My CD4 numbers bother me....

[BubbaPat]

Hey y'all,

I know I'm going crazy over nothing but I need affirmation...
% CD4  15
ABSOLUTE CD4+ CELLS  420
ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES  2809

Are these okay?  On my lab report they are highlighted in RED and I know I currently have a cold and yet these numbers freak me out.  Plus the more I read, the more my brain becomes a pile of mush.
I'm not too smart, I know this and live with it.
Are these numbers okay? Should I be worried?

thanks,
Patrick

[Jim Allen]

Hey y'all,

I know I'm going crazy over nothing but I need affirmation...
% CD4  15
ABSOLUTE CD4+ CELLS  420
ABSOLUTE LYMPHOCYTES  2809

Are these okay?  On my lab report they are highlighted in RED and I know I currently have a cold and yet these numbers freak me out.  Plus the more I read, the more my brain becomes a pile of mush.
I'm not too smart, I know this and live with it.
Are these numbers okay? Should I be worried?

thanks,
Patrick

Is your viral load still suppressed? If so, I don't see the issue.

As for the CD4s they are not a measurement of overall health, and they naturally go up and down. I would be happy to give you some of my CD4 counts as I tend to have high numbers, although they are lazy and totally useless little fuckers.

Anyhow, a count of 420 is okay, and it's 15% so not too bad, stressing about them will not change anything and there isn't anything you can do to change them.

[Jim Allen]

I know I currently have a cold

Sorry to hear that and hope you feel better soon.

[zach]

I've never been over 240, in 13 years

I had to stop thinking about it, like a personal failure that nagged

Now I accept this is what hiv is for me

[BubbaPat]

Jim/Zach,

Thanks.  That helps.
I've just been a funk lately and number like that just bug me.  I'm so used to getting blood work done over the years and always being the prime candidate.  Now that I'm older, when numbers fall, gets me spooked.
I realize it's a mental and the numbers are just numbers.  My Doc says everything is good and we'll just keep an eye on things.
My young cousin told me I wasn't gay because I didn't get "dramatic" about some story he told me.  Maybe this is my subconscious trying to "make me gay".  LOL.

Thanks again guys.  A few kind words go a long way for me.

Bubba hugs!

[Tonny2]

                         Ojo.             Hi sorry n shine!, I love you and it hurt me seeing you hurting. If you are UD so you are fine. You, as mist of us, get some result’s highlighted because it’s difficult to get no rmal numbers. As long you see the big UD forget the rest, as long as your doctor says the contrary…hugs and get better…mss you

[BubbaPat]

                         Ojo.             Hi sorry n shine!, I love you and it hurt me seeing you hurting. If you are UD so you are fine. You, as mist of us, get some result’s highlighted because it’s difficult to get no rmal numbers. As long you see the big UD forget the rest, as long as your doctor says the contrary…hugs and get better…mss you

Thank you My Ray of Sunshine!!!!
I know it's just me and my need to have things properly categorized and noted that when I see something highlighted, I think bad.   I DO trust my doctor but hearing it from guys like you make me believe it.

Bubba Hugs from Texas kiddo!!  May your day be as sunshine as you!!

[Tonny2]

             ojo.               @my sunshinebubbapat…you always make my day by reading you. Forgive my typos but my vision is getting worse and even my damn cell phone, iphone13, is failing me and my warranty expired even though the display was replaced.



Anyway, if you want I can share with you my phone number so we can talk on the phone when you feel down, I might be able to bring to your soul when you need a RAY OF SUNSHINE, I’m not an expert in psychology but, having dealt with everything I’m dealing with since my dx, it might help you to get nderstand that there are lots of people who are living in worse situation than us…every day when I wake up, there is a ray of sunshine in my life, even if outside we have a blizzard, and this is thanks to you my bubba friend…love and hugs

[Loa111]

I struggle with lower CD4's too, I started with just CD4 22 5 years ago, took years to get over 300 & they just hoover around 320 approx +- a few.

Main thing is the virus is suppressed under 40. To be honest, I gave up thinking about CD4 numbers. There is nothing you or I can do except take our meds daily & put our trust in the doctors & treatment.     And of course try to live a health lifestyle, eat well, rest, stay fit etc.

[leatherman]

I realize it's a mental and the numbers are just numbers.  My Doc says everything is good and we'll just keep an eye on things.

During the 29 years that I've been taking HIV meds, my cd4s were always under 300 and usually closer to 225 for 24 of those years. What I learned from those two and half decades was simply this: how do I feel?

Since the cd4 count is just a quantitative measure (how many) and not a qualitative measure (how strong), this count really doesn't mean much about how healthy you really are. All it shows us, is that some people whose count falls to 200 or below tend to get sick with opportunistic diseases and that some people above that number don't. However there are people under 200 who don't get sick (I was only sick when my cd4s were under 100) and some with over 300 cd4s who are sick a lot. A lot of it is based on the genetics in your family that contribute to your immune system.

So when you're undetectable, rather than thinking about the cd4 count, think about how you "feel". Are you sick? Then take precautions to avoid other illnesses, treat the problems you have, reduce stress, and think positively. But if you're not sick, don't let a low cd4 get you down cause those bad boys must be working if you're not sick.

[BubbaPat]

Thanks all!  Your kind and supportive words have helped.  I kept telling myself something similar but my brain didn't want to listen.  Being up an down with depression, there were days I' wonder if I was getting sick, and I take after my momma.. I go to bed and don't get up except to potty break, or water.  I'll lay and sleep until I feel better.

Bubba hugs all around!!  Especially my Ray of Sunshine!