I'm i aids or hiv patient, help doctor.

Jul 29, 2001

Hi! doc. I was tested positive for hiv last year september with the VL of 3235, & CD4 of 80. my doctor told me that i have aids and i was put on medications right away, and in two weeks time my doctor told my that my VL is undetected. In two months time again he told me that they did a blood test on me and they could find any virus on my blood but the test still shows positive, i asked him to explain to me what he means by sayng the virus can't be seen on my blood any more but still positve, and he just told me that he will put an eye on me and never said anything to me. My husband has been tested three times and he is still negetive, and am wonder why he is because we had unprotected sex even when i had my period, and oral sex. Am so confuse doctor because the first time my doctor talked of undetectable and after a while he said nothing can be found on my blood but still positive. please i kindly need your help to explain this two statements to me. My former doctor called and told me that it might be that i have but marrow problem. can one be consider an aids patient even if a person didn't do an aids test to confirm it or ever been sick?

Response from Dr. Holodniy

Your doctor is speaking of the viral load (amount of HIV virus in your blood) as being undetectable. That is a response to the treatment they put you on. Your HIV antibody test will still be positive, and there are other ways to detect HIV which is still within you. Treatment is not a cure and undetectable does not mean that the virus is gone in you. I can't explain why your husband did not be come infected. It may relate to his immune system being strong, or the virus in you being weak or in low amounts, so that it cannot be transmitted very well. MH