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.
Hi Rose, what test did you do? Some tests will have different results depending on how long you wait to test after an exposure.
What does it mean when one HIV result is positive but the Antibodies is negative?
Hi Nale, in most cases this is unlikely to cause any problem. As this would mean that treatment is being missed for 2 weeks it is recommended to have a viral load test a few weeks after restarting to check that it is still working.
Hi what happens if the is a delay on a monthly package of Arv’s and treatment was skipped for two weeks.
Hi Rohit, I am sorry to hear about your partner. Do you need to tell your friends about starting treatment? You do not need to tell your friends your status that you are HIV positive and that you are starting treatment. Taking one pill a day can be for a number of reasons and most people would think nothing of it. Doing so will also make sure to keep you healthy and risk your own health being enquired by your friends. Have you had any recent testing for viral load and CD4 count?
Hi Rohit here from India.
I found that I am hiv positive before 2 years but could not able to tell my parents so I decided not to take medicine…..
I got this virus from my partner, she is no more.
I am doing ok without medicine. Since than i Never had any symptoms….just a mild fever and stomach pain but nothing serious…
I stop meeting my friends and living in depression…..its like I am counting my days without hiv treatment….
Hi Thandi, have you had your CD4 count and viral load tested recently?
Hi my story is no different but with me is that I never understand why I don’t change even if I don’t take medication. Am 34 and I’ve been living with HIV for 17 years now
Hi Miso, do you know your current viral load and CD4 count? It is possible, though it is rare to not have any complications without treatment for this long. This can be normal and is called ‘long-term non-progressor’ but overtime HIV will slowly have an impact on the body. It’s important to have regular checks of your health to be aware how your body is handling HIV, even if you feel healthy.
I was diagnosed HIV positive when I was 19, and now I’m 40 years. I never used any kind of medication and I still go to work like everyone else and I feel just fine. Am I not normal?