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Should I be concerned?
May 11, 2008
Hi Dr. Holodniy!
It's been awhile - how are you?
I was diagnosed in October of '06, probably infected around April of that year.. My labs that October came back with a CD4 count of 664, 43%, viral load 471,000. January of '07, 493, 39%, 602,000. April '07 (different lab if that means anything), 704, 39%, 120,000.
After that I lost insurance and haven't had my levels checked since. Since last fall/winter, I've had ongoing sinus problems, caught everything that's gone around at work (stomach flus, bronchitis, etc), gotten toenail fungus, and, recently, what is apparently seborrhoeic dermatitis. Also, I don't think I really look much different, but suddenly all of my pants are falling off. Or would, if I didn't wear a belt. ;)
Considering that my CD4 count seemed to be in good shape about a year ago, do you think I should be very concerned about these things? Do you think that it's necessary to find a way to get labs done because I could be getting close to needing meds, or are these things normal for someone who is still a long ways off from that point?
Thanks so much for your time!
Take care.
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Response from Dr. Holodniy
If at all possible I would get another set of labs. Although your previous labs indicated a CD4 count and percent in the normal range, your viral load was very high. It is possible that over the last year your CD4 count has decreased and that is why you are having some of these symptoms. And if so, you probably need to start treatment. On the other hand, if your CD4 count is stable from last year, even with that high a viral load, you don't need to start treatment right away, and those symptoms might not be associated with HIV progression.
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