Conflicting Labs

[mike]

hello again guys and thanks for all the helpful positive comments for my last post "shock horror" you overwhelm me with your support and helpfulness.it really helps to know that we are many and we are strong even in adversity.

having been diagnosed 6 months ago i am still like a kid with the "why" questions popping out of my head regarding various subjects (not the "why me" one, i got over that)

i started off in december with a CD4 count of 49 and viral load of 128,000. 6 weeks later, my viral load was undetectable and has remained so since. What i don't understand is my t-cell reaction. from 49 it went to 94 3 weeks later and then, 2 months after diagnosis, had risen to 194. i have felt well during all this time, had no O.I.s ever etc but alarmingly (for me) my CD4 has now fallen back, first to 152 and last month to 124.

my HiV doc is a great guy and helps a lot but is giving me conflicting reactions:-
in january he said he expected my count to be above 250 at the end of the month, in march when it went down to 152 he said it was an anamoly and would be back up the next time and in may when it slumped to 124 he said it was normal and nothing to worry about.

my question is this:- should i ignore it and assume that it is normal ( i think it isn't) or should i begin to worry about it ? ( i have no opinion on that yet), i like my doctor but my faith in him is a little shaken as he seems to change his opinion based on my lab results to give an overly optimistic opinion.

i remember the day i was diagnosed and went to  see him his first comment to me was " it's a fantastic time to be HiV + because of the wonderful options available now" 

[allopathicholistic]

went to  see him his first comment to me was " it's a fantastic time to be HiV + because of the wonderful options available now" 

interesting choice of words i must say, but there's truth in them. do you know your percentages?

[J.R.E.]

Hello Mike,

Do you know what your current percentages are? This is a much more accurate way of seeing, how one is dealing with HAART therapy.CD-4's can bounce around a little.(even in a dailly basis) I understand your concern, about the very slight drop, but if your percentages continue to rise, that is much better.

Like yourself, I also started off with a low t-cell count (16), and a viral load over 500,000. And to get to where I am today, I also went through a couple periods, when the t-cells dropped,but the percentages ontinued to rise.

My advice, try not to worry !! If the drop in t-cells is consistant over several tests, then perhaps something needs to be done.Meantime, eat right, get enogh rest (at least 8 hours a day, this is important), and stay compliant, in taking your doses on time, and every time. Drink plenty of water, and take at a minimum, a multi- vitamin. These are all basics, but good advice.

Everyone of us, is going to progress differently on the meds. Try not to get discouraged,or disapointed. Give yourself some time !!


Take Care------Ray

[fearless]

Hey Mike,

The ol' numbers game. It can do your head in sometimes.
As the others have said, do you know your %'s - it a much better way of telling what is happening, and are you on meds at all (just curious on that point).
Since I've started meds in Jan this year my CD4 number has been up and down but always around the 450 mark. My CD4% however has gone from less than 14 to 22. My doctor did explain why the number can go up and down but reiterated that the % is a much better indicator of things. I must admit I do tend to tune out a little sometimes once I know that they are going in the right direction that's generally enough for me.
I do, however, think it is a bit silly of him to create falls expectations about where your numbers will be next time. He just cannot know as we are all different and so many things can effect the counts. My doctor refuses to speculate on such things and just tells me to focus on looking after myself.
Steve

[mike]

do you know your percentages?

thanks for the replies guys, i forgot about percentages
dec: 8 %
jan : 12.8 %
march: 12.2 %
may : 11.4 %

so i guess that is dropping in relation to the CD4 count as well.

i started taking meds as soon as i was diagnosed due to the extreme labs i got first time, i think it's safe to assume i was heading for the big fall if i hadn't.
meds are kaletra, tenofivir and lamivudine twice daily

[gerry]

Hi Mike:

It might take some time for your CD4 count to recover being that your baseline was quite low.  The important thing is that you are remaining undetectable, which means that the meds are doing their job.  That's the optimum condition to allow your immune system to recover at this point.  Good luck.

Gerry