Question
How long can I live without HIV drugs?
2 January 2017. Related: All topics, Life expectancy, Living with HIV long-term.
Can you please tell me how long can someone live without taking HIV medication?
Answer
The best way to answer this is to say that modern HIV treatment (ART) means that life expectancy is not affected by being HIV positive. HIV positive people with access to treatment can be expected to live as long as before they became positive.
Without using HIV treatment, life expectancy is related to how quickly your CD4 count drops and how low it gets.
Without treatment, some people see their CD4 count drop to under 200 within a few years of infection, while others people can go for 5-10 years or longer before they need treatment.
See also: Your CD4 count and the risk of becoming ill.
This is different to saying how long you could live. However, without treatment, once your CD4 count falls below 200 life expectancy drops very dramatically.
Note: This answer was updated in January 2017 from a question first posted in November 2011.
I just went to the doctor today for testing and got my result and it was positive.
I don’t know what to do or whether I should start with ArVs..but the thing is I didn’t feel sick.
I am so confused. The scary part is I really don’t know how I got it.
I still haven’t told no one .
Hi H.V
Before you start to panic, first get tested. If it comes back positive, it isn’t the end of the world. Yes, there will be some change’s but HIV is a very manageable and treatable health condition. Millions of people all over the world live very well with it. And there is support out there to get you through it, if you are diagnosed HIV positive.
ive made an appointment with doctor if test comes positive i”ll kill myself for sure
Hi Ana,
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve having a difficult time. If its any help, its common to be in denial when you’re first told that you’re living with HIV. However, as you’ve seen this passes.
When you say that you’ve been having infections, what do you mean? And how often have they been happening? Have you sort treatment for them?
Its common that people can feel nervous about starting treatment, and in some cases they may not know who to approach. Where in the world do you live?
With regards to being scared about generics. Generics are just as good as branded ARVs. They do exactly the same thing because they contain the same ingredients. Also, most of the 17 million people who are on treatment for HIV are on generics.
Because you’re thinking about treatment, you may find our, ‘Introduction to ART’ guide helpful:
http://i-base.info/guides/starting
Hi, I confirmed my HIV status in Nov 2016 and have been in denial until now. I’ve started developing infections that go away quickly but are occurring often ,I don’t know who to approach about treatment options- my CD4 count is 350 and I’m scared of the generic treatment from public hospitals making me sick.
Hi Sadam,
Because you had a positive result, then a negative one and some time ago, I would advise that you retest. If the test is positive please get in touch with us.
It started about ten years ago, I was having problem with my neck and mouth sores consequently, so I went for a test. I was confirmed to be HIV positive. I could not believe it, so I went to see another doctor, the test was negative. Since then I have never been on medicaiton. Now I am having problems.
Hi Jrf777,
Please see question one here about testing:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
If your results come back positive, please get in touch.
Hi, I’m worried, I believe I have HIV, but I’m undiagnosed. I have just recently made an appointment to get teseted, based on googling signs and symptons on the internet. It started about 9 years ago i got a small rash on the side of my face then maybe 2 years later got diagnosed with hpv after I started getting about 2 cold sores a year ( never did before) since then I’ve had pneumonia once a enlarged lymph node on my neck, unbalanced hormones (gaining weight, hair loss, hair gain on face, missed periods for a long time) and a foot sore. This has been in the duration of about 9 or 10 years.
Hi Nina,
Because you were having migraines when you stopped taking meds, and you’re now still having them, you should talk to your doctor.
What meds are you taking? And do you know what your CD4 is?