Hi, writting from Serbia i was dignosed 2 weeks ago and i was infected last august.I did my first CD count today and its 68, my doctor put me on the HAART imiditaly. How can it be that my cd count is so low? How did the virus destroy my imune sys. so fast. I dont have a VL count becase we dont hava the equipment. Can i send my blood somever in europe(and pay ofcurse) for a more detailed analasis.

Thank you for your post.

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and low CD4 cell count. I am, however, happy to hear that you have access to good diagnostic testing (at least CD4 counts).

While not common, some persons have rapid HIV disease progression within a year or 2 after infection. To this extent, your apparent loss of CD4 cells is consistent with this group of relatively rapid progressors.

The good news is that with contemporary treatments and good adherence, patients who are rapid progressors have excellent prognoses. You'll need to start on triple drug combination therapy in the near future.

I'd speak with your HIV healthcare provider about the treatment options that are available to you.

Good luck, BY