So I was admitted to a hospital for Acute Respatory failure and diagnosed with Pneumonia. They drew labs and discovered I was HIV 1 +. My CD4 was 27 and CD4% 2 , Viral Load was 300,000.
I was given a series of antibiotics and had my first appointment with a infectious disease doctor about 1.5 weeks after my release. I was then started on Biktarvy.
Everyone is saying I will be fine but I know that those numbers meant I had full blown AIDS.
Am I going to be ok? Will I be able to get to a undetectable leave and a healthily CD4? I honestly feel a lot better today then I did before entering the hospital.
Im guessing I have been positive for at least a decade, I am married and never cheated on my wife, she thankfully has tested Negative and her 3 month follow up is soon. Its believed that I contracted this through my job, I must have had an exposure that I just never realized. Is it safe for us to be intimate? Using protection and such? Or should we be waiting for my numbers to improve?
Thanks Scared to Death
daveR:
Hi
Welcome to the forum, always seems strange to say that as none of us want to be here.
Short answer, as long as you take your medication daily, and follow up with the Doctors appointments you will be fine. Your numbers are not good but if you look through this forum there are many people who started with worse and they are OK.
Biktarvy is an excellent treatment, I would expect that viral load to be dramatically reduced very quickly. Your CD4 count will increase as and when it does. Some people bounce back quicker than others.
For sex with your wife, use condoms until you have been undetectable for at least 6 months, possibly consider your wife taking PrEP.
I am sure one of the more experienced positive members will be along with more reassurance than I have to offer. I myself have been positive for only 8 years or so. Some on here for decades.
Once again, take the one pill as instructed. Avoid drugs that may cause interactions, including minerals with Biktarvy and live your life.
All the best Dave
Jim Allen:
Hiya,
Sorry to hear about the diagnosis and how sick you had become but glad you have access to healthcare and are now starting to feel better. :)
--- Quote ---Will I be able to get to a undetectable leave --- End quote ---
Sure, you should see a suppressed VL (below 200 copies) within a few months. Some people get there within a few months and others take 6 months but you will get there.
--- Quote ---a healthily CD4? --- End quote ---
Your CD4 count will likely improve but it's not as important as suppressing the viral load, it may also take time and keep in mind it's not a measurement of overall health.
--- Quote ---Its believed that I contracted this through my job, I must have had an exposure that I just never realized. --- End quote ---
Unlike some viruses, HIV is fragile and extremely limited in the ways it is transmitted, it also doesn't matter what happened, you are living with it and we are here to support you and the focus is getting back to health and living your life.
--- Quote ---Is it safe for us to be intimate? Using protection and such? Or should we be waiting for my numbers to improve? --- End quote ---
In short, if you do decide to have sex you should be using condoms correctly and consistently, with no exceptions and your wife could also consider PrEP, a combination of medications taken usually in a single pill daily by HIV-negative people to reduce the chance of getting HIV from having sex.
However, once you have achieved a suppressed viral load for at least 6 months, you can't sexually pass on HIV.
If you have more questions or concerns about the sex part, you can post them in this section: https://forums.poz.com/index.php?board=28.0 Thanks.
Grasshopper:
Hi, sorry to have to welcome you to the Forums.
With those lab results....YES you have full blown AIDS.
Good thing is that you started with antiretroviral therapy.
Biktarvy is an excellent option.
Take your medications diligently as prescribed by your doctor.
First thing you'll notice is a steady if not a drastically drop in the viral load. And that is the sole purpose of the hiv medications....is to halt the viral replication in your body.
Next thing you'll notice....but you will have to muster some patience...is a slow and steady recovery of your CD4 count. The primary goal is to reach at least a count of 200. A very important thing to remember is that you started therapy with a low (Nadir) CD4 count....and this could mean a slow recovery of the CD4 count.
CD4 count is by no means an absolute measure of Health. A count above 200 means that you are relatively safe from acquiring opportunistic infections.
So hang in there, maintain your sanity and eventually things will work out fine.
(I tested positive in 1992....been to hell and back from AIDS, and I am now thriving)
Best wishes
Tonny2:
ojo. Hello there!
Welcome to the forums We are here for you. You are going to be fine as long as you take your medication as prescribed. About your sex life, I suppose you have been having sex with your wife before your TX and she is negative, I wonder if that means that she’s one of those persons who can’t Acquired HIV, I think it’s a good topic for your doctor to talk about, meanwhile, use condoms… you are not alone, we are here for you. Please keep us posted….hugeps