POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => I Just Tested Poz => Topic started by: thankyoulilmijo on September 03, 2010, 08:32:57 pm
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Hey all,
I received my numbers and found my CD4 to be at 574 and my viral load to be at 34,500. I was expecting my CD4 to be at 600-700 because of how healthy I am... Is this normal to be so low when you find out your positive? A normal CD4 is 1500 so IDK and medical treatment starts at 500 so it scares me that I am that low...
Please let me know!
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I just got mine a bit ago. Was wondering the same thing. The lab lists 490-1740 as normal. I asked the doctor when they test normal non-hiv+ people if they tend to be higher in that range. She said no, that anywhere in the 490-1740 is normal. She did say that they don't tend to deal with normal people though, that most everyone is sick that comes to their med center, they see a lot of people with depressed cd4 for all kinds of reasons (fighting off other viruses). You have a good CD4 count.
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Hey all,
I received my numbers and found my CD4 to be at 574 and my viral load to be at 34,500. I was expecting my CD4 to be at 600-700 because of how healthy I am... Is this normal to be so low when you find out your positive? A normal CD4 is 1500 so IDK and medical treatment starts at 500 so it scares me that I am that low...
Please let me know!
574 is not low, dammit. As for "how healthy you are" I assume you mean how physically fit you are? This in no way represents the state of your immune system. If you're just gauging your own level of health vs sickness then that's an even worse indicator of how your immune system is doing. The immune system is a pretty effective tool for its very specific job right up until the point that it is nearing complete failure (under 200 CD4). At that point you may still not begin to visibly see or notice the things that define an AIDS diagnosis. You'll find that since you're not taking medication and you still have a CD4 in the upper 500s you'll get very little sympathy from me (and I'd expect a couple of others) for your "low" CD4 count.
Anyway the treatment guidelines for beginning medication are 350-500 CD4, but this is not a scenario in which the immune system has crashed. The medicine is to prevent the crash in the first place.
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Hola Mijo,
As 'Raiser so delicately said, your CD4 is not at all that low. As prev stated a normal CD4 is in a range from 500ish to 1500ish.
Dont forget your CD4's will bounce around quite a bit and can vary from hour to hour within the day...perhaps if you would have had blood drawn a couple hours later you may have had a reading in the 600's...or perhaps a reading in the low 500's. Don't become married to your CD4's, it will drive you crazy. Just keep an eye out for the long term trend. Also the percentage is a more stable indicator of your immumne health.
Youve got pretty sweet CD4's :)
-Will
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Hi Mijo
I agree with Will and BTW I had to use my brain to figure out your IDK and came up with I Don't Know which doesn't really fit your sentence, but I think that is WYI, but INS. MS?
Makes it easier for non-texters and everyone else if you can keep the abbreviations here to CD HIV IDU VL and so on. There are enough just with the disease alone without further complicating a post. Just an elderly person's unsolicited suggestion for clarity.
Seven years ago, I started out with a CD4 count close to yours and a much lower VL. My doc advised as Will noted that the percentage was important to watch and any downward trend,over time, in CD4.
Em
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like everyone else said - it's not that low.
my first CD4 came back 285 - and i'm also relatively healthy. I don't recall having as much as a cold in the past 5 years. (when i was infected).
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i was 480 40000 and then 380 50000 then back to 490 42k so it moves above 250 is best keeps u away from aids diagnosis
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Erm 600 minus 574 equals 26 difference. Since CD4 tests can easily vary by +/- 50-100 I reckon you's in a healthy range. Anywhere over 500 is basically normal.
The numbers can be a roller coaster and it's easy to get hung up on individual test results, and differences between two tests. You need to look for the trend, ie 3-4 results considered together.
The benefits of treatment with a CD4 count of 500+ are unproven, and while this don't mean there aren't benefits, no-one can truly say whether there are or aren't. Therefore, even if your doc suggests you start now/soon, you have time to consider this for a while, perhaps a long while, if you choose.
All the best
- matt
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my first cd4 test wos 114 then after 6months of taking meds, tested again and it becomes 324, but then again i dont feel sick or something. but i do have dry skin and thats my only complain.
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my lowest number was 354 (when diagnosed)
but even one month later (I started taking meds 2 days after my diagnosis)
it was above 500.
my latest number is 1000 (28%)
my highest number was 1100 a year ago (but the percentage was lower: 26%)
At my clinic, the ''normal'' range is 500-1500 for adults and 800-1800 for children.
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my first cd4 test wos 114 then after 6months of taking meds, tested again and it becomes 324, but then again i dont feel sick or something. but i do have dry skin and thats my only complain.
Olive oil is best for dry skin.
All cosmetic products give me irritation :(
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Hey all,
I received my numbers and found my CD4 to be at 574 and my viral load to be at 34,500. I was expecting my CD4 to be at 600-700 because of how healthy I am... Is this normal to be so low when you find out your positive? A normal CD4 is 1500 so IDK and medical treatment starts at 500 so it scares me that I am that low...
Please let me know!
Although I don't know your CD4% percentage, I think you are fine for the time being.
And now is time to take all the vaccine shots you can. ;)
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Hey all,
I received my numbers and found my CD4 to be at 574 and my viral load to be at 34,500. I was expecting my CD4 to be at 600-700 because of how healthy I am... Is this normal to be so low when you find out your positive? A normal CD4 is 1500 so IDK and medical treatment starts at 500 so it scares me that I am that low...
Please let me know!
A good CD4 when recently infected is in the same range as your CD4 before infection.
Most people don't get a CD4 test before infection, so there is no way to tell. Normal range for adults is between 500-1500.