Hi. I am a 19 year old gay male who is HIV-. I am monogamously dating a guy who is 24 and is HIV+. We have been seeing each other for about 3 months now and have been having protected sex. However, though he has a low viral load, it is not undetectable. He has decided that he does not want to have sex until his viral load is undetectable. He asked me if I would be willing to wait for him and help him with achieving his goal of being undetectable. After some thought, I have agreed. Everyday I am going to remind him to take his meds when he should. My question is, what can he/we do though diet, nutrition, and exercise to help him become undetectable? And also, do you have any other suggestions and methods for decreasing his viral load? Thanks.

The best way to decrease viral load is to take 3 active medications to which HIV does not have resistance and taking these medications on time. A healthy life style may support immunological response. Depending on baseline viral load and other unknown factors, people reach undetectable (under 50 copies/ml) HIV viral load from between 4-26 weeks. It is difficult to predict how long it will take for a certain patient.

The fact that you are supporting him through this process is great!

Nelson