Question
Why is my CD4 and VL remain still remain the same?
3 January 2012. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Side effects.
I am 46yr old Male diagnosed Hiv positive on Oct 2010. My current CD4 is 159 and my VL is 45, I take kivexa,norvir and reyataz, my questions are:-
Should i have seen my cd4 higher by now?
Should my viral load be zero, its never been lower than now (45)?
I want to exercise including weights but dont know what would be best for hiv+ over 45 male, where would i get this information?
Also I recently had a torn bicep my gp thinks my meds could have made my muscle structure weak is this true?, I haven’t mentioned this to my hiv consultant yet, I could also make use of contact details for some support group to advise me, I’m not ready for an open forum but could benefit from some 1-1 help, i live in wakefield west yorkshire
I’m 5ft 9 and weigh 11st 7lb
Answer
CD4 and viral load results vary a lot between different people. To understand your CD4 count now, we need to compare when you are first diagnosed and when you started treatment. What were these results?
If they were very low (less than 50) then so far you have had a good response. Even if it was under 100, some people take a year or two for this to reach over 200.
Once you are on treatment, so long as your CD4 count is still increasing, it is more important that your viral load is less than 50 copies/mL. A viral load result of 45 is unusual because most viral load tests would report this as undetectable. Ask you doctor what the cut-off value for the test that your clinic uses. It might be that you are already undetectable. If they use a lower cut-off of 20 or 40, then being 45 is not a problem because it is so close and the test is not so sensitive at these very low levels. As well as your CD4 results, do you know what your viral load was when you started treatment?
I have not heard of torn muscles being related to HIV meds. Unless there are medical reasons your doctor advises against it, exercise has lots of health benefits. This is usually best to start slowly on whatever interests you – whether being more active – walking, swimming or running etc – or using a gym where a trainer can introduce you to both aerobic exercise (which make your heart beat faster) and resistance exercise (which help define and build muscle).
There is an HIV organisation in Wakefield called Begin that should be able to help with individual as well as group support (when you feel ready for this). Please click on this link.
It take a while to get used to being HIV positive, and if you are doing this on your own it is even more difficult. Meeting other people who have gone through similar experiences can make a huge difference. If you are not ready for this yet, support from health advisors, that Begin also have, may be a good start.
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