Question
Worried about weight loss
19 November 2012. Related: All topics.
My wife and I are both HIV positive. After initially gaining weight from 42kg to 52kg in the first year on treatment my wife has dropped back down to around 46kg in the last year. I am worried, as I have read that weight loss is linked to a worse prognosis even in people stable on treatment.
She started treatment with a low CD4 (50) and active toxoplasmosis infection. However, since starting treatment 2 years ago her viral load has remained undetectable (other than 1 or two blips) and her CD4 count has risen to over 400 where it appears to have stabilized.
The doctors have not mentioned anything about her weight loss on our usual visits although the HIV nurse seemed quite surprised when she last saw us.
Our next appointment with the doctor is not until February. Should we arrange an appointment before then to discuss this weight loss or can it wait until then?
What are the best foods that are cheaply available in the UK that can encourage weight gain? Do you have any other advice for us with regard to this situation?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Answer
Hello,
Thanks for getting in touch. An unexplained weight loss of 10% is something which you do need to talk to your doctor about. This is because this may be a sign of an undiagnosed infection.
It’s worth rearranging your appointment, or going to see your GP about this. They will be able to look for reasons behind the weight loss and may also be able to suggest dietary supplements to encourage weight gain.
Best of luck, please let me know how you get on, and if you have any questions!
Hi Lala,
A 4 kilo weight loss over the space of 7 months isn’t something to worry about.
Hi am Lala this my 7th month on arv my viral load is undetectable and my CD4 is a bit up from 603 to 655 I have lost 4kg am not diabetic and my gp can’t find anything wrong with me like infection or so…. Should I consider multivitamin just to boost my weight or it’s normal.. I was weighing 98kg before starting treatment now am 94kg should I be worried?
Hi Anonymous,
People lose their appetite for all sorts of reasons, therefore this is something that you will need to talk to a doctor about.
The most pressing issue is that you’ve not been taking your meds correctly. By doing this you risk becoming resistant to your meds. When someone isn’t on meds, they aren’t in control of their HIV. Your CD4 will also begin to drop, and your viral load rebound.
I’m HIV+ I haven’t been taking my ARVs correctly. The problem is my appetite is gone and also tasteless to food what can I do?
Hi Xolani,
Its unlikely that its the meds that are causing the weight loss. However, you should discuss this with your doctor as you may need to change. This is because of the other side effects that you’re experiencing. Weight loss can also be due to stress. Its common when starting meds to be stressed.
Xolani 34 age in South Africa. I have been recently diagnosed by 10 July 2017. By 14/07/2017 I started my treatment. My cd4 count is 478 and viral load is 16000.
I’m on Trivenz. I haven’t finished a month yet. I lost 4kg. And ppl are starting to notice my weight loss.I lost appetite, no energy at all, moody, side effects they got very better now. No more feeling them. My mouth is dry .
Before I was diagnosed. Was extremely gym guy. I can’t even go to the gym now.
I honestly can’t put up with the weight loose especially now on my ( quads, legs, glutes ) my upper body it has not detoriated as much as my lower body.
I know I got this in November ( within last 6 months)..can I discuss this with my doctor to change the pill.
Or any information that might assist
Hi Anonimas,
ARVs are the only thing that can help your HIV. For a deeper explanation please see questions 4 and 7 here:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
A CD4 of 857 is high, the normal range for HIV negative adult is 400-1600. Even if yours is high, ARVs are still recommended. The following link explains what a CD4 is:
http://i-base.info/qa/20
Hi i just found out that am HIV positive, my normal weight is 46( mean i didn’t lose weight) and my CD4 is 857….what does this mean? as am starting arvs, arvs will help me?
Hi Asnath,
South African guidelines recommend stopping nevirapine after 6 weeks for babies whose mothers are on ARVs. This is because ARVs reduce the chance of passing HIV through breastfeeding. There is still a small risk though. If you are worried about this you should speak to your midwife or doctor. If you can afford formula milk and have access to clean water and sterilization of bottles you might want to think about changing to formula milk if you would be less worried by this. There are pros and cons on either side though so please speak to your midwife, and also read about breastfeeding in our pregnancy guide.
Not everybody gains weight after starting HIV treatment. Unless you had lost weight because of HIV you wouldn’t expect to gain weight on treatment- especially since you were recently pregnant. You can read more about starting treatment in our introduction to combination therapy.
Hey I’m a lady of 24. I’m HIV+ and a new mum to my baby boy who is 7 weeks old.I started my treatment when I was 8 months pregnant with him.
The thing is I hear people sayin they’re changing when they’re on treatment and my problem is I haven’t. I didn’t gain weight and I’m worried about my baby because I’m breastfeeding and they stopped giving him nevirapine because I’m on treatment. Please help me on what to eat and tell me if its possible for me to buy nevirapine syrup at a private sector and how much it would be. At the clinic they told me that they are not giving my baby nevirapine as I’m on treatment I started in September and had my baby in October so I gave him nevirapine for 6 weeks but I’m worried that won’t pass the virus to him because I’m breastfeeding.