Helo Professor Weidman I am a 37 year old single gay white man & have been taking ATRIPLA since January 2007. I had some blood work done on the 10th January 2012 and my viral load read below 20 copies & my CD4 read 35% is that good the CD4 % I mean? The doctor told me my kidney & liver function was all perfect and my cholesterol and blood sugar count where excellent too. So what I want to know is will the ATRIPLA keep working against the HIV virus for the rest of my life I HAVE NEVER EVER MISSED A DOSE & don't plan to either!!!! I have NEVER had any side affect from the ATRIPLA in the 5 years that I have been taking it will I expect to in the future? I am just curious to know that's all. Thank you for time Professor & happy new year. Rae

Hello- First congratulations on never ever missing a dose! You really should be proud. A CD4% >34% is in the normal range, and really is another measure of how well your immune system is working. Sounds like yours is doing great! In terms of how long the Atripla can work, we don't know the "expiration date" of our current medications, because we are still writing the book on the success of these meds. Triple combination therapy has really only been around since 1996 but there is no reason to think it should stop working in someone doing as well as you. I think you can expect a long, healthy life (barring any other habits you may have like bungee jumping, lion taming, etc). Take care and happy new year to you,

LHW