Update, as I know I haven't been here for a long time.

[Judester]

So brief update because I have too low of an attention span to bring you up to speed two years. Last I posted was when I had just been diagnosed February of 2014. Left the rehab facility I was at because I was so devastated (if you want to read the rest I'm sure you can go to my profile.)

So, I'm still actively using drugs, and have no desire to quit at this time, so please don't preach to me. I am almost 100% self-sufficient now (meaning no parental financial help). And best of all I am now UNDETECTABLE! 

So I really had a quick question, they just started a new program where I can see my test results the minute they are available. My test results say the following for HIV anyway,

log10 HIV-1 RNA .........TNP (What does this mean?)
% CD 4 Pos Lymph...... 42.7
Absolute CD 4 Helper...982

I just want a understanding of what all these numbers mean and if they are good?

Thanks, guys.

[Jim Allen]

TNP - Thymus nuclear proteins
CD4 count is 982
% is 42.7

So your test reports CD4% = 42.7%, that means that this is the % of your lymphocytes that are CD4 cells. The average normal CD4% for HIV negative adults is about 40%, but that varies in person to person anything from about 30% to 65% can be "normal"

https://www.poz.com/basics/hiv-basics/understanding-lab-work-blood-tests

Jim

[InRecovery]

I know what you are feeling. I've been there. I was addicted to heroin for five years. I tested positive when I was in rehab also. I was terrified. They told me I had only 5-7 years left. Even then, I still feel so much peace and relief that I had stopped my drug use. Being addicted to drugs is harder than being HIV positive. That was 23 years ago. Life is so much easier now. I don't downplay the seriousness of HIV, but my life is so much easier and better without drugs. It's not that I don't get those thoughts and urges from time to time. I've learned to keep busy and let myself have fun sometimes. After rehab, I got a part time job that was my salvation. I gradually worked up to full time. I got so busy that I rarely thought about using drugs anymore. As time goes along, your desire to use will be less and less. 12-step programs don't work for everyone. I got more help from dialectical behavioral therapy. Although many people say 12-step programs keep them clean, I have seen a very high failure rate. I rarely ever attend the meetings anymore. I stay in therapy which helps me. I had to figure out what factors were driving my drug use. I grew up in a toxic home environment. As a result, I developed multiple types of anxiety disorders. Heroin helped me calm down, sleep, and feel happy--things I had never experienced before. Then, everything fell apart. I have never regretted quitting 23 years ago. Imagine the relief you will finally feel when your body no longer craves that drug. I don't have to worry anymore about how I am going to get my next hit.

[bocker3]

log10 HIV-1 RNA .........TNP (What does this mean?)

My thought on this result is that "TNP" means, "Test Not Performed".

If you are UD, the HIV-1 RNA result would be a non-numerical result, thus it would not be possible to calculate  a log10 HIV-1 RNA result.

Mike

[Jim Allen]

@Judester

Did you doc go over the results with you at all?