Consultants 'inconclusive' results!?

[joanne]

Thank you to all those for your help and words of encouragement in previous posts.
I have just returned from my first meeting with mums Consultant and I would like to hear from anyone who may have had a similar experience.
Her TCell count is reading 7, yet her Viral Load is reading just 50?
They are in the process of retesting her Viral Load as this is not a normal reading for someone testing HIV+ who have just started meds and with a TCell count of just 7.
Results will be back in a few days.
He also said that they are doing tests to determine if she has HIV1 or HIV2 but said treatment for either is relatively the same. Would he be testing for HIV2 because of low Viral Load reading, perhaps because it is a slower virus? I forgot to ask.
He said he doesn't want to give us false hope as mum has been tested 3 times now and all tests came back HIV+ but he said there is a 0.1% chance that her HIV test could actually be negative as he retested a patient once before with an initial reading of HIV+ who after two retests was actually HIV- but he said it is highly unlikely. I think he said that person ended up being diagnosed with Lupus.
He said it is more probable that there has been an error in the reading of the count of the Viral Load and he is probably right. Only time will tell.
A brain scan is being taken this afternoon, this is nothing to do with the HIV, its because mum is experiencing 'tremors', though he also said this could be down to the anti-sickness drug she had been receiving, these have since been withdrawn.
Tomorrow she is to receive an Endoscopy, lesions have been seen on a scan of her oesophagus and he wants to determine whether these have been caused by the candida (thrush).
On a positive note, mum has gained 4 lb!
Any input on this would be gratefully received.

Joanne

[md]

Yes, a viral load 0f 50 (which is verging on "undetectable" with some tests) does seem unusual along with a CD4 count of 7  in somone who has only been on medication for a few days.

In an earlier post you had mentioned her TCell / CD4 count as being 200 a few weeks ago. Although this number can fluctuate quite a lot a drop from 200 to 7 in only a few weeks also seems unlikely.

So, my best guess is that your consultant is right and somehow the tests got screwed up.

Glad to hear that she has gained some weight - that is good news.

Hope you get the new test results back soon and that they make more sense.

[joanne]

Hi md,
yes, it was actually a week ago since mum told me they had told her her 1st TCell count of last week was 200, I don't know who gave her that information, or if indeed it was correct, but talking with the Consultant yesterday, it was a definate 7.
Hopefully we will get a more conclusive result on the Viral Load by the weekend.

Joanne.