Question
My CD4 count has dropped after 6 months on ARVs
23 September 2013. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Starting treatment.
Hi,
Please I need your help
I started taking ARV drugs with a CD4 count of 410. After 6 months I did a test, only to find out that my CD4 count has reduced to 303.
Please help me my HIV doctor only said that I should continue with the drugs which are nevirapine, z, and L (3-in one regime). The doctor added septrin and immunace to it and said I should come back in November for a CD4 count.
Presently, am in a relationship , please help me with the right drugs or supplement to take so that my CD4 count will increase and viral load will become undetectable.
Help me I am so sad.
Also please how effective is Qina in increasing CD4 count?
Answer
Hello,
Thank-you for your email. I am sorry to hear how worried you are.
I don’t recognise the names you have given for two of the drugs in your regime – L and Z. These might refer to lamivudine and zidovudine which can be combined in one pill with nevirapine, sometimes called Duovir. Please can you check this and get back to me so that I know which drugs you are taking?
Can you also let me know whether your viral load is being measured? When somebody is on treatment the viral load is the best way to check that treatment is working well. Unfortunately this isn’t available in all countries though so this will depend on where you live.
If viral load testing is not available your doctor will need to use your CD4 count results to evaluate whether treatment is working properly. S/he will want to see at your next check in November whether this has continued to decrease, or if this has started to go up. If your CD4 count does continue to decrease it is important that your doctor looks into changing your treatment as this could be a sign that you have some resistance and that treatment is not working for you. One CD4 count test result is not enough to tell you whether this is the case or not.
It is important to make sure that you are taking your meds everyday and not missing any doses or being late taking them. This will give you the best chance of this treatment working for you.
Qina does not have any impact on the CD4 count.
Hi Liam,
Yes, that sounds right – but you can check with your doctor. The sensitivity of the test has a cut off. In other words a threshold. This is where the level of HIV is so small it’s called undetectable. So the threshold here looks like it’s 20 cp/mL rather than 50 cp/mL. In recent years the tests have greatly improved and can have a threshold lower than 20 cp/mL. There’s a similar question here.
Hi Roy,
My viral load count is 3.30*10^1 copies/ml, I believe it’s 33 copies/ml which is below 50. But also the result test notes that the considered detectable threshold is 20 cp/ml. So my result is “detectable” but not too high, is that true?
I’ve met my doctor at the moment, he’s been away for a while.
Thank you.
Hi Liam,
Please can you ask the clinic for a less technical result? Sorry, but when we talk to our doctors the results are usually just a simple figure. This table lists the type of test done. It might also give a log value to the result. Logs values are used to make it easier to talk about very large and very small numbers in science. But what is needed is a simple figure for you to know about. For example below 50 copies/mL is undetectable.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your help. I just got my viral load test result.
Here’s the details:
– Test: HI2CAP96___Result: 3.30E+1 (1.52) cp/ml
– CH1: Target___Cycle#: 33.8
– CH2: QS/IC___Cycle#: 27.6
– COBAS®AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test, v2.0
– Device: COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan96 – ROCHE
– Result: 3.30 x 10^1 (copies/ml)
– Detectable threshold: ≥ 20 copies/ml
Please tell me if my result is ok? Should I be worried about my viral load? Is it considered undetectable? Thank you so much!
Hi Liam,
You being late with your meds won’t have had any impact on your CD4 count, nor your viral load.
CD4 counts, can and do fluctuate.CD4 counts can be affected by many and varied reasons-i.e. stress, time of the day, menstrual cycle, other infections, recent vaccination, lab errors etc.
For you to know if your medication is work as it should be, you’ll need to do a viral load test. So the test that your doctor has suggested. This test will allow you to know for sure how you’re doing.
Hello everyone, I’m Liam, I live in Vietnam, and I’m infected with HIV on June 2017. I also got infected with syphilis from my ex, too. I got treatment by Benzathine Penicillin 2,4 MU x 4 times in August 2017. From 15th September 2017, I start my treatment with ARV 3-in-1 tablet (TDF/3TC/EFV 300/300/600mg), take one pill a day at 10.30 pm. I also take Hatiseptop (Trimethoprim 80 mg, sulfamethxazole 400 mg) 2 pills a day and Isoniazid 300 mg once a day as preventive medicine for tuberculosis. My CD4 count at that time was 335.
I take my treatment very carefully at 10.30 everyday, but there are 2 times that I was late about 45 minutes. I haven’t missed any pill. At 26 April 2018, I got my CD4 test again (the 2nd time), and It’s 225. I didn’t have flu at that the time the test took place. I feel hopeless. Why my CD4 count keeps dropping? Is it indicates that my treatment goes wrong? My doctor said that I should take a viral load test to see if something is wrong, but I can’t do the test yet as in my circumstance.
Please help me to see clearly in my condition? Is my treatment in trouble? Thank you so much!
Hi Winner.
If the woman that you had sex with has an undetectable viral load then there ins’t any risk. Ideally because she’s been on meds for 6 months her viral load should be OK. This is something that you’ll need to ask her.
I met a girl and she we had sex my condom broke. I continue for like 20seconds then clean up and used condom again. She is HIV positive and she has been on drugs for 6months what are my chances ?? Please I need help.
Hi Destiny,
Its not possible to tell how long someone has been infected for from their CD4 count. To have an idea, a person needs to think about the risks they may have taken.
Hi Lisa.
Thanks for the response to my first question.
My sister did the HIV test about two weeks ago and the result was positive. Her CD4 count is 273. What is the estimated number of years you think she has been living with the virus?