How long for your HIV to progress?

[cosmaz]

I was infected on November 12, 2005 and tested positive on Good Friday, April 14, 2006.   It was sometime in August 2006 I received a call late on Friday from a study nurse for the Merck vaccine trial I was in.  He told me my CD 4 count was back under 300 and vl 56k, he thought I should be on antiretroviral therapy.  My Dr appointment on September 14 confirmed that the numbers were going in the wrong direction and I walked out with my scripts for meds.  It was less than a year and I was taking meds.  I was disappointed and it took some reflection to accept it. 

So far, so good; the meds have not been a disappointment.  No side effects I'm aware of and the virus tends to stay undetectable levels, or at least levels that used to be undetectable I've had results 40 - 60 every now and then, which my Dr says is not anything to worry about. 

Edited November 18, 2023 by cosmaz

[hairyone]

On 11/18/2023 at 6:16 PM, cosmaz said:

I was infected on November 12, 2005 and tested positive on Good Friday, April 14, 2006.   It was sometime in August 2006 I received a call late on Friday from a study nurse for the Merck vaccine trial I was in.

Thanks for volunteering to be in the vaccine trial, @cosmaz.  I'm sorry it didn't work out.  Glad to hear the meds are working for you.  

[Loveitraw]

OK, so everything that follows are estimates because when I was young I was reckless. I'm not looking for affirmation and I don't care about condemnation; but facts are facts and I was dumb in the way I behaved. More on that later.

I was dignosed in 2018. I went in with pneumonia, stayed for a month in isolation while they got that under control before they could start my HIV regimen of meds. The consultant who came to see me was, and I cannot stress this enough, fantastic. They laid everything out straight for me because unlike me they were definitely the expert.

Almost ironically the thing that stopped me dying was the fact that I have always been fit and healthy. I am active always enjoyed the outdoors and sports. This meant I responded well to treatment, and I was lucky.

I almost never get colds, rarely feel off for more than a day or two if I do. Because of this its next to impossible to guess accurately when I seroconverted but the consultant gave a broad estimate of between 5 and 10 years. This is because my CD4 was below 20 when I ended up being carried in.

In modern terms, I fucked around and found out. The thing is when I was fucking around I was untested which is why things ran the course they did and that put others at risk that I was oblivious to. TBH whoever infected me was probably unaware too. That's a guess of course because I'll never know. But what is true is that I was clearly active and positive for several years before things came to light.

Like I said, I don't care about judgement or reassurrance. I did what I did and there's no going back. After 5 years and not a single missed dose I am in a good place. I'm back to as normal as I can be. I enjoy myself and live my life my way. Now, however, I am much more aware of how everyone is responsible for their actions and how those will effect those around us.

Fantasy is great.

Fetishisation can be fun.

Reality hits hard.

 

 

[BootmanLA]

7 hours ago, Loveitraw said:

Fantasy is great.

Fetishisation can be fun.

Reality hits hard.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

And no, no condemnation - most of us have done stupid things in our life, especially while young, nor am I trying to reassure you per se. But again, thank you for saying those ten words that everyone here needs to take to heart. 

[ellentonboy]

Wouldn't it be fair to say that thirty  years ago it was more likely HIV would progress to AIDS than today? My reasoning is this - more routine testing and advances in medication.  If you were poz in say 1993, that's 30 years ago, the chances of your HIV status advancing to AIDS was probably higher because you would run out of medication options.  In other words, if you became resistant to a certain "cocktail", your choices to go to something else were limited.  Today, there are many different routes you can take an if you have an experienced, dedicated infectious disease specialist he knows what they are.  The key is taking your medication as directed, and have your doctor run your labs quarterly, as is  my case.

Now, I left out things like lifestyle choices. I didn't want to get into a discussion with those interested in having unprotected sex with a multitude of men.  Nor did I even want to touch the subject of the use of enhancements.  We could debate if these decisions do or do not contribute to your illness progressing to full blown AIDS.

I'll say this. If you are newly diagnosed today, you have so many options.  Your t- cell count and viral load are crucial at the time you are diagnosed, and it's important you find the best infectious disease specialist in your area, or that you can travel to.  Of course, insurance  becomes an issue, but with the additional funds allocated to ADAP, most guys I know who are newly infected can get on some type of medical treatment.

Now, if you are into "bug chasing" and you want to get full blown AIDS, that is your decision.  For those of you who wake up, and understand what you are doing to yourself, you do have options.  That is my 2 cents...

[hairyone]

Hey OP, @pozsewerpig, I see you posted that you have AIDS now, too.  How long did it take you to progress this far?

[pozsewerpig]

Just now, hairyone said:

Hey OP, @pozsewerpig, I see you posted that you have AIDS now, too.  How long did it take you to progress this far?

I took a very risky encounter in late February of this year. Got sick less than two weeks later and tested poz a few weeks after that. My AIDS diagnosis happened in early November.

[BootmanLA]

Members are reminded here: Discussions about choosing to progress to AIDS are not just barred in the health forum; they're prohibited on the entire site. 

[PozBearWI]

On 11/21/2023 at 10:27 AM, ellentonboy said:

Wouldn't it be fair to say that thirty  years ago it was more likely HIV would progress to AIDS than today? My reasoning is this - more routine testing and advances in medication.  If you were poz in say 1993, that's 30 years ago, the chances of your HIV status advancing to AIDS was probably higher because you would run out of medication options.  In other words, if you became resistant to a certain "cocktail", your choices to go to something else were limited.  Today, there are many different routes you can take an if you have an experienced, dedicated infectious disease specialist he knows what they are.  The key is taking your medication as directed, and have your doctor run your labs quarterly, as is  my case.

Now, I left out things like lifestyle choices. I didn't want to get into a discussion with those interested in having unprotected sex with a multitude of men.  Nor did I even want to touch the subject of the use of enhancements.  We could debate if these decisions do or do not contribute to your illness progressing to full blown AIDS.

I'll say this. If you are newly diagnosed today, you have so many options.  Your t- cell count and viral load are crucial at the time you are diagnosed, and it's important you find the best infectious disease specialist in your area, or that you can travel to.  Of course, insurance  becomes an issue, but with the additional funds allocated to ADAP, most guys I know who are newly infected can get on some type of medical treatment.

Now, if you are into "bug chasing" and you want to get full blown AIDS, that is your decision.  For those of you who wake up, and understand what you are doing to yourself, you do have options.  That is my 2 cents...

Thanks.  Indeed I am fairly newly diagnosed and found out quickly that traditional medications would be prohibitively expensive for me.  But all that is Part D medicare (drug plans).  The injectable is covered under part B, so might very well prove the affordable option for me.  Genotyping revealed no resistance so right now any should do.

[SFCumdog]

I went to a doctor in San Francisco some years back who was an HIV specialist... one of the people that you read about in books on the subject... I was telling him that I was diagnosed in 1997 and at the time had 125 T-cells and a huge viral load. His response to me was that based on that number, I would have contracted it 9 to 10 years before I was diagnosed, which meant around 1987. 

[TwinkChaserSlut]

On 11/15/2023 at 2:33 PM, viking8x6 said:

Moderator's Note: This topic is in the Health Forums. DO NOT post any HIV fetish-oriented comments in this thread. As a reminder, AIDS fetish is NOT allowed anywhere on the site.

I was just browsing the forums & saw this post. Just an FYI, I think you are a terrific moderator so thank you for your input. But anyway, I am curious on this issue. Isn't it fetished-ized all over this site already? I'm not judging, just asking.

[viking8x6]

3 hours ago, TwinkChaserSlut said:

I was just browsing the forums & saw this post. Just an FYI, I think you are a terrific moderator so thank you for your input. But anyway, I am curious on this issue. Isn't it fetished-ized all over this site already? I'm not judging, just asking.

Short answer: No, it isn't. HIV fetish content is restricted to a few specific forums. Everywhere else on the site is stuff about all the other wonderful aspects of bareback sex. 90+% of my work as a moderator is attempting to keep it that way.

 

[Poz50something]

On 11/15/2023 at 2:08 PM, pozsewerpig said:

How long did it take you to go from contracting HIV to having AIDS?

From 2005 to 2007 is all it took....didn't become an AIDS patient, but came awfully close...last CD4 reading before I went on triple therapy was 212, viral load  was 75000. 2 years.... 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Poz50something

[PozBearWI]

I am a "slow progressor" at least.  A couple more blood draws and that might be updated to "elite controller".  For certain my HIV infection is not moving along very fast at all (grateful for that).

[PozBearWI]

I just got my third month labs today.  My VL has dropped to 830 from an opening roll of 7200.   Even my initial viral load was modest,  It appears I am on track to elite controller for HIV.  April labs are sure to be interesting.  

Sad though for those hoping I might change their life.