I was diagnosed with HIV October 3rd 2007. I started taking my meds. When I was diagnosed my viral load was in the 20,000's and my cd4's was 42. Now my viral load is 411 and my cd4's are 92. Shouldn't my cd4's be better since my viral load has dropped so much? But what I don't understand, I have always been healthy and had no symptoms of anything. I have always looked healthy and been in sports my whole life. But every HIV doctor I have been too, says that they do not see how I am so healthy with the test results that I had when I was first diagnosed. Now I feel worst than I did when I wasn't even taking meds. Is this normal?

Your CD4 cell count was probably down for the count for a long while and during that time there was damage done to your immune system that will take a while to reverse. That your viral load has dropped will help protect your CD4 cells and give your body a chance to catch up on making new ones. Hopefully, your HIV level will drop even further and over time your CD4 cell count rise higher and higher.

The good news is that you have more than doubled your CD4 cell count. You are also fortunate that you look healthy. If you are experiencing side effects to your HIV meds, you need to discuss this with your doctor as in most cases adverse events can be treated or the medication changed.

DW