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.
I have been sleeping with my partner for almost a year without protection and he is hiv+ but I have been testing every after 3 months my results are negative what should I do?
Hi Emma,
What kind of test did you have? Here’s a link to the different kinds of test used to test for HIV. I hope this answers your question.
I had an unprotected sex since more than three years ago and I just wanted to be sure about my status, so I went for a test and the results came out negative. So I wanted to know whether someone can test negative for over 3years even if positive?
Hi Harry,
Please can you give me more info? How high is your viral load, and do you have access to your CD4 count?
What is the high range of hiv copies
Hi Jeff,
Well, I’m not sure about that.
However, it is very common for someone to still be negative even if they have not been using condoms with someone who is HIV positive. It is also related to many things, including your partners viral load.
HIV is quite a difficult virus to catch, so your negative result is also related to good luck.
My ex had HIV and never disclosed it to me. During our 13 year relationship she had a HIV positive partner she cheated on me with regularlly unbeknownst to me at the time. Had they intended to infect me however that is not the case even after being exposed thousands of times during a lengthy period of 13 years while she was not taking meds. Ive been tested 4 or 5 times since our separation and to this day I’m still HIV negative. Is this a medical miracle ? I cannot figure out how I was never infected.
Hi JJ,
As long as you’re on medication then there’s no real reason why your life expectancy should change. Please see Q10 here: http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
As you’re yet to start meds, you may find this guide helpful: http://i-base.info/guides/starting
I’m 50 years old and came into contact with an HIV sufferer 3 months ago.
I’ve just been tested positive.
I hope to begin treatment.
I eat plenty of protein. I do cardiovascular workouts 4 times a week and lift weights 3 to 4 times per week. At weekends I do a lot of walking in the hills.
I don’t smoke and I don’t drink alcohol either.
What realistically is my life expectancy.
Hi Rohit,
Can I just confirm, you’ve started medication, (it sounds like Atripla, or a generic version of Atripla) and so far you’ve had strange dreams. If you’re on a generic version of Atripla then its very common to have strange dreams when you start medication. These usually go within a few weeks of starting treatment. Please see here for more info:
http://i-base.info/guides/starting and http://i-base.info/guides/1561
A CD4 count of 497 is OK, with medication in time this should rise. Its important to know that HIV is no longer the illness it used to be. HIV is now a very manageable health condition.