Question
I am just diagnosed with a CD4 count of 10?
7 December 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Newly diagnosed, Starting treatment.
I’ve recently tested HIV+ and unfortunately my CD4 count came out at 10. I am not ill, but do i have the chance to live any longer.
Answer
Hi
As well as being HIV positive, your CD4 count is very low. Unless you were only infected very recently, this means your HIV is very advanced.
Using ARV treatment (ART) as soon as possible is important. ART will reduce the serious risk of HIV-related health complications.
The medicines will still work for you. There are many reasons to be hopeful and optimistic.
Because your CD4 count is uder 50 there is also a chance that other infections (called IRIS) might become active during the first few months of treatment. These are usuallly easy to treat, but tell your doctor about any new symptoms over the next months.
Also, please be very careful not to miss any doses of your meds. This is called good adherence.
Your doctor should also give you antibiotics to protect you from other infections. This is usually cotrimoxazole (often also called Septrin or Bactrim) which is a combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole. This treatment should continue until your CD4 count gets much higher (at least above 200, maybe above 350).
While your CD4 count is still below 50, including now, your doctor should also examine your eyes. This is to check whether a viral infection called CMV is affecting your eyes. CMV can cause serious and permanent vision loss.
For more information see this guide to starting treatment, called Introduction to ART.
If you were not expecting to be HIV positive, this will take a while for the news to sink in. It will get easier – and hopefully you will get a good response from treatment.
These two links might help:
Just diagnosed:
https://i-base.info/just-found-out
Who can I talk to:
https://i-base.info/who-can-i-talk-to
Note: This answer was updated in December 2016 from a question first posted on 13 September 2011.
Hi the first baby,
It’s a good idea to ask the doctor for your mum’s results. Her viral load and CD4 tests can tell you how well the ARVs are working. If your mum has been taking these ARVs for many months you can then talk to the doctor about drug resistance tests.
plz my mum is on ARV drug and it seems not working, can you help me on how to do drug resistance test so that she can be strong for us
Hi Kaygee,
What medication are you taking? If they contain efevirenz this may be the reason why you’re feeling like this.
Its common to feel this way when starting medication. Being able to talk to someone might help. Do you have a close friend, or relative that you might be able to talk to? Or is there a support group near to where you live?
There is always hope. Your now on treatment, so you’re taking control of your HIV. Your CD4 is also OK. In time this will rise. And your viral load will become undetectable. This usually happens within 3 months of starting meds.
I have a viral load of 35000 and a cd4 count of 350….I started treatment in 17 jan this year……I’m stressful at times…..depressed….I can’t concentrate or focus I feel like i’m losing my mind is there hope for me?
Hi Walter,
A CD4 count of 806 is high. With medication it should stay like this. How are you coping with your diagnoses?
Hi.
I just found out I have hiv and my cd4 count is 806 is that good does that mean I will be ok
Hi Alice,
Its common that people will we worried about starting meds again after they’ve had a negative experience, so please don’t be too hard on yourself.
Wanting to re-start is a really positive step. And one that needs to be taken. Even if you did have side effects last time its not guaranteed that you’ll have them again. Also this time you may wish to try a different type of ARV. This is something that you can talk to your doctor about.
You aren’t going to die, and once you get back on ARVs your HIV will be controlled. Try and have a talk with your doctor.
Hello there! I am a mother of the 2 Kids, I was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 while I was pregnant with my 1st Child, my CD4 Count then was above 500, then after giving birth I stopped taking ARVs, I continue to live a normal life…. And i was healthy….. In 2015 I fell pregnant again, and the CD4 was below 300 I took the ARVs again while pregnant but this time the meds made me sick, I was having diarrhea and sometimes vomiting and had no appetite…. Then after give birth I stopped taking them…. And carried on with my life, but now the guilty of knowing that I am not taking ARVs is killing me…. Now I am scared to take them full time bcz of the bad experience I had and I am scared about the side effects….. Please assist I don’t wanna die my kids needs me….
Hi Unknown,
Your viral load has rebounded because you stopped taking your meds. Though not ideal this is something that can be fixed. What you need to do is talk to your doctor and explain that you stopped meds and ask them to prescribe you some more. You may however need to have some resistance tests done as you may have developed resistance to the meds that you used to take.There should though be other options if this is the case.
Because you’re pregnant its very important that you do restart meds as the meds will reduce the risk of transmission to your baby.
Hi my viral load was lower than detectable in September,I quit Arvs since then and took umlingo juice but now its 30500 copies.I regret and worst is I’m pregnant