Question
Does late diagnosis means my lifespan is shorten?
10 January 2012. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Living with HIV long-term, Newly diagnosed.
One of your recent replies stated – Treatment now are better than they have ever been. There is a real chance of a normalised lifespan for people who are diagnosed early and who have access to modern meds.
Does this mean anyone diagnosed late with a low count and high viral load will definately have their their lifespan considerably reduced?
I am worried now as my recent diagnosis was CD4 174 and viral load of over 240,000. My healthworker informed me that this virus had been around for a very very long time in my system.
Answer
If you been diagnosed late it does not means that your life span will necessarily be shorter. Even if you have a very low CD4 count – as low as 10 count, if you follow your treatment very carefully, you have a good chance that the treatment will work. You might already feel unwell and many people who receive a late diagnosis are told that they have symptoms of an opportunistic infection. Although this can be serious and can impact your quality of life, you can work closely with your doctor to find the best combination of medication for you to help your immune system.
HIV medication is very good and although your immune system could have have been damaged, it can be possible to slow down the progress of the virus if you take special care of your health. Following your medication instructions is especially important if you’re diagnosed late.
Having a low CD4 count does not mean that you will become ill – it is just that you are more susceptible to other opportunistic illnesses (OIs). It also means that you should start treatment straight away. Being on treatment will enable your immune system to recover because the medication stop the virus from replicating. Treatment will make your viral load will go down and your CD4 count will rise again.
Can I ask, are you on treatment at the moment? If you are, can you please tell me when you started your treatment and also the name of the medication that has been prescribed to you? Also can you please tell me about your previous CD4 baseline and viral load results, previous to the one youmentioned?
Finally, are you receiving any support at the moment? Getting support from your local support group or a counsellor can help you to come to terms living with HIV. Also you will be able to gain and share experiences with others who are in the similar situation as you, rather than having to deal with it in isolation.
You can find more information on late diagnosis at this link.
Hi Andrew
Viral load tests are not so sensitive when the results are very low or very high. They could be anywhere between three times higher and three times lower than result you get given.
So although it looks like a big difference between the two results, your doctor would not interpret them as being different.
When you get your results from the first month on treatment, you should see a dramatic reduction in the viral load. If this doesn’t quite reach undetectable on this count is is very likely to be there by a month or two later.
Everything should all go well, but if you notice any side effects (including changes in mood or being more anxious) then talk to your doctor who can then evaluate whether these are bad enough to need to switch to alternative meds.
I forgot to mention that my first set of result after taking Atripla are going to be given to me in a months time at my next clinic appointment.
Thanks for your help.
I started on Atripla and Septrin on the 28th December 2011.
My baseline (first results came in at CD4 125 and VL over 750000)
The second blood results a week later ( still with no treatment) was CD4 174 and VL just over 240000.
My clinic and your website have been excellent and informative combined with the support of my partner, coming to terms with HIV has been reasonably straight forward.
I obviously do get the odd negativity creep in from time to time regarding my future health but with more time this should dwindle as well.
I am looking forward to join local groups also to meet other positives.