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Main Forums => Someone I Care About Has HIV => Topic started by: motherinneed on October 09, 2009, 08:02:45 am

Title: please help explain lab results???
Post by: motherinneed on October 09, 2009, 08:02:45 am
Last time I posted my son had labs in July
Cd3/cd4 35
cd3/cd4 helper ABS  439 LOW
cd3/cd4 suppress 29
cd3/cd4 suppress Abs 365
Cd4/cd8 ration  1.20
absolute lympocyte 1269
HIV-1 copies 133
logocopies/ml 2.12

We were told it is  just  a "blib" and these happen so do not worry. My son got worried and the MD told him he could take labs in sept if he needed to.

September labs
cd3/cd4  helper 34
cd3/cd4 helper ABS  475LOW
cd3/cd8 suppres  31
cd3/cd8 suppres abs 427
cd4/cd8 ratio    1.11
absolute lymphocyte  1388

HIV- 1  RNA
less than 48
logocopies less than 1.68 the note said with this test they cannot determine the level of virus in the sample. Could this all be lab errors?

So the CD3/CD4 helper ABS is still  low..438 to 475 but it went up.. is this still a blip, is he drug resistant? did he take the labs too soon after the first blip?
The HIV-1 RNA copies went down..is this just a lab error or is this good? With the genotype HIV-1 for RT and PR gene mutations the lab note send there was insufficent virus or and INHIBITORY substance in the sample What does that mean?

I need to give these results to my son today and I would like to offer him information as mothers tend to overreact and stressout and I do not want to do that. I want to be rational. So still okay or need to worry about drug resistance?

Thank you.
Motherinneed



Title: Re: please help explain lab results???
Post by: Ann on October 09, 2009, 09:29:55 am
Mother,

What all that means, in a nutshell, is that his virus is undetectable and that's a good thing. It's the goal of treatment. His CD4 count isn't all that low either and it's going in the right direction.

Relax, he's doing well.

Ann
Title: Re: please help explain lab results???
Post by: motherinneed on October 09, 2009, 03:35:03 pm
thank you very much Ann. Mothers can get stressed quickly! Bless you.
Title: Re: please help explain lab results???
Post by: onemoretime on November 08, 2009, 08:27:50 pm
less then 48 means undetectable.   that is what the labs always say. its ok.  his numbers look good.   Give him lots of love and remember it takes time for them to get over the shock of hiv.  its great that your so supportive. 
Title: Re: please help explain lab results???
Post by: pos2007 on November 08, 2009, 09:11:16 pm
Those number are pretty  good. They   do  vary,  even  between   which  lab  does  the  test  or  the  time  of  day.  MY  CD4  has varied as  much  as 30%.  I  hope  one  day  to  get as  good  a numbers  as  your  son  has. What you  have  to  watch  for  is  1.  Viral  load V.L.   going  up.   and 2. CD4  going  down as a long  term  trend over  several 3  month  periods. With a June CD439 and  September  at 475,  it  means if  you  would  chart  it,  that  his  CD4 trend line is  going  up  which means  his  immunity is getting  BETTER.  All the  test  is capable of detecting  is a  viral  load down  to 48 copies.  That  is  why  they  call  undetectable <48.    With  the   kind  of  numbers  he  has,  he  should  do  well.   :)