Question
How can you tell if I’m a slow progressor?
23 January 2012. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
I’m a 45 year old female, recently diagnosed and from chatting with my doctor I think have been infected about 2 years. Results of tests show CD4 950 38% and VL 115. Obviously I’m very happy to see these figures and am wondering could these results be an indicator that I’ll be a slow progressor or is it too early to know?
Answer
A CD4 of 950 and CD4% of 38% are both strong results. This is a good indication that your immune system is currently similar to an HIV negative person. Â If your viral load is only 115 copies/mL this is also very low.
The definition of a slow progressor varies in different settings. A general definition though includes still having a CD4 count about 500 after five years and without using treatment.
So you are probably a bit early to know this yet. However, if your CD4 count and viral load have not really changed over two years, this is a good indication that you may be progressing slower than average,
Even if this doesn’t fit the definition yet, your results show that you are not in any immediate risk of infections and you can take time to find out about treatment, if and when you do need treatment.
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