How long does it take for meds to start working?

[parteboy]

I'm basically on atripla and started 4 weeks ago. I just got my latest cd4 count and it was lower(199) than my previous (216) but the % increased from 14% to 18% still waiting on vl but was wondering if anyone had any experience for me to draw on....

[randym431]

Hi. Glad you started the meds while your cd4 is still pretty decent. The meds are already working. Dont be surprised if your vl is under 100 or even undetectable. And vl control is the whole ball game. I know its easy to be in a rush for things to improve asap, but it does take time, so try not to dwell or worry needlessly. The meds will knock that vl down in short time, but immune recovery is up to your body and takes longer. It took me 2 years to go from cd4 of 85 back to 500. But controlling the vl is the key. Your % looks pretty good too, so you'll do well. Just take things as easy as you can and come here for lots of support and advice. A good place to be...

[budndallastx]

Don't focus on the absolute CD4 count since it can vary by a large range.  The CD4 percentage is what's important and it shows you've improved.  Curious as to what your VL results will come back as.  For me, I went from a VL of 22K to Undetectable within a month of starting my meds.  I am thinking good thoughts for you and believe you'll be happy with the results.

Have you had any side effects to Atripla?

[Miss Philicia]

A 4% increase in your cd4 % FAR OUTWEIGHS what is a very nominal change in the cd4 count which fluctuates wildly anyway.

[J.R.E.]

Hello,

This link from the lessons will give you some additional info. All of us can react differently to the medication.


http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/WhenToStart_4761.shtml



Ray

[parteboy]

Just recieved my vl results and they are 314. Down from 60k. Gee they must be working.....

[J.R.E.]

Just recieved my vl results and they are 314. Down from 60k. Gee they must be working.....

Thats quite the drop in Viral load. Yep,....their working !


Take care-----Ray

[parteboy]

just got my latest test results and my cd4 is now 407 and 19% and my vl is just 86.... Wow. I've finally gotten the vivid dreams... Has anyone noticed that if you wake up and go back to sleep you can go back into your dream?

[BlkRedBonenla]

My experience was similiar to Bud N Dallas. When I started ATRIPLA about 9 months ago my VL was 50K. In about one month I dropped to undetectable. My cd4 barely hiccuped, but I was told that was OK as they key thing was getting the amount of VL down. I did get the rash, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. No problems thus far. Stay engaged with your numbers and don't be afraid to ask questions. If you have a doctor who seems not to take your inquiries seriously, think twice about that doctor. I came to my HIV specialist as firm HIV dissident. I am still in that I don't think medicines are the cure for what ails us but it's all we may have for now ... so my doctor - also an HIV/AIDS reseracher at UCLA - is used to my questions and concerns, and patiently haveing these conversations with me.

[koksi]

I just got my first post-med numbers last week.  Unfortunately, they did not do CD4 tests, which I guess is just how they do it here: they don't expect to see much change in CD4 right away.  But after one month on the drugs, which I started back in September, my VL went from very very high (see below) to much much lower.  So apparently things are working! 

For me, I could *feel* the effect of the drugs soon, within just 5 or 6 days of starting them:  I felt a surge in energy that I wrote about elsewhere in the forum.  This 'subjective' response in how I 'feel' happened pretty fast and was amazing:  a huge relief after months of feeling like the waking dead.

Now I am just hyperattentive to what's occurring in my body and how I feel.

I'm glad your meds are working!   

[Miss Philicia]

Yep, agreed.  As someone who endured slightly over a decade with an unsurppressed viral load, once I *finally* found an HIV regimen that actually worked the changes were fairly instant -- and from what I've read this is generally the case.

I went from ~50,000 VL to 135 in one month, though I'll add in my case my cd4's did in fact bump up considerably as well, though that's quite outside the normal situation.  May have had something to do with the fact that I was already in the ~600 range at the time. 

But yes, the very best thing was that I could physically feel the change.  A decade of a high viral load really greatly contributes to detrimental fatigue.  Just walking five blocks to the supermarket was tiring, but after my meds started working I felt almost like I could run.  Quite impressive, actually and a reminder that for many of us we should be so thankful for the recent advances in HIV treatment.

[sdcabincrew74]

My viral load went from "unmeasurable" over 1,000,000 to 1975 in 14 days.  The meds work fast when they work right.  It did take another four months to reach undetectable though.....stayed undetectable ever since.....the meds do NOTHING for your CD4 count.  That comes back as the VL drops because your immune system begins to rebuild.  That can take a LONG time for some and in others it is quick.  I went from CD4 of 22 to 195 in 14 days.  But it has taken another two years to get up to 500.