Undetectable however my t-cells dropped after bell's palsy.

[Juan1970]

I was recently diagnose on 11/4/2022. My t-cells were EXTREMLY low when I went to the doctor. I started taking meds immediately since I was sick and fragile. Three months later I just tested undetectable however my t-cells dropped when I got bell's palsy twice since then nothing too drastic , however everything scares me.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

Sorry to hear about the bell's palsy.

What do you mean they dropped? Can you share some details, like the numbers?

[Juan1970]

I got to 265 , then after taking some meds for the bell's palsy , the next test was 171 and on this last test its 145 and viral load is undetectable.

[Juan1970]

My doctor was more concern with me being undetectable than me cells counts.

[Jim Allen]

Besides the bell's palsy, how are you feeling/doing? You mentioned being scared, I am sorry to hear that, can you elaborate a little?

Also, how are you finding the treatment? Are you taking any antibiotics next to HAART?

I got to 265 , then after taking some meds for the bell's palsy , the next test was 171 and on this last test its 145 and viral load is undetectable.

The CD4 counts are perfectly fine.

Your total count seems really stable, although CD4% is a better overview. See the total CD4 counts can jump even by 100 within the same day, let alone over a few weeks and before you even had the viral load suppressed.

Now the viral load is suppressed, your body can stop dealing with a losing battle and focus on healing, and HIV can't continue to do unchallenged measured and unmeasured damage to you, and the CD4 counts become far less relevant once you have become stable above 200 then there is not much point in even measuring them.

My CD4 counts dropped a while back by nearly 400 points during visits, meaning nothing. There is a thread where a lot of members post their results, it might be reassuring to read some of it if you like: https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=66320.msg

My doctor was more concern with me being undetectable than me cells counts.

I was just writing the end of my reply and was going to ask what your doctor said. They are perfectly correct to be focusing on the viral load and not the CD4 count.

Also, once you have a suppressed viral load for 6+ months and you keep taking your HIV meds, it means you can't sexually pass it on. See: https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=71848.0

Sex might not be on your mind at the moment, but it's good to know for the future.