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 Frank, there is no test that you can us to determine who contracted HIV first. Each person will have a different response to HIV and it is not possible to say who, based on viral load and CD4 count came into contact with HIV first.
More information about testing and transmission can be found here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hello can you tell who got HIV first in a couple
Hi Johnmark, yes this is possible. Have you had any testing of your CD4 count and/or viral load since you tested positive? and have you been on treatment for the last 4 years.
Having HIV does not mean you cannot live for more than 4 years, even without treatment. Each person will respond to HIV differently. Some people find that their life is significantly impacted within 2 years while others can have more than 15 years and still not experience any problem.
For more information about life expectancy please see here: https://i-base.info/qa/category/life-expectancy
Hi have been living with HIV positive since 4 years now ist possible or it means I don’t have hiv
Hi Phoenix, over these 20 years of being positive have you had any further tests throughout your HIV history e.g., further tests to confirm status, viral load and CD4 counts?
In some rare cases people can progress slowly with HIV. When this happens, these people are called Long-Term Slow Progressors (LTSP). An LTSP will still be HIV positive but there body is able to naturally suppress HIV much better than someone else. In these cases an LTSP can have a suppressed viral load and their CD4 count be largely in a healthy range. It is termed LTSP as eventually most will start to develop symptoms overtime as the body becomes tired of fighting off HIV.
More information about LTSP can be found here: https://i-base.info/guides/starting/what-about-people-who-progress-slowly
Even in these cases it is still recommended that you be on medication. Is there a reason you have not started on it before? and would you be open to starting treatment? Even if your body is naturally suppressing HIV, treatment can be used to ensure that your viral load will not increase and allow you to rely on U=U. U=U stands for undetectable being the same as untransmissable. When on treatment, it can be guaranteed that you cannot pass on HIV if your viral load is below 200.
U=U: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
Been hiv positive for more than 20 years without treatment,but m still fine…
Hiw is that possible?
Hi John, why do you think you are HIV positive?
Unfortautnely the only way to confirm your status is to test.
Testing is really important. It helps you be in charge of your own health. This lets you look out for yourself and others. While testing can be scary, it is always better to know than not.
Please see here for more information: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
Hi I think I’m HIV positive but I’m afraid to test
Hi Eghosa, did you have a question?
How