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Carrie
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Reged: 11/11/07
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Posts: 58
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When does a person start taking ARV meds?
#234341 - 12/10/07 10:59 PM
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My boyfriends CD4 count is over 1100 and his Viral count is under 400. From my own researching, this appears to still be ok (considering the circumstances of course). He said though that today at the dr they want to start him on antiretroviral medications.
Is this typical with only being diognosed 9 months ago?
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vokz
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Grand Master
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Reged: 09/06/07
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Posts: 164
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Loc: London, UK
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Carrie,
Without knowing what else is going on, it really isn’t possible to say.
On the face of it, you boyfriend would have several years before he NEEDS to start treatment; but there is a school of thought that says that if he was only recently infected, then hitting the virus now, whilst he still has most of his natural immune function intact, will be to his benefit in the long term .. and will make him less susceptible to many of the other diseases that undoubtedly are more common in people living with HIV.
Given his other recent (and serious) complications, it could also be argued that it would be prudent to hit his HIV hard and early .. especially if there is a concern that HIV may have been a contributory factor .. OR, concern that a more advanced HIV infection could affect his ability to recover from similar future complications .. OR, that similar complications in the future could affect his ability to tolerate anti-HIV treatment in the future.
Good doctors treat the individual, rather than simply the HIV. Your boyfriend has lots of complicating factors, so it certainly wouldn’t seem unreasonable that a good doctor would be advising him to start treatment sooner rather than later.
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Robert1
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All Star
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Reged: 05/29/07
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There is no reason he should start medications.How long has he been infected? Also why in the world would his doctors want to start him???? At 1100 his CD4 count is stellar. Is he seeing a true HIV specialist?
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TRex
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Master
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Reged: 01/09/07
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Posts: 129
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Loc: California, USA
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What was the reasoning the doctors used for wanting to start him on meds now???? Always get fully armed with information so he can make informed decisions.
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dj1979
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Guru
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Reged: 03/02/06
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Loc: rural upstate NY
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I don't mean to offend you, but is it possible you got your numbers mixed up? It would seem more likely that his CD4 is under 400 and his viral load is over 1100. People with HIV do not usually have a CD4 over 1000.
That would explain why the doctor wants to start therapy - the new CDC guideline is to treat when the CD4 reaches 350, which he may be close to.
Just a thought....
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Carrie
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Reged: 11/11/07
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Well it looks like I misunderstood what he was saying. He's not needing medications right now.
Thanks for your responces though everyone.
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slitter028
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Reged: 10/16/07
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Posts: 16
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Loc: Carrollton, Kentucky
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Jeez...Those numbers are excellent, I don't think most docs would recommend starting treatment right now, but personally I would. When i was diagnosed my cd4 was about 500, which isn't "bad" per se, and my viral load was through the roof.....this was in 1999...I started on meds and my VL went to undetectable within 6 mos and my cd4 jumped to over 700...Which is excellent....I was on meds from 1999 to 2004 then, unfortunetly, ran into some legal problems and was thrown in jail, so i just stopped taking everything, so for 2.5 years i didn't seek any medical help for hiv. Upon returning to the same clinic, I had labs done to see what effect not taking any HIV meds for that long would have...I was scared to death, because i thought for sure the i would have NO CD4 and my viral load was gonna be sky high....Actually just the opposite...After 2.5 years without any HIV meds my CD4 was 766 and my viral load was 56,000....Most doctors wouldn't recommennd treatment with those numbers, but fortunetly I have a Doc that leaves that decision up to me, and i decided to start meds again, Trizivir+Viread....I will have labs drawn again for the first time since re-starting meds, so i'm curious to see what they've done....I had a genotype test done and it says that I'm good to go for ALL HIV meds, even the ones i've been taking for so long, so that's good news....Best of luck
Ray
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Best of luck...Remember, EVERY PILL, EVERY DAY
Ray
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