Fast HIV progression - What does this mean?

[Ihavehope]

I think most of us have been told it normally takes someone about 10 years to develop AIDS. Some people get it quicker and some are LTP.

What does it mean though if you progress to AIDS in a year or two after infection? Does this mean your body is not Strong enough to comabat the virus? or Does this mean that the Virus is more potent than the average strain?

I asked my doctor this question and he simply said "Everyone deals with this disease different, the average number is anywhere from 7-10 years to develop AIDS it has nothing to do with the strain you have but instead the way your body is reacting to the virus."

So my main question would be, Those of us progressing to AIDS faster will have it worse than those who don't?

Is someone who has only been infected for 2 years and has a 200CD4 count immune system/ body equally damaged to someone living with HIV 10 years with the same CD4 count of 200?

[HIVworker]

Your doctor is spot on in my opinion.....and currently there are few markers to exactly tell how long the progression to AIDS would be. I guess I don't understand your question about "Have it worse" Could you rephrase it?

Rich

[Londonguy]

I think he means will the outlook be bleaker in those who progress to AIDS faster.

[jkinatl2]

Interesting. I managed to scream through seroconversion to full-blown AIDS and PCP within a year.

But that year was 1993-1994.

Not dead yet.

[RapidRod]

It took me a long time to progress, but when it happened, it happened with a bang. If I didn't have the histo to contend with, I don't think I would feel as bad. I would hope that I wouldn't always be fatigued. I'm hoping as soon as I get my new medication things will start looking better. I'll just have to wait and see.

[HIVworker]

If that is the question then, the outlook is not bleaker. Look at the number of people on here who have had T-cells down to the single figures and high viral loads and managed to turn it around. It's not easy, I'm not pretending it is, but it sounds like from your other threads that you have a good ID doctor.

R

[Mike89406]

I think most of us have been told it normally takes someone about 10 years to develop AIDS. Some people get it quicker and some are LTP.

What does it mean though if you progress to AIDS in a year or two after infection? Does this mean your body is not Strong enough to comabat the virus? or Does this mean that the Virus is more potent than the average strain?

I asked my doctor this question and he simply said "Everyone deals with this disease different, the average number is anywhere from 7-10 years to develop AIDS it has nothing to do with the strain you have but instead the way your body is reacting to the virus."

So my main question would be, Those of us progressing to AIDS faster will have it worse than those who don't?

Is someone who has only been infected for 2 years and has a 200CD4 count immune system/ body equally damaged to someone living with HIV 10 years with the same CD4 count of 200?

I don't think there is a logical way to predict the course of HIV/AIDS and life expectancy in everyone.
Statistics show us that people can in fact live past 20 or more years for example but since AIDS is in its youth meaning 25 yrs since the beginning of the crisis in the early 80's. I will still concede that not enough is known to make an individual model of how long till you die for example. Science is flawed and theories are constantly changing.

You could live to a ripe old age then again a bus could hit you in say two weeks. I have known some people who said in the 80's or 90's whenever some were diagnosed were in fact told to get they're affairs in order back then because they were going to die.

Having said all of that statistics also shows us that part of the sample size used in mortality rates from HIV/AIDS progression are people that live in the bottom of the totem pole for many reasons, to people living in the gold standard of health care etc... Different walks of life different levels of health and different parts of the spectrum  in they're progression. Sometimes people cannot or wont adhere to meds nor will they take care of themselves which could account for the short AIDS to death period in some.

[Ann]

I asked my doctor this question and he simply said "Everyone deals with this disease different, the average number is anywhere from 7-10 years to develop AIDS it has nothing to do with the strain you have but instead the way your body is reacting to the virus."

I agree with your doctor. I was diagnosed as part of a cluster and everyone in this cluster was infected roughly around the same time. Some of us were on meds very quickly (either immediately or within a couple years) while others took longer. I'm the last one still not on meds and I'm going on ten years. When some of us were diagnosed with such bad numbers (and the clinic was aware of the infection time-lines) they said we must have had a virulent strain - but then they couldn't explain the rest of us who did ok. And yes, we all had the same source of infection.

Ann


*on edit* LOL... I didn't mean we were roughly infected, I meant it happened to all of us within a few months - at the longest a year - of each other.

[Miss Philicia]

I have no way of really knowing how quickly I progressed seeing as how I didn't get tested for HIV until my diagnosis, but I figure it to be in the 5 year mark at most, but that would mean my first receptive anal intercourse did me in (late bloomer! though I had been sucking cock for 5 years by then)  And I had AIDS at diagnosis.

[koi1]

I don't know how long I have had this for. My last test was well over 13 years ago before the one that diagnosed me with AIDS. I do know that I suffered through a very emotionally traumatic year at work and noticed my health declining. I never got a seroconversion illness.

 At the end of that school year,  I got more horrible news and that is when I really started to notice the sickeness (lots of digestive issues). By the time I was tested five months after that, I had AIDS.

I believe stress and how well you take care of your body, have a lot to do with how quickly we progress to AIDS.  Add to that genetics, super infection/drug resistance and the progression could be very quickly. I know that there are certain genes that seem to protect some Caucasians from it, but I don't know a lot about that. My brother in-law's sister in-law, never got it even after having lots of unprotected sex with her husband who died in 1994. She even had an HIV- baby from him. She is Latina, so go figure.

rob