CD4 and RNA numbers fluctuation

[Malesack]

My neighbor found out he was poz in January.  The doc started him on ART.

In Feb he was 227 on the CD4 and over 500 on the PCR RNA.

in June he was retested and learned he actually went down to 200 on CD4 while the RNA dropped to double digits.

Since below 200 is AIDS, is it normal to have fluctuations in the CD4 numbers each 3 months of testing?  RNA, CMP and CBC all show vastly improved numbers in normal ranges but the CD4 result caught his attention.   

 

 

 

[descartes70817]

All I know I was tested for was my CD4 cell count and my viral load but my CD4 cell count dropped to 34 before I began taking meds, while my viral load was around 100,000. Since 2017 (when I was full blown) my CD4 cell count is still in the "compromised immunity" range but my viral load is undetectable. That said my CD4 cell count did vary from test to test and my viral load did spike a couple of times - when I took an unscheduled break from my meds.

One thing I was told was that at my age my CD4 might never reach normal levels and is it typically in the low 400 range

[Malesack]

Thanks for sharing that.  I’ll let him know.