Question
I’m 36 and HIV+, how long will I live?
27 February 2012. Related: All topics, Disclosure, Life expectancy, Living with HIV long-term.
Hi, I am 36 years old, diagnosed 2 years ago HIV Positive.
My CD4 is 547 and my viral load is under 5000 copies, I am still not on treatment and have no resistance to any of the main medications used. I have no other health problems, don’t smoke, eat well and exercise 4-5 times a week.
I know that I should reach a fairly good age but what is that likely to be? I still wonder whether I should bother making plans for pensions and I am feeling very low as I think I will have poor quality of life even if I do have another 25-30 years left.
Few people know that I am gay let alone positive which makes things difficult.
I would really like some help understanding what age I am likely to live until and what my quality of life will be.
Thanks in advance for an incredibly good website and source of information.
Answer
Hi,
Thanks for your question. It is great to hear that your CD4 Count is so high and that you are looking after your health.
You asked how long you can expect to live. This question is difficult to answer because of course each person is an individual. HIV affects everybody differently.
Being diagnosed early- when you still have a high CD4 count- is important in increasing life expectancy. A recent study looked at HIV positive men who have sex with men living in rich countries. It found that, when diagnosed early, life expectancy was 75 years. The study, which is quite technically worded, can be viewed at this link.
I hope this reassures you that you can expect to live almost as long as somebody who is HIV negative. You also said that you are worried about having a poor quality of life.
While living with HIV is not easy you can still have a good quality of life. Treatment and care within the UK is an excellent standard. We have access to the latest drugs. Serious side effects are much less common with new drugs, and are well managed.
You mentioned that you don’t have much support and that few people know that you are gay. This must be difficult when trying to cope with your recent diagnosis. You might be interested in meeting other gay men in the UK living with HIV. If you look at this link you will see ways to contact support groups for gay HIV positive men.
If you would like to talk to somebody within i-Base for more information you can call our free phoneline on 0808 800 6013.
Hi Frances
It is not clear where you are currently living in the UK or emailing from another country.
If you are in the UK, then contacting a group called Positively UK might help you feel more connected and less lonely. This will give you a link to other HIV positive people.
http://positivelyuk.org
Your clinic should know whether there are any research studies that you could join. Not all clinics run these studies though.
I hope you feel happier soon. HIV drugs are now so effective that they mean most of us will hopefully life long lives.
Also, please talk to you doctor about how your are feeling. This is in case your mood is realted to you current treatment. Are you using a combination that includes efavirenz?
Even if this is not realted to HIV meds, your doctor will want to check wehther you have other symptoms of depression in case they can help.
I was diagnosed HIV positive and started on drugs. Please can you link we to UK organisations where I can help with research. I am lonely and unhappy.
Hi Mary,
Please have a look at our Introduction to combination therapy and our page for people who are just diagnosed for general information. Please let me know if you have questions after reading these!
Hello,
My best friend just found out that her cousin, who is very close to her, is HIV+. He lives in Chicago and in a gay community. I’m trying to find out more information out for her, for she’s not doing so well with the news about he cousin and is very worried for his life. So I have a few questions that I was hoping could be answered.
– How long can he expect to live?
-How would he go about getting meds for this?
-Would they even help?
I don’t know much more information beyond this and if I find out anymore I will add another comment. I would really appreciate any information that I could give her and to help ease her mind. Neither of us really know anything about it, and not knowing what could happen is worse than bad news.
Thanks, Mary.
Hi Nthati, congratulations on the birth of your son! How are you both getting on?
HIV treatment is very effective and life expectancy for positive people with treatment is now almost the same as for HIV negative people. You should plan to see all of those milestones in your son’s life that you would if you were HIV negative.
I have a 2 weeks old baby. I have been on treatment for 3 and a half years. How long am I going to live? I want to live long to see my son graduate and possibly get married.
Hi Maar,
The only way to increase your CD4 count is to take ARVs.
There are no food or drinks which should or should not be taken with ARVs. It is important to have a healthy diet and to follow instructions about whether to take your pills on an empty stomach or with a meal. This is different for different HIV drugs. Our HIV and your quality of life guide contains more information about a balanced diet and your health.
What is the important foods & drunks for taking ARVs (antiretroviral treatment for HIV)? What to do for CD4 285 but staring medication of ARVs
Dear Pertunia
You are not alone in feeling the way you do just now. Coping with living with HIV at such a young age, bringing up a young son and dealing with relationships and disclosure, is something that many people living with HIV find quite challenging to deal with. Are you in contact with any organisations that support people living with HIV? Many find it really helpful sharing experiences and ways of coping with living HIV, as well as bringing up children.
In response to your question, it is good that you are taking ARVs (antiretroviral treatment for HIV). The good news is that, nowadays, with access to and good use of treatment, care and support, people living with HIV can expect to have a life expectancy similar to those who are not HIV positive. Studies have shown that, someone aged 20 years and starting treatment can expect to live for upto another 45 years.Chances are, therefore, that you are likely to be around to see your son grow up and go to University.
I am sorry that you are so lonely. Dealing with relationships in general is not always easy. When you add HIV and disclosure it can be quite complicated for some people. Disclosure is not easy and many people worry about how best to do it. However, many other people have found that once they disclose, it the reaction they get isn’t as bad as they thought it would be. There is no right or wrong way to go about it. And you don’t have to do it by yourself. A counsellor at your hospital or clinic can help. It is important though, that you do it when you are ready and for the right reasons.
You may find it helpful to speak with other positive people who have been through similar circumstances as you are going through now. Any organisation that supports people living with HIV in or around your area will be able to help you.
With best wishes.
I’m actually 31 years of age.I have a son who is 3 years old how long will i live with HIV? i am on medication currently and i will like to know what are the chances of me living longer and being able to see my son going to varsity?
I’m constantly lonely I hardly stay on my relationships as I’m afraid they will start taking things seriously as I have not disclosed my status at all not that I’m playing unsafe I do play safe but I dont want attachments at all and this has got me feeling very lonely sad and not knowing what I want hence what I want is a stable relationship but its not easy disclosing at all.