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 Jau, for more information about testing see here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
If you test without using HIV running buffer do u get false results?
Hi Nicky, do you know what type of test you did? If you used a 4th generation antigen/antibody test your result would have been conclusive. These tests are accurate from 6 weeks after an exposure. Testing negative at 8 weeks, even with a less accurate test at this time is still encouraging.
HIV is primarily transmitted by sex. Your daughter would not have been at risk for HIV transmission. The symptoms you are sharing with your daughter currently are not caused by HIV. Have you been to see a doctor about these symptoms? As your family are all ill you should go to speak to a doctor and see if there is treatment.
Have you had problems with your manhood before? A probable cause is stress which can lead to problems getting an erection. If this persists/you think there are other reasons, this too will need to be mentioned to your doctor.
For more information about HIV transmission see here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hello, I was exposed about two months ago and was filling feverish sore throat and body aches have been very worried and was afraid to do the test. But just last week I went and did the test and the result is negative. But am still not okay with my self because even my child is complaining of mouth sores, headache and feverish am afraid she is infected. My wife is having cold and body pain. Seriously am very worried I can’t sleep and it has really affected my manhood it can’t function. Please help me what do I do.
Hi Flora, no you should not stop your treatment. Treatment is lifelong even if your blood work is undetectable.
It is great that your blood work is undetectable. This means your treatment is working. ARVs are used to suppress HIV and stop it damaging your immune system. Unfortautnely ARVs do not cure HIV. For them to work you do need to take them daily even when you are undetectable.
Undetectable means your viral load is so low that HIV is not having an effect on your health. It also means that while on treatment you can’t pass on HIV to someone else via sex.
Hie, am HIV positive but blood shows undetectable, I started taking ARVs June 2020, so should I stop taking my treatment or I should carry on
Hi Euni, ARVs should still be taken even when having an operation. There is no reason to stop taking your treatment.
Am I allowed to take my arv when going to operation
Hi Doreen, what tests have you done? and where did you do these tests?
Do you know the type of tests that were used that showed you were HIV positive?
Hie
I went to get tested for HIV but first test shows am negative, and they test me again Am positive. 2 test shows am Negative 2 test shows Am positive, what could be the reason?