Question
Does HIV cause weight loss?
5 January 2016. Related: All topics, Newly diagnosed, Opportunistic infections, Side effects, Starting treatment.
Can facial wasting and losing weight happen prior to starting treatment?
Can they simply be features of HIV (or stress) without being due to opportunistic infections?
Answer
Thank you for your questions.
General weight loss and facial wasting (fat loss) are very different things.
Before effective HIV treatment (ART), wasting and loss of appetite were very common among people living with HIV.
Some of the reasons that caused wasting were nausea, diarrhoea, poor absorption of food, fevers and loss of appetite. These symptoms are largely related to having a low CD4 count and not being on ART.
Information about body changes as a side effect are at these links for body fat changes (lipodystrophy) and fat loss (lipoatrophy).
Losing fat from the face is sometimes a feature of aging – ie it happens naturally as you get older. HIV doesn’t cause fat loss prior to treatment though, and is unlikley to cause it after treatment so long as you don’t use either d4T or AZT.
This answer was updated in January 2016 from a question first posted on 21 May 2008.
Hi Goodness, what is the name of the HIV pills you are taking? and how much weight have you lost over how long?
I am sorry to hear about your miscarriage. How have you been coping since? Has anything changed in your lifestyle since this has happened e.g., eating less, sleeping more, doing more exercise…?
Do you know your current CD4 count and viral load? and what have you tried to regain this weight?
And have you noticed any other symptoms along with this weight loss e.g., fevers and/or night sweats?
Hi I started taking my pills this year and know I’m having problem cause I’m having weight loss but I do take my pills so I don’t understand at all
Or it because I was pregnant and I had miscarriage I don’t know cause I have lost weight too much I’m a joke to my friends and family know but I’m taking my pills please give me advice cause know I’m starting to take apetito for weight I have lost
Hi Sammi, I am sorry to hear that you have been feeling weak and exhausted. Have you spoken to a doctor since starting to feel like this?
How much weight have you lost over how long? and have you noticed any other symptoms e.g., fevers, night sweats, rashes, etc…
What is the name of the treatment you are on? and have you been taking it daily with good adherence?
As your viral load is still being suppressed it shows that your medication is still working. HIV is being suppressed in your body and is not having an impact on your immune system. Do you know what your CD4% is? This is a more reliable result than the actual count. The count can fluctuate between tests due to other infections/vaccines, exercise and even the time of day the test is done.
Have you been offered a second test to confirm your CD4 count?
Hi, I was diagnosed with HIV almost a year ago. I am now taking HAART. Today, my viral load is 156=copies/ml and CD4=310 c/ul. My previous checkup was three months ago (371=copies/ml and CD4= 409 c/ul). Recently, I started losing weight and got exhausted quickly. I am getting worried because I get thinner and weaker as my CD4 drops. There was a night I almost collapsed due to feeling weak and exhausted at home.
Hi, you can have sex with your wife at any time. As your viral load is below 200, there is no risk of transmission via sex. You can have sex without a condom and it is not possible for you to pass on HIV. This is explained by U=U: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/