just found out I'm +

[heartbroken247]

 well, I'm pos for HIV and have since been diagnosed AIDS cause my CD4 is 26/ VL 123,456 copies of the virus . i have since been on antibiotics batrin / and zorthmax/
and have been treated for thrush/ but other then that the doctors say I'm fine.

i have been reading you guys post all day and I'm glad i found it.

 i have a free questions ..... what i should expect going forward ?

will i get any more infections while on meds ?

my wife is neg. so my question is with that can i give her HIV if she gives me oral sex (to completion) ?


its been two months since i was diagnosed /

and i have cried almost everyday / and really been hard since the say i have AIDS/

so i seen that once my cd4 count get to 200 or better ......do i still AIDS ? can you guys help me understand.

[CaveyUK]

Hi Heartbroken. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis.

What to expect going forward? You will get a treatment plan drawn up with your doctor. Once started, this will bring your VL down fast and eventually will increase your CD4. With such a low CD4 this may take a little time to bring back up, but as the VL will go towards UD then HIV is no longer doing any damage to your immune system. There are MANY people who were diagnosed with a CD4 as low - or lower - who are doing well many years on so there is every reason to be optimistic.

Will you get more infections whilst on meds? Well the meds don't stop you getting ill with anything - they just bring your VL under control (with associated immune system benefits). Your chance of getting anything 'AIDS related' is drastically reduced though, especially as you are taking antibiotics also. Your doctor will be able to advise in more detail but the bottom line is - the meds will start rebuilding your immune system and the higher this gets the better you will feel and the fewer things you will have to worry about. Ultimately, you will have a normal (or near-normal) immune system and every chance to live a long and happy life.

Can you give wife HIV through oral to completion? There has never been a documented case of HIV transmission through oral sex. That said, there is a caveat to that, as certain events (bleeding gums etc) coupled with a high VL could pose *some* risk but still very small. Once you have been on meds for a short while and are UD, this risk is pretty much zero. There may be slightly differing views depending who you speak to, but thats my understanding.

If you have sex, especially unprotected, with your wife - even after being UD for some time, it will be smart for her to be routinely tested (annually perhaps) just for reassurance more than anything.

As for the AIDS status once you get over 200 - again, the answer will depend on who you talk to and where abouts in the world you live. In the US, for classification purposes I believe the 'AIDS' diagnosis remains even with counts above 200, even though it is fairly meaningless from your perspective. In other countries it differs...In the UK, to get an 'AIDS' diagnosis you need to be <200 *and* have an AIDS defining illness. That said, even then the word 'AIDS' is almost obsolete in most clinics, with doctors here choosing to use the term 'Advanced HIV' instead. Once you go over 200, you are just 'HIV positive' or 'HIV undetectable'. Regardless of where you are, just consider yourself HIV positive and on treatment to get back to healthy levels. Pigeon-holing doesn't help anyone, especially you.

I was diagnosed at christmas with a CD4 of 160 and VL of 70,000 so know how tough a recent diagnosis can be. I also have a negative girlfriend.

Lots of experience amongst the folk here though and there is no such thing as a dumb question. Feel free to ask anything and remember we are all here for each other.

[zach]

hey, welcome to the boards. sorry you have to be here, but glad you've found a place to get information and support.

what to expect? jeez, hard to say exactly how your experience will differ from mine or others... expect a year+ for your lab numbers to get to a "normal" point. don't expect much to happen though, either way. it's pretty boring really.

OIs (opportunistic infections) probably not now, the antibiotics you're on (bactrim and zithro) should protect you while you're in the AIDS window... we can't make promises on that though. what i can say, the longer you're on meds consistently, the more your lab numbers improve, the better off you'll be.

oral sex is not a transmission risk... vaginal and anal insertion, sharing drug needles; those are the risks you'll face... use condoms, consider PrEP for her. continue to consistently take you meds, they will act as TasP (treatment as protection, google it)

two months in? yeah, it's a mind fuck ain't it? it gets better, promise you that.

CD4 count... you've dipped below the AIDS threshold, and been given a diagnosis of AIDS. for statistical tracking reasons, on medical paperwork you'll always have that AIDS dx, but these days it's only a label/semantics

your HIV meds will prevent viral replication. thats all they have to do. HIV has a short lifecycle. stop the replication, allow the infected cells to die off, and then your viral load will begin to drop... precipitously, it's awesome how quickly you'll see things square away. your CD4 will increase on it's own as your viral load drops, that increase is more incremental and may take some patience on your part. genetics has a lot to do with CD4.

doctors say you're fine! keep that front and first on your mind thinking about all this.

this is a life sentence, not a death sentence. you've got a long life ahead of you. this is a marathon, not a sprint, take your time and pace yourself.

you've already taken the biggest steps. maintain from here on, learn to live with this.

[heartbroken247]

 THANK YOU THANK you , for your quick responds / i have been reading some of your post all day...

you guys have made me dealing with this a lil better / will the antibiotics keep me from developing a OI ?

cause only thing i have had was thrush? which now has cleared up...

[heartbroken247]

you have me in tears / I'm thankful for you guys Knowledge / 

  they say by next week i will start my viral meds/ anything else should i do ?


  and will i loose ? weight ? and what is wasting?

[zach]

you guys have made me dealing with this a lil better / will the antibiotics keep me from developing a OI ?

cause only thing i have had was thrush? which now has cleared up...

that is the antibiotics job, they do it pretty damn well, but i can't make any promises and say you'll never have an OI

wasting? doubt it, if you haven't gone through that yet, you've probably caught the bug just in time. honestly though, kind of hard to say if you'll lose or gain weight. lot of factors.

go ahead and cry it out now, then move on. trust us, the reality of being positive is not as horrible as the idea of it.

EDIT: you're starting meds in a week, that sounds about right. good luck with that, let us know what regimen you and your doctor decide on.

btw, what part of the world are you in?

[heartbroken247]

 


 ok thanks for the advice / i live on the east coast / they said they are going to give me

the T meds can't think of the name and some type of case study drug , and pay me to do the clinical trials.

 And so it is possible to have numbers get better with out getting sick and hospitalized ?

[Jim Allen]

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear that your having a rough time digesting the diagnosis.

  And so it is possible to have numbers get better with out getting sick and hospitalized ?

Yes many people had worse numbers than yours and they bounced back just fine, Myself included.

We have some members who even started with single digit numbers and are doing fine.

Glad to hear you have a supportive wife, and that next week you start treatment, so I would worry less about the "what if's" and focus on what you need to do.
Now it sounds like you have a plan already, your taking antibiotics for the moment and next week you see your ID Doctor. Do take notes of any questions you might have for him/her beforehand as I am sure you will otherwise forget.

Once you have started treatment the focus is taking your meds and being adherent, the meds will do the work they need to do, and you will have check-ups from time to time to see how your VL is responding to the treatment and from time to time the CD4 count will be checked.

Look take it easy , stick to the plan you have and ask if you have questions.

Jim

[CaveyUK]

you have me in tears / I'm thankful for you guys Knowledge / 

  they say by next week i will start my viral meds/ anything else should i do ?


  and will i loose ? weight ? and what is wasting?

Only suggestion for something to do is to keep reading up on the condition, and stick to reliable sites such as this one and please disregard anything on the net that is more than a few years old as it is likely out of date. Things move so fast with this.

Can't say whether you will lose weight or gain weight. Much will come down to your diet and exercise, just like with anything. Some people find their appetite stimulated when on meds, so tend to put weight on. Really no way to say...just suck it and see.

Don't worry about 'wasting' either. Once you are on meds, that simply won't be an issue to concern yourself with.

Again, don't read old stuff about HIV/AIDS and apply it to today. Just a few years ago a lot of the meds - despite being effective - had quite significant side effects which in some cases changed the way people looked quite significantly. That is a cross that many of the LTS (long term survivors) still bear to this day. The meds that are first-line therapies today however, are not known to have ANY of those side-effects, so please do not worry.

[zach]

And so it is possible to have numbers get better with out getting sick and hospitalized ?

totally possible, odds are in your favor from here on

think good thoughts, be optimistic

we get it, you're two weeks in a mind spinning... it's a hell of a place to be, we've all been there

negative thoughts, worry, stress, anxieties... not good for you, don't go down those holes

[CaveyUK]

 ok thanks for the advice / i live on the east coast / they said they are going to give me

the T meds can't think of the name and some type of case study drug , and pay me to do the clinical trials.

 And so it is possible to have numbers get better with out getting sick and hospitalized ?

The 'T' meds, are probably either Tivicay and Truvada, or Triumeq. If so, they are GREAT drug regimens.

There is nothing with HIV to say you will ever get sick or hospitalised. As long as you stay adherent to your meds, you will be fine

[heartbroken247]

 and i have been taking the antibiotics regliously .......

[heartbroken247]

 

 thats all i have been doing is reading and taking all the advise you guys have been giving ........and i will say coming to this forum has made me, swallow it better today then any other day.


   i plan to do everything my doc says / cause i have a 2 year old i want to see grow up.

and yes i know its not a death sentence.

thank you guys again .i will post with my updates .........


   
 

[Tonny2]

 thats all i have been doing is reading and taking all the advise you guys have been giving ........and i will say coming to this forum has made me, swallow it better today then any other day.


   i plan to do everything my doc says / cause i have a 2 year old i want to see grow up.

and yes i know its not a death sentence.

thank you guys again .i will post with my updates .........

            ojo        Hello....definetly you will be around to see your son grow, have kids, etc, etc...keep us posted and good luck, keep a positive attitude and think about your kid, be grateful you have treatment to keep you around for a long time...hugs                                                                                      ojo

[zach]

today i rode in my youngest son's new fiat, he's the last to get a license

next month i'll watch my oldest graduate college

you've got a lot to look forward to

[heartbroken247]

 thank you guys again, i just want my numbers to go back to normal and be UD/ my wife wants another child


    and is there anything else i need to worry about ?


   and i hope you guys had a wonderful day......by the way ........



      why do people stop taking meds if the meds are working ?


    I'm just trying to understand that and also shingles ? pcp? Ks ?

      sense my cd4 count is low .......

[initforlife]

Hi Heartbroken .  welcome sorry about your dx. but it does get better the first few months are the worst. it messes with you mind more then anything or did mine. I wouldn't focus on why some people stop taking meds. it was a personal choice for some . but with the new meds out today the side effects are less and less.  Just take your meds get better and live a long life!

[Tonny2]

 thank you guys again, i just want my numbers to go back to normal and be UD/ my wife wants another child


    and is there anything else i need to worry about ?


   and i hope you guys had a wonderful day......by the way ........



      why do people stop taking meds if the meds are working ?


    I'm just trying to understand that and also shingles ? pcp? Ks ?

      sense my cd4 count is low .......

          ojo        Hello again....I guess, you don't have to worry about PCP or other OI, just keep taking your antibiotics...may I know what dose (mg) are you tKING OF AZITHROMICYN?.

wHY SOME PEOPLE STOP THEIR MEDS, i'M NOT SURE, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO DO THAT, ARE YOU?...DO NOT WORRY ABOUT SHINGLES, OR K.S. AT LEAST, DO NOT WORRY UNTIL YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT, EVERYTHING IS TREATABLE, SO, RELAX, WASH YOUR HANS, WATCH OUT WHAT YOU EAT AND WHERE YOUR EAT, AND YOU EWILL BE OK...BEST OF LUCK, KEEP US POSTED...HUGS FOR YOU AND YOUR WIFE, i'M GLAD SHE IS NEGATIVE                                                                OJO

[heartbroken247]

 Gm, someone asked what dosage of antibiotics I'm on .....


azithromycin 600mg  2x every 7 days

fluconazole 200mg almost done with that

Bactrim 160 mg 1x a day


can you guys explain how the meds that I'm taking work
 

 

[RobbSC]

Welcome to the board. We have similar stories. When I was first diagnosed by numbers were in line with yours. I am married also and wife wanted a child. My numbers quickly improved once I started Atripla. Fortunately for me I have never really had the side effects some others have reported. You'll find what works best for you.
From my understanding, the meds today are so much better and you (and I) are unlikely to experience some of the side effects you may be reading about.
Believe it or not, life does get better and like so many others have said you will live a pretty normal life if you take yours meds.
Having a child is also very possible. Speak to your doctor and wife to come up with a plan. I contacted a group in San Francisco for additional guidance as well. I'm happy to say that my wife is expecting and remains negative and we conceived the old fashioned way.
Best of luck and come back here often. This is a great forum!

[heartbroken247]

 whats does being expose to hep mean , but its not active in my system?

[Tonny2]

Gm, someone asked what dosage of antibiotics I'm on .....


azithromycin 600mg  2x every 7 days

fluconazole 200mg almost done with that

Bactrim 160 mg 1x a day


can you guys explain how the meds that I'm taking work

           ojo          Hello again...thanks for replying to my question about the dosage of your azithromycin....I was taking it (a long time ago) to prevent MAC an OI (that's why you are on it), but I was taking it daily, I started having hearing loss, I'm not sure if you may have the same reaction because you take it twice a week, just in case you notice it, that would be the reason, it is reversible, as soon as you stop it, you will hear again, it happened to me...Bactrim is to prevent PCP and Fluconazole was for your thrush...best of luck...hugs

PS I think I miss what HIV med you are on                                                                                  ojo

[heartbroken247]

not on HIV meds as of right now / not till tuesday of this coming week .

they waiting for my geno type