My CD4 count has steadily risen to remarkably good levels in excess of 1,000 the last three tests. My baseline is 34 in 2002 when I had lots of OI's and related problems.

My initial regimen was Kaletra, Ziagen, and Retrovir. In 2005 Retrovir was replaced with Viread.

I'm lucky and have no side effects and my metabolic functions are all normal. I have had no health complications since 2003.

Still, I'm concerned about the long-term effects of HIV meds on my liver & kidneys. Am I crazy to contemplate a treatment holiday? My primary doc thinks I am given my baseline and lack of side effects or apparent problems with liver/kidney functions.

Thanks for your future answer.

Thanks for your post.

I'm not sure about crazy, but if I were you I wouldn't be even remotely thinking about a treatment interruption.

Your very, very low initial CD4 count predicts that your counts will fall precipitously when you stop - effectively reversing the years of hard work at taking your medications and putting you at very significant risk of having a complication.

In my view, if you've had good ongoing monitoring (clinical and laboratory), and haven't yet had any significant drug-related toxicity, it's pretty unlikely that you'll have any in the near future. Make sure that your doctor focuses not just on your viral load, but is also monitoring your liver, kidney and heart health too.

I hope this helps. BY