how long ago could my man get HIV ? We just got the first blood test results.

[bi28chicago]

So his C4 count is 407 and viral load is over 12,000. He got medications and starting the treatment right away. I know that T cells should be over 500 but I think that viral load is very  high. Am I right ?

And also how long ago, when he could get infected having this numbers today in mind ?
He is 27 yo and healthy so far. 

He just is trying to figure it out too. His ex is positive and we think he got it from him

[Ann]

That VL is actually quite low and there's nothing wrong with his CD4 either. He did not need to start meds immediately.

You cannot tell when he was infected going by his numbers. Mine are similar and I've been poz over thirteen years, no meds. Yet some people can have numbers in the 200's and 90,000 to 100,000 within a few years of infection. You simply cannot tell by looking at the numbers.

His numbers aren't bad at all. He'll likely go undetectable quickly and his CD4s should also rise fairly quickly too.

There's not much point in trying to figure out when he got infected. With hiv you've got to look forward, not backward. Onward and upward!

[eric48]

Hi,

While there was not a pressing, vital need to start the meds, please kindly bear in mind that he/you should not have seconds thoughts about it. It is a personnal choice, yet, once you have started, there is no way back.

Once you have started, treatment interruptions should be considered only with his doctor.

Ann is quite right in that there is little medical benefit in knowing when the infection took place and noway to find out based on numbers.

If he can recall (and if he has notced) a health episode looking like the so-called seroconversion or prime infection (flu, extreme fatigue, rash...) he may figure out.

He may want to inform past / present and of course future intimate acquaintances (I mean here people with a physical relationship) of this matter . In that respect, trying to figure out when it occurred may be helpfull

Also, these first numbers, aka baseline, are not that bad at all, with modern meds he can expect a quick and good recovery. Furtheron, once he treatment has taken full effect, the risk of transmitting the virus is lowered (but not zero: protection is recommended ;-)

Cheers

Eric