested positive last year in December 2013 with a CD4 count at 179. She was advised to start ART and she started in January 2014. By May 2014, her CD4 has risen to 412, but she has always been down, weak, fast breathing, fatigue, headache, vomiting etc. She was never been sick before we went for the test but after she started taking ARVs her condition had been worse. Your advice, please.
Ok, first – breathe! Your doctor is right, you should start treatment in the next few weeks but you have to make sure you are ready first. Many people do not get any side effects, some people just get mild ones like feeling nauseous. Side effects are the things people worry about most. There are lots of horror stories around about side effects. You have to remember that you will only ever hear about the bad things. There are far more people who take ARVs and have had no or little side effects but they are the ones who do not complain and so you never hear that side of things. You may find that you start treatment and are fine and do not need any days off work. For more information please follow this link. Good luck!
I recently tested positive to HIV and my CD4 is 295 and the doctor told me I should consider taking the treatment and I am not ready and scared at the same time. I am currently working and I know with all the side effects my work will be affected, and as a temporary worker they dont give much off. It is all very confusing and sometimes I wish there was something I could take to boost me until I am ready to take the treatment.