About Resistance

[male31]

I am wondering if I am taking my medicine on time without skipping any dose, am I going to have any resistance or med failure in the future?

my second question, i started medication when my CD4 was very low (around 100) and now it is increasing slowly too (250). What is the expected high number of CD4 i expect? and how long it might take?

Many thanks

[phildinftlaudy]

Hi male31-
For those who have not had any previous resistance to a drug regimen you should be okay as long as your staying compliant with your dosing schedule.

In regards to the cd4 count, everyone's body is different and there is no way of knowing what your baseline (pre-HIV) count was, so there would be no way of knowing what the expected high could be.

I was at an educational lecture a few weeks ago and the doc giving the presentation basically said what my doc has also said and that is that cd4 % is actually a better number to track --- he basicallly said that if a person has 700 cd4s but they are not functioning correctly then it is no different then someone having 300 that are strong and performing correctly.  The percentage has something to do with the cd4s in comparison with the lymphocytes and a higher percentage is better even if cd4s are a little low.  Doc said the highest he has seen is 47%.  My last labs showed a drop in cd4 but my highest cd4 % ever (41%).  Hope this info helped.

[male31]

Thank you so much phildinftlaudy on this info
my Dr never told me about the importance of the CD4 percentage.
I will check my printed lab tests results when i go back to home, and i hope the percentage is really increasing.
I started atripla three months ago, I was taking Duovir and Efavir.
I had no problem with the old meds but this was when i was in the middle east, now when i came here i glad to take only one pill at night instead of the old ones, esp when the minstry of health there is out of stock and they used to get generic meds without compinations, i had then to take more than 4 pills every day, and the monring pills made me like a stupid.

i have one more question plz, if i am late one hour on my medicines, do I have to tell my doctor to make viral laod test to see if there's any resistance?
Can we feel the resistance or only the lab tests show it (let's say in its first stages)?

Thank you

[Miss Philicia]

i have one more question plz, if i am late one hour on my medicines, do I have to tell my doctor to make viral laod test to see if there's any resistance?
Can we feel the resistance or only the lab tests show it (let's say in its first stages)?

Thank you

Being an hour late won't cause resistance.

[male31]

Thank You all

[OneTampa]

Male31,

Please note that everyone's body and reactions are different. However, Phildinftlaudy's statement mirrors my experience.  As someone HIV positive now 25 years, I remember when my CD4s were climbing from less than a 100 and finally got in the 300s and stayed there for a while (I was thrilled), the Doctor said that I had some hard working T-Cells and that they were performing like the numbers were almost double.  Now that we routinely measure and report %, the Doctor's comment made sense as  Phildinftlaudy states.  My labs a few months ago were 702 CD4 at 32%.

Also, as Ms. P. states, the one hour delay you mentioned in the taking your meds should not have an adverse effect.

Best.

[male31]

Thanks for the useful info.

I am very happy to hear that the CD4 my stuck on some level then after a while it goes back up.
my new CD4 result will be on July 13.
I am making a test every 4 weeks, but i skipped my previous lab test because i traveled out.
hope this coming one will hold nice news for me,
i saved all ur replies on my laptop.
Best