POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: accord on February 16, 2014, 06:43:42 pm
-
I have been on meds now for 3 years and have been undetectable for most of this period. My cd4 count has always been on the high side with a low in the 900's but over the last 4 months it has spiked to 1700s. This includes two separate blood tests with the first about 4 months ago and the most recent last week. I have not seen any information about levels this high. Any information would be appreciated. Probably just an anomaly but since it has stayed this high for multiple tests I decided to reach out for information.
-
Hey accord,
No this is not an anomaly...I had a weird spike like this last year, VL stayed UD and CD4 jumped up from 700s to the 1600s...I had to get the clinic to double check that I was getting my blood results and not anyone else's.....this went on as my blood after that rose to 1850 for CD4 and VL remained UD.
What has now happened to me now is that my VL is still UD but my CD4 has dropped back down again to the low 700s....I haven't been unwell other than a severe bout of staph infection thats ongoing now for about a year.
ID doc was happy that my meds (Atripla) has been working and has been for many years, but recently Ive started to have the weird night sweats, Insomnia, and drunken monkey syndrome of feeling like Ive just got off a merry go-round.
It might be time for time to switch my meds....I will get my blood results later this week so will see whats been going on.
It might be whatever you've been doing with your lifestyle thats caused the rise. Everyone with this virus as we all know reacts differently to it, and there are no two people the same.
Good Luck with the health and hope all stays well.
Robb :)
-
::) oh yeah one thing I forgot to say......all bloodwork results will have a different result depending on the time of day that the bloods have been taken.....so better that ya have bloods taken in the morning.
Good Luck
-
I've had six +1700 cd4 results in the past three years (1785 was the highest), and the rest have been +1500 in that period. And most of my cd4% in that period have been over 50%. My physician has not expressed any alarm in this.
A decade ago they were always ~500 with 30%, and 20 years ago ~200 with 15%
-
I've had six +1700 cd4 results in the past three years (1785 was the highest), and the rest have been +1500 in that period. And most of my cd4% in that period have been over 50%. My physician has not expressed any alarm in this.
A decade ago they were always ~500 with 30%, and 20 years ago ~200 with 15%
This may be over simplifying things, but in general why would it even occur to anyone that a higher CD4 and CD4% be anything but good?
-
This may be over simplifying things, but in general why would it even occur to anyone that a higher CD4 and CD4% be anything but good?
I dont know. Cancer? Cancer can occur in blood cells and even t cells. Lymphoma is common in HIV positive people. However, I dont know what/if there are blood tests that would be abnormal that could be cancer. Since cancer is the overproduction of certain cells if you had a blood cancer like lymphoma or leukemia would it show up as a high number of tcells or white blood cells?
-
I dont know. Cancer?
I have asked the question to my Doc after I had a spike
Went from 700 ish to 1400 in 4 months , then back in 1100 ish
He smiled gently and we moved on ...
The 1400 (and ratio CD4/CD8 > 1.2) seem to make my doc happy and the visit was in good mood.
Yet, my >1000 year has been shitty (fatigue, depression, rapid weight gain) , not bad , but...
I was in better shape when CD4 700 !
Go figure...
I will post a few findings about that sudden transition 700---1400. There seem to be a few posters here who have had this (unexpected) sudden change.
Do you have your CD8 and CD8% readings before and during/after spike ?
Eric
-
This may be over simplifying things, but in general why would it even occur to anyone that a higher CD4 and CD4% be anything but good?
There is such a thing called an "over active immune system" however I don't know the clinical definition of this as far as cd4 counts go. Anyway, 1700 is only slightly above the reference range.
Anyway, if I were to post my lab numbers over the past decade and/or graph them it was a gradual climb not a sudden spike.
-
Thanks for the information. I don't speak about HIV often so at times I likely worry myself for nothing. As for my general state of health, I have felt relatively good despite dealing with some unrelated medical issues over the last 16 months including 4 minor unrelated outpatient procedures. Add to that a crazy work schedule (50+ hours on a good week) and I will honestly say that I was expecting a completely different result. Thanks for making me more at ease. :-)
-
Dear Accord,
I have been twice over 1900 CD4, and many times over 1600. (8 years on med right now). I started treatment very early, just a few weeks after primary infection. And I have ever been over 1000 CD4 all these years but once I had 900. My counts have stabilized since 2011 in the range of 1300 to 1500.
CD4 figures are important, but the most important indicators in long terms are the total percentage of CD4 on the rest of white cells, and the ratio CD8/CD4. If your doctor informs you on both figures, you will see as their value is much more stable than the CD4 figures, that may oscillate due to various factors such as the specific moment in which your blood is drawn, a change in medication, an allergic reaction, a cough or any other concomitant infection active in that moment: herpes, papiloma, flu...
So do not be worried about this.
Regards,
8)