Extremely Tcells Count LOW as 4

[canalcasting]

Hello ,  I am scared, been HIV + for few months now but couldn’t' start treatment because of Insurance issue. Now that I have that under control, did some blood test and ended up having the scary news. Virus Load over 250 000 and Tcells Count of 4.  Doctor said it is not good and started treatment ( sustiva and Truvada ) and said to come back in 2 weeks, but still , I am freaked out and I am wondering if I am going to last that long... 4 is like not having any protection , am I wrong ? I feel fine, despite of few side effects in the middle of the night, and less sleeping , but I do eat well,  Just think all is in my head and I am stressing out.. which I know is not good.... Anyway has that low of Tcells count ?

Thanks for your replies...

[megasept]

Virus Load over 250 000 and Tcells Count of 4...I am wondering if I am going to last that long... 4 is like not having any protection , am I wrong ? Just think all is in my head and I am stressing out..

Thanks for your replies...

Dear Canalcasting:

Welcome to our "club".

I don't know the medical side of what you're asking but let me share two anecdotes that might offer some assurance (rejection of "...if I am going to last that long").

1) I had a drink years ago with a guy who had been in the under 10 CD4 count for a good while, and 5 at that moment.

2) I have a 26-year-POZ friend who had 4 CD4 count for a long time. He got up to 12 CD4 a couple years ago (plus the unusual news that his VL went to undetectable) on Insentress plus _________, and is very much alive today; he's been positive roughly the entire quarter century since we first met.

Utilizing momentary "healthy denial", any day when you feel "normal" or OK, by doing the things that matter to you will enrich your life (and the lives of others). Doing something you have always wanted to begin, is another idea. Both work for me.

You have a fine attitude, and that counts a lot!

Good Health!
   -megasept

[franfrog]

canalcasting,
I was diagnosed 4 years ago with a cd4 of 52 and to top it off PCP.  I thought the same way you did, can mt body actually recover from this, can they go above 52?  Well, I just want to say, have faith.  Now that you have the medication, take it and stick with it.  My cd4 has fluctuated but I have gotten to as high as 800's my last bloodwork.  I know it seems almost impossible, but it is not.  You have to be strong, adhere to you meds and you will come out of that.  How fast, no one knows, we all move at our own pace, but you are going to. 
Let us know how everything goes.

[YaKaMein]

Canal,
Welcome aboard! My CD4 track was as low as 6 ... I'm still here and doing well on the same drugs as you.
Find ways to reduce the stress, take the meds, and start planning living your future! Let us know how it's going. - YaKa

[Dale Parker]

H Canal:
I just tested positive 2 months ago yesterday.  My CD4 is 21,  C4/8 ratio is 0 and viral load is 500,000+.
Maybe I'm too stupid to be scared but, truth of the matter is that other than a few side affects from the Kaletra and Truvada I feel great.  So far (knock on wood) my health has been between good and great.  
    I had about 3 weeks where I was looking for insurance to cover my meds which are costing $2300 a month.  The drug plan I'm on has a deductable which is based on last years earnings which was $60,000.  I've been unemployed since September of last year now get $1,500 a month on unemployment.  I had to go to welfare as a hardship case to get them to pay the deductable.  I had to switch to medical unemployment, declare bankruptcy and apply for government disability. I applied for subsidized housing which I just got. I have to move b4 the end of June. All this in 3 months. To top things off my car was stolen last November and my cat of 19 years went blind and had to be put down. I also had to formally come out to my family.  Talk about stress. I felt like the carpet had been ripped out from under me. 90% of the life that I spent 50 years building has been totally wiped out.  Although it's not great, I plan on rebuilding my life bigger and better than it was.  I plan on appreciating my family, friends and live life more than ever before.
   4 times in the last 2 months I honestly thought I was going to die from extreme stress. Problems with getting the drugs, getting housing, and such at times seemed impossible.  The doctor wrote a letter to the housing people and checked off the box that said my life expectancy was less than 2 years.  First thing I did after reading that letter was make an appointment with him for Friday March 28th 2014 at 4:15pm.  That's exactly (almost to the minute) 5 years to the date and time I found out I was positive.  
  For a while I thought that I was going to be the AIDS poster boy for having the lowest CD4 count. I had trouble finding anyone under 150. Thanks to this site I found out I'm / we are rare but not that special. :-( No need to plan your funeral yet. Many of the under 50's are alive and doing well now with CD4 counts between 200 and 400 or more. I'm sure that there will be a few bumps in our roads but if we keep taking our meds and have a positive attitude we can expect to be around for a very long time.
  
Wishing you a great and long life,
Dale

P.S.  It would be great if the directors of this site would create a category for those of us with CD4's of under 100 so we wouldn't feel so alone.
  

[a2z]

Good luck, I think you are going to do great.

[BM]

Hey canalcasting. As the other guys have said, try not to worry. You're in safe hands with your doctor now and you're on meds. The dangerous thing would have been not getting things sorted out and still not being on meds.

Does your doctor also have you on antibiotics? Specifically Azithromycin (Zithromax) or Clarithromycin (Biaxin), and co-trimoxazole (Septra, Bactrim, or Septrin)?