Viral load

[PozBearWI]

Save that our TCell count is a measure of immune system health whereas viral load is just that.  So Viral Load is what is needed to pass on our virus to another.  

[BootmanLA]

14 hours ago, Cumpigmelb said:

I contracted HIV on 30th Nov 2023 

by 23 Feb 2024 my VL was 403,000 they were concerned it was a very strong virus   

my Tcells were good 

 

That's not unusual. For the first few months after initial infection, VL goes way up, because the body doesn't yet know how to fight it (as best it can). Over time, VL decreases, not to undetectable levels (on its own), but to a point where infection, while certainly possible, isn't all that sure a thing. If left untreated, HIV will eventually overwhelm the immune system, which usually brings on multiple health problems, up to and including organ failure and death.

In any event, however, the question from the member was about stopping and restarting meds. Given that (apparently, based on your profile) you aren't and never have been on meds, I'm not sure why this is relevant in any way.

[Cumpigmelb]

On 10/9/2024 at 6:03 AM, BootmanLA said:

That's not unusual. For the first few months after initial infection, VL goes way up, because the body doesn't yet know how to fight it (as best it can). Over time, VL decreases, not to undetectable levels (on its own), but to a point where infection, while certainly possible, isn't all that sure a thing. If left untreated, HIV will eventually overwhelm the immune system, which usually brings on multiple health problems, up to and including organ failure and death.

In any event, however, the question from the member was about stopping and restarting meds. Given that (apparently, based on your profile) you aren't and never have been on meds, I'm not sure why this is relevant in any way.

Recently started meds 

Took 30 days and I was undetectable. 
 

I may go off them at some point. 

so I was wondering   thx 

[Cuteguy69]

How long to get détectable after stopping meds

[HVLpoz88]

Depends on your regime and lifestyle/general health. 
 

I’ve been med free since Summer 2023, yet my CD4 remains high (good) but my VL steadily rises

[pozsewerpig]

1 hour ago, Cuteguy69 said:

How long to get détectable after stopping meds

Everyone will react differently, but 1-2 months off of meds probably will result in having a VL high enough to be toxic.

[barefucker44]

2 hours ago, pozsewerpig said:

Everyone will react differently, but 1-2 months off of meds probably will result in having a VL high enough to be toxic.

That is about what I have heard also

[BootmanLA]

On 11/24/2024 at 2:38 PM, pozsewerpig said:

Everyone will react differently, but 1-2 months off of meds probably will result in having a VL high enough to be toxic.

This is not correct, at least by what I think most of us understand as "toxic" (which, in HIV terms, is not exactly a medical concept).

Within 1-2 months of being off meds, a person almost certainly becomes detectable. And he almost certainly becomes infectious - that is, CAPABLE of infection. But remember that not all sex with a poz, detectable person results in HIV infection - look at the number of people who've posted on this site in the "chasing" sections who can't seem to convert.

When we say "toxic", most of us (I believe) mean "high viral load", with a good chance of infecting someone he breeds. That's not a level being off meds for a month or two is likely to hit. (Is it possible? Sure. If the person's immune system was already severely compromised by the time he went on meds, and it has never rebounded - very low t-cells even with an undetectable viral load - then yeah, it's possible a short no-meds window will quickly overwhelm his system again. I don't think that's typical of HIV patients today. 

[PozBearWI]

Very true @BootmanLA.  And there are a few of us who are poz but never develop a particularly significant viral load.  At my highest, shortly after infection I hit 7,200.  It plummeted fast.  

Perhaps we ought to start defining what HVL is numerically?  

For me; undetectable is <200 (the measurable VL which existed during the many early partner studies which ratified u=u.

HVL?  I think probably > 100,000.