Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 01:58:55 pm

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772946
  • Total Topics: 66310
  • Online Today: 424
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 2
Guests: 382
Total: 384

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Author Topic: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection  (Read 11211 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« on: August 22, 2009, 04:01:56 pm »
Dear members - I was diagnosed poz a month ago, and I was thinking it got transferred to me by my ex-gf through oral sex (the only unprotected incident through out my life). Before that I had sex only 3 times and last time it was 3 years back.  I got mad sick with ulcerated throat and high fever in June for about 2 weeks and then developed low grade fever and cough. At this point the doctor took blood and had me tested for HIV which came poz. My CD4 numbers were 600 and VL (pcr test) was 28000.

Now I went to new doctor supposedly amongst the top ones in US, and he had tests done again. My numbers are CD4 cell count 568 and VL=38K

Now he says that my previous numbers suggest that my infection is not recent and could be 8-10 years old. And he advised that VL goes into millions during the acute infection, and my recent sickness had nothing to do with HIV. Last time I was sick like this was back in 1996 in India and was hospitalized (India has reported that 25% of the HIV cases are due to hospital related incidents).

Do you people think that these numbers hold any indication about the age of infection?

I have told my family about my condition over the phone and they all more disappointed with me than ever. Now I think even more about what happened wrong in my life. Thank you all for reading it (amidst all this my ex-gf is absconding and hasn't tested yet)




Offline madbrain

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,208
  • No longer an active member
    • My personal site
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2009, 04:12:43 pm »
Hi,

Dear members - I was diagnosed poz a month ago, and I was thinking it got transferred to me by my ex-gf through oral sex (the only unprotected incident through out my life). Before that I had sex only 3 times and last time it was 3 years back.  I got mad sick with ulcerated throat and high fever in June for about 2 weeks and then developed low grade fever and cough. At this point the doctor took blood and had me tested for HIV which came poz. My CD4 numbers were 600 and VL (pcr test) was 28000.

Now I went to new doctor supposedly amongst the top ones in US, and he had tests done again. My numbers are CD4 cell count 568 and VL=38K

Now he says that my previous numbers suggest that my infection is not recent and could be 8-10 years old. And he advised that VL goes into millions during the acute infection, and my recent sickness had nothing to do with HIV. Last time I was sick like this was back in 1996 in India and was hospitalized (India has reported that 25% of the HIV cases are due to hospital related incidents).

Do you people think that these numbers hold any indication about the age of infection?

I have told my family about my condition over the phone and they all more disappointed with me than ever. Now I think even more about what happened wrong in my life. Thank you all for reading it (amidst all this my ex-gf is absconding and hasn't tested yet)

Sorry to hear about your new diagnosis, but glad you found us.

The fact is that you can't date the infection from your current numbers alone. When is the last time you were tested negative for HIV ?

I would recommend that you don't obsess over the date of infection, nor necessarily the person who passed it on to you, as this isn't going to help you going forward. Regarding oral sex, the odds are very low that you would have contracted HIV that way, especially not from a one-time incident. But here are some factors that increase the odds a bit such as having cuts in your mouth.

Your gf should definitely get tested. Not knowing one's status is never a good thing.
Your family should not be passing judgment on you. The fact that you have this virus in your body doesn't mean that you did anything wrong. It sounds like they need to be educated about it.

Offline confidentIwillbeOK

  • Member
  • Posts: 131
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2009, 04:20:04 pm »
I can't comment on the numbers and the age of your infection but think that whatever your doctor tells you will most likely be the most accurate information you are going to get.  

I feel bad for you about your family's comments.  There is no reason to feel disappointed in you....at all.  This is just a virus and nothing more than that.  It is a shitty virus that sucks to have but to say they are "disappointed" in you for getting it is harsh.  Sounds like there are other issues as well ("...more disappointed with me than ever"...."Now I think even more about what happened wrong in my life").  Hopefully you can educate your family and they can become more supportive.

In the meantime please do some research and find a support group in your area.  If you are in NY there should be a ton of options.  Also, keep reading here as there are a lot of people who are very helpful and know a lot about this disease and the treatment options.  It would also help to find a good friend or two that you can talk to about this.  

Good luck.

Steve

P.S. Remember....no matter how you contracted HIV you are not at "fault" and should not be ashamed or disappointed in yourself.  It is a virus just like the thousands of other viruses floating around this lovely orb we live on.      

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2009, 04:20:51 pm »
Thanks Madbrain. I never had an HIV test before because I never ran into a situation that would need a test until recently when I developed some viral infection. I was having a totally inactive sex life. Even this time HIV was last thing on my mind.

It's very difficult for me to educate my family. They have their own opinions and biases. They are supporting me with whatever they can, but I can clearly see the unhappiness and  disappointment about my new condition.

My doctor says that too that oral sex has no risk, but then how did I get infected considering its a very difficult virus to transmit. I am trying very hard to move-on and am much better than I was a month ago. :)


Offline Inchlingblue

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,117
  • Chad Ochocinco PETA Ad
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2009, 04:29:34 pm »
Even though I agree with madbrain that it's not good to obsess about how you got it, in your case the chances of getting it based on your sexual history are so low as to be nonexistent so I can understand why you would be curious to understand what happened.

In a previous post you said you had sex three times, all 100% protected with no failures and that your girlfriend performed oral sex on you twice I think you said?  Based on this, if I am stating the facts correctly, then I think it's safe to assume that it's highly unlikely that you got HIV from sex (unless your girlfriend is poz and had bleeding gums and you had an opening on the skin of your penis, which I suppose is possible).

As far as what your doctor said about length of  time you have been poz, madbrain is right, it's really impossible to say based on CD4 count and viral load. These things can vary wildly between individuals. Dr. Joel Gallant very recently responded to a question about this, as you may know he's one of the world's leading authorities when it comes to HIV treatment:

My lab results

Question Posted on Aug 20, 2009
I was negative up until July 1st 2009. I had a cd4 count done on me when i was negative back in September 2008. It was 1100. My HIV test was negative from 2008-June 2009. I tested positive on July 1st, and had my blood work done on July 29th. I got it back august 19th. All my lab work is normal. My HIV viral load is 20,653 and my CD4 count is 566 and my CD4% is 32. I haven't gotten the genotype back yet. I was wondering wouldn't I have a very high viral load since Im newly infected and based on my cd4 count from 2008 of 1100 and now its 566 since I am positive, does that mean my viral set point is high and it will progress rapidly since it dropped drastically? My doctor thinks I have had HIV a long time before My tests came back poz because of the low viral load and low cd4 count.

Response On Aug 21, 2009 Joel E. Gallant, M.D., M.P.H. replied:
There's no way to tell when someone was infected based on a CD4 count or viral load. People can start out with any combination of high or low viral loads and high or low CD4 counts, regardless of the duration of infection. It's not helpful to know what your CD4 count was before you were infected. What matters is what it was now.


LINK:

http://www.hopkins-hivguide.org/q_a/patient/recent_questions/my_lab_results.html?contentInstanceId=498508&siteId=7151
« Last Edit: August 22, 2009, 07:29:22 pm by Inchlingblue »

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2009, 05:12:46 pm »
"P.S. Remember....no matter how you contracted HIV you are not at "fault" and should not be ashamed or disappointed in yourself.  It is a virus just like the thousands of other viruses floating around this lovely orb we live on"

Thanks Steve. I know it's no ones fault to have contracted this crap, and it is no basis for judging anyone, but bitter reality (from my short experience of one month) is that everyone seems to pass judgement and opinions. I know my family has to support me eventually because they are family (they have no other choice :) ). I try to go to support groups, I went for friendsindeed big groups in NY and came back from outside their building. I just didn't have courage to go inside.

Inchingblue, as always, to the point and educating post. You were right about my sexual experience. My doctor says it's not because of sex, and says very high chance that I acquired it through medical needles (everything here is an wage hypothesis). 2000 WHO study showed in India 25% reported HIV cases are due to medical syringes (this sucks !!!!!!)

Offline confidentIwillbeOK

  • Member
  • Posts: 131
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2009, 06:13:54 pm »
I try to go to support groups, I went for friendsindeed big groups in NY and came back from outside their building. I just didn't have courage to go inside.

Well....sounds like you are 95% there, you have researched and found a group and made it to the meeting but just didn't make it inside.  Maybe you can find a hotline and speak with someone who can meet you there ahead of time.  I called a local agency about getting info on a local support group and ended up speaking with a real nice guy who met me with me and gave me a ton of information about services, programs, support groups, etc...offered by this agency and others in the area.  It was awesome to speak with someone who had so much valuable information.  Although I wasn't nervous about going to a meeting (first one is in a week or so) I think had I been I would have felt 1,00 times better after meeting with this guy.

Thinking about this stuff can be scary but I can almost guarantee you that you will feel better about it if you can talk with others in the same boat.  Try and find the extra 5% you need and make it to the next meeting you tried to attend.  I think it will be worth it for you.   :)


Offline Inchlingblue

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,117
  • Chad Ochocinco PETA Ad
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2009, 07:27:33 pm »
If the hypothesis that you got it in India in 1996 is correct that would mean that after 13 years you have very decent numbers. That would be similar to Ann, who has been poz for about that long with very decent numbers.

I guess there's no way to know if your girlfriend has HIV since she doesn't want to get tested and if she does have it there would be no way to know who got it from who? When you say "absconded" do you mean she has run away? Disappeared? If she tests negative then the India theory is looking better.

Regardless of when you contracted it (lol sounds like when one hires a contractor), what did your doctor say would be the next step? It would make sense to monitor your numbers every three months and see what the overall trend is.

Do you know what your CD4% is?
« Last Edit: August 22, 2009, 07:40:16 pm by Inchlingblue »

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2009, 12:38:54 pm »

Regardless of when you contracted it (lol sounds like when one hires a contractor), what did your doctor say would be the next step? It would make sense to monitor your numbers every three months and see what the overall trend is.

Do you know what your CD4% is?

I got my results on phone and if I remember correctly I was told that the percentage is 21% something. And she mentioned that it is lower than normal, but added that it is not used as an indicator anymore. I researched web and there is mixed view about this metric.
I didn't speak to the main doctor but she said I make an appointment for vaccination: Flu and Pneumonia. Since, I already had Hep B when I was 22, she said vaccination is not required.

They also ran some comprehensive STD check, and all the results came negative. My general blood work (cholesterol etc) is normal too. Is there anything else I should include for my discussion with him for my next appointment?

Thanks again for your kind response
H

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #9 on: August 23, 2009, 12:42:59 pm »
I guess there's no way to know if your girlfriend has HIV since she doesn't want to get tested and if she does have it there would be no way to know who got it from who? When you say "absconded" do you mean she has run away? Disappeared? If she tests negative then the India theory is looking better.

She is not talking to me. She is dating someone, and apparently doesn't want to know her status.

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #10 on: August 23, 2009, 12:51:58 pm »
I try to go to support groups, I went for friendsindeed big groups in NY and came back from outside their building. I just didn't have courage to go inside.

I think I was the one who recommended this to you, so I'm just going to reiterate that this is SUCH not a scary place at all.  It's very, very welcoming.  And in the "Big Group" format there is no pressure at all for you to say anything.  Just go and sit at the back and listen for your first meeting.  Nobody will point at you and force you to speak, so this provides a bit of a comfort level.

I encourage you to attempt to go again.  May I be so forward as to ask you here to detail exactly what it is about a real life group that is so frightening?
« Last Edit: August 23, 2009, 12:53:42 pm by Miss Philicia »
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline Inchlingblue

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,117
  • Chad Ochocinco PETA Ad
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2009, 01:44:34 pm »
 
I didn't speak to the main doctor but she said I make an appointment for vaccination: Flu and Pneumonia. Since, I already had Hep B when I was 22, she said vaccination is not required.

There's also a Hep A vaccine.

Offline nycpoz

  • Member
  • Posts: 76
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #12 on: August 24, 2009, 12:22:38 am »

I encourage you to attempt to go again.  May I be so forward as to ask you here to detail exactly what it is about a real life group that is so frightening?

Yes I clearly remember you were the first ones to reply back to my first post on the forum and advised about the big group. I don't know what stopped me from entering, I just felt nervous about what happens in the meetings and stepped back.. But will try again when they re-open in Sep. Many support groups I found on web around my area either serve certain ethnicities, women or non-straight men.

Offline PeteNYNJ

  • Member
  • Posts: 979
  • When life gives you AIDS...make LemonAIDS!
    • Dance for Me, Puppets
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2009, 11:13:44 pm »
As for the groups that are gay identified, they usually won't turn you away if you want to join in the discussion.  You might be nervous for being "different', but you will probably find some great information and some helpful tips from the group.   Remember, you are going to the group because you share a common virus, not because you are white, black, gay, straight, etc. 

Offline Dale Parker

  • Member
  • Posts: 266
Re: new numbers and new doctor: age of infection
« Reply #14 on: September 23, 2009, 02:05:16 pm »
Hey NYCPOS: Glad that your here. You will find a lot of information and support with this group of people. Sorry to hear that you family is disappointed that you are positive.  I can sort of understand their feelings. It's one part of the grieving process that we all go thru. As a gay guy I know what my family and I went thru.  It must be a lot tougher for str8s and even tougher for their families. For the most part (I could be wrong) I imagine that you have less exposure to knowing hiv+ people and less of an interest in hiv as your less likely to contract it. The good thing is that you have your families love and support.  Their disappointment will diminish in time. As you and your family learn more about HIV the less the How, When and Why you contracted it will matter and be replaced with the How, When and Whys of dealing with it. It's a long journey and everyone handles it in their own way and their own time.
  The one good piece of advise that I can give you is: Make a list of all the questions that you (and your family) have as soon as you/they think of them. Keep a pen and paper handy at all times. Give it to your doctor so he or she can answer your questions. Take it with you to your support groups as you will get additional information from them.  As you get the answers write the answers down. It's amazing how soon after you walk out of the meeting the answers get forgotten or jumbled up in your mind.
Best of luck to you and your family
Dale
Apr 09  CD4 21, CD4/CD8 ratio 0 VL 500,000+
July 09 CD4 158, CD4/CD812% VL 750
Oct 09 CD4 157 CD4/CD8 14% VL UD
Feb 10 CD4 197, CD4/CD8 11% VL UD
May 10  CD4 252 CD4/CD8 12% VL UD
Aug 10 CD4 211 VL UD
Nov 10 CD4 272 CD4/CD8 0.138 VL UD

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.