Slow to No Rise in CD4+ Cells

[gabbyny]

I'm a a bit demorlaized or maybe just impatient with last weeks numebrs. I've been on Meds now since Nov 2004 (24 months). CD4 count at the start was 89 and after 24 months is 230. VL has been undetectable <50 from the beginning of treatment and remains so. CD4+ seems to have plateaued for the past nine months (234 to 230) after the sharp rise from 89 to 220 and an initial nine month period in the 200-215 range. I know each person is individual and there is no answer to the question as to how much immune system recovery one might expect. My general health and sense of well being have been good. Sustiva/Truvada and now Atripla have been relatively easy on my system in terms of side effects. I'm becoming anxious that I may have reached a peak for my CD4+s and it is rather a low level.

[Robert]

A friend of mine on the same meds and it has taken him over 3 years to top 300.  His percentage is around 21 or 22% which is decent.  He started his regime after being diagnosed with PCP and had a t-cell count of 7.  He feels fine.   He's healthy, eats well, exercises and really has no adverse side effects.  But he has just had a slow response.  Don't know what else to tell you, only that you are not alone.

robert

[RapidRod]

gabbyny, the lower our Tcells are at the start the longer it takes us to build them back up. Just hang in there and try now NOT to worry yourself.   

[chemistry001]

Come on gabbyny, give them T-cells some positive energy, don't let doubt creep in, there is too much to get down about in this world. When you get 5 min in a day say (or shout) to yourself " COME ON YOU LITTLE BUGGERS, KICK ASS" then give a loud Whoo Hooo.

This works for me

((((((((((Hugz))))))))))  and a big Whoo Hooo from me

Much Love

Paul xXx

[randym431]

Sometimes I think how you generally feel is a better indication. Like when I started I had 83 cd4. Now after a year it seems to hang between 430-450, but I noticed back when they went above 250 that I just semed to feel norml again. And those little things like pimples, skin things and some toe nail things just went away. Also as my % slowly climbs I think thatis a good indicator. With my cd4 now at 430, my % has went from 5% to 16% during the treatment on meds. At least one number is making a constant upward trend. I think the cd4 is more like a stair step chart. A bit of an increase, then a level off or even slight drop period. Then a long flat period. Then another step up increase.
But I go more so by how I feel and knowing all my little skin thingies have gone. I actually now look better and feel better than most people non-hiv I know in my age group.

But that is also why I stress getting on meds so strongly. Its common for the virus to go quickly to <50, but getting those cd4 numbers to rise is not so easy and usually very hard. So the sooner the better with meds. I hate it when doctors let folks wait till they hit the 300's before starting meds.

[gabbyny]

Thanks guys. I'm back on track. I guess the day I went to get the latest labs had me just hoping I could skip the patient hard work of hanging in there which I am generally quite good at dealing with. I can always count on you all to say the right thing....a little hand holding and just enough a smack up the side of my head to get me back in the game. Thanks again.  And I will pay your gifts forward. Paul

[libvet]

Been there, done that.  Started with a count of 22 and the climb out of the danger zone was painfully slow.

It took a couple of years to get my counts over 200 despite an undetectable viral load within a few weeks of HAART.

It's scary and it sucks, but how do you feel?  Have you been sick?  Getting any OI's?

I ask that because even though I had a pretty low t-cell count throughout that period, I didn't experience any real illnesses.

That's a measurement of health to keep in mind. 

Even 7 years after starting HAART,  I have been stable at around 350 for the last year or so.  The important thing for me, however, is that I am not sick.