Weird viral load tests

[Da2020]

Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed on Jul 1st and the VL was 57,200. I moved to a different city to be with family and met with a different doctor for treatment. They did a VL test again before starting treatment and it came out as 468,000. The two tests are only 8 days apart. I asked the doctor about it and they said it could be due to a difference in the testing assay, but they are both PCR tests and done by the same lab ( in different cities). Is it possible that my VL shot up 9x in less than 10 days?

[Matths]

Hi, while I’m not an infectious disease doctor or virologist, my interpretation of your labs is as follows: yes, this increase makes perfectly sense and seems to reflect a “new” infection. During the early phase of a new infection the viral replication follows an exponential increase, and not a linear increase. Good news in such situations is that you caught your infection relatively early and I assume you started treatment already. This will bring your VL down quickly and may also have a positive impact on the size of your viral reservoir. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress, best Matt

[Da2020]

Unfortunately my last known sexual contact was in December 2019 and my cd4 count is 140, done along with the second VL test. Not sure if this is a latest infection.

[virgo313]

Hello, I would suggest not to ponder too much on the difference VL results & move forward with starting medication. Your Dr will likely run another VL test few weeks after starting meds.

At this moment, what’s more important is meds plus Dr will have to include antibiotic as ur CD4 is below 200. This is important. VL Shd be owing downwards quickly once on medication.

[Da2020]

Yep I have already started medication including the antibiotic. I m going to get a second set of tests next week.

[harleymc]

I despair at the frequency of testing newly diagned plwhs are subjected to.

Go on medications see how you're traveling 3 months later.  Any testing more frequently just adds to stress.

[Da2020]

Quick update, got my latest test results back today. VL down to 320 and cd4 count up to 214. Specimen collected on day 28 after the medication

[Jim Allen]

VL down to 320 in 28 days  That's a fantastic inital reduction of the VL.

[virgo313]

Great result.. best of all, you will soon able to ditch the antibiotic. Congrats!

[Da2020]

I m going to talk to my doc next week. Hopefully they ll take me off the antibiotic

[Da2020]

Posting an update VL down to 90. CD4 265. I m still on Bactrim. 2 months on meds. Can someone tell me how long did it take you to reach undetectable? I’m on Descovy + tivicay.

[Jim Allen]

Great results with the VL down to 90 copies.

Anything under 200 is considered UD in terms of transmission. All you have to do is keep it below 200 for 6 months by continuing to take the meds so you can't sexually pass it on. https://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=71848.0

Treatment wise, it generally accepted under 50 copies is fully suppressed/UD. Some labs can monitor lower levels. How long it takes to get there, well it can take people 6+ months. When I finally started treatment, I think it took about 3 months, but 90 is close, I'm sure you will get there soon 

How are you feeling/doing otherwise?

Best, Jim

https://www.poz.com/basics/hiv-basics/starting-hiv-treatment
https://www.poz.com/basics/hiv-basics/switching-hiv-treatment "How do I know if my treatment is not working?"
https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20190318/qa-understanding-persistent-lowlevel-viremia-in-people-with-hiv

[Da2020]

Thanks Jim. I m hope I become undetectable pretty soon. I m feeling pretty shitty about life and completely lost. I m reading up a lot on hiv and researching cure articles to keep me going. They may or may not materialize but they are the only ones that keep me going

[Da2020]

Hi everyone I just got my lab work back and this is the result I got
‘ < 20 copies/mL,
‘HIV-1 RNA detected The reportable range for this assay is 20 to 10,000,000 copies HIV-1 RNA/mL’. I m not sure if it is undetectable yet but it is good to know it’s <20 copies.
Started my medication on July18th

[Jim Allen]

I m not sure if it is undetectable yet but it is good to know it’s <20 copies.

  Yeah, the VL is supresssed (UD)

It's been a few months since your last update. How are you getting on? How are you feeling? Hope things are going well and, that you feeling less lost.