Living With HIV: February 2018 Update

pozitivityspace (53)in #health • 7 years ago

It's The Climb

Image: Own

I had just received my test results and I couldn't be happier about it.
Viral Load: Undetectable
CD4 Count: 378 (last test done in November 2017 was 298)
Kidney, liver, creatinine, blood work: All Within Normal Range

Since the past 8 months, my CD4 count has climbed from 150 (May 2017) to 378 (Feb 2018) [+228 counts] and my viral load has decreased from 87, 000 copies (May 2017) to Undetectable (Feb 2018).

To everyone else these are just numbers. But to me, it is a great indicative sign that my body is responding well and is slowly strengthening and healing itself. Even my doctor agrees that this recovery range is wonderful.

So, what exactly is CD4 count and Viral Load?

CD4 T-Cells

Image: AIDSMap

What Are They?

CD4 is a protein expressed on the surface of certain immune cells. The cells, called the CD4 T-helper Cells helps trigger our body's immune response to infection. They do not neutralize the infection itself. They activate the other killer cells in our body to invading pathogens.

We can think of them as scouts who locate the invaders and activating the troop to rain down hell on the invaders..

Why Is The CD4 Count Important?

Knowing how many circulating CD4 cells that are floating in the blood could help establish the state of a person's immune functions. Someone with a high CD4 cell count would have a stronger immune function, while a person with a lower CD4 cell count could be indicative of an impaired immune function.

CD4 cell count is measured by the number of cells per cubic millimeter of blood. As per my latest results, my body has a total of 378 functioning CD4 cells per cubic millimeteter of blood.

In a normal healthy adult, the CD4 count ranges from about 500-1500 cells per cubic millimeter of blood. If the CD4 cells of a HIV-positive individual falls to below 200 cells per cubic millimeter of blood, the condition is then describe as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

The CD4 count is also used to monitor an individual's ressponse to Antiretroviral Theraphy, which helps suppress the viral load, allowing the CD4 cell count to rebound.

CD4 & HIV Infection

CD4 cells play a very important role in activating our immune response. Yet, unfortunately, it is these very cells are what the HIV virus use to replicate and start running amok in our bodies.

They fuse with the host cells and inserts its viral RNA into the cells genetic coding, creating a megafactory of virus producing cells. The infected CD4 cells are then killed, and copies of the newly created virus are released into the bloodstream to infect other cells.

This vicious cycle depletes the body's immune functions, leaving it open for opportunistic infections.

Image: CDC Public Health Information Library

HIV Viral Load

What Is A Viral Load?

A viral load simply means the number of copies of virus RNA per millilitre of blood. Like the CD4 count, a viral load count is also helpful in determining the health and treatment outcome of an individual on therapy.

A high viral load could definitely result is a rapid decrease in CD4 count, and a lower viral load count could result in an increase of the CD4 count.

Antiretroviral Therapy helps decrease the viral load in the body by inhibiting its replication, integration and/or fusion into the host cells. The aim of the therapy is to curb viral replication and bringing it to 'undetectable' level.

'Undetectable' = 'Cured'?

While I wish this was the case, unfortunately it is not.

An undetectable viral load simply means that the number of virus in the blood is very low that current tests are unable to reliably detect them. This number is set at under 50 copies per ml of blood.

It does not mean that a person is cured or the virus has been eradicated from the body.

Image: AVERT

Fighting The Good Fight While Keeping The Faith

In all honesty, I've not held on to that much faith in fighting this battle. Given how I've had to endure different regimes and had to go through hell. But the recent turnarounds have indeed strengthened me and helped renew the fighting spirit.

As in my previous post, I mentioned how I'm taking a multi pronged approach for my wellness, combining both conventional and alternative therapies to complement and restore me.

However, I feel that there is more to it than just that. Which is why I'm also trying to improve on my lifestyle choices. Since November last year, I've made the following changes to my lifestyle:

Reducing my beer drinking from 4 cans every night to to Saturday night indulgence of just 2 cans once per week.
Cutting down my cigarette intake from 2-3 packs a day to just one pack a day. I'm slowly trying to cut in down further and eventually quit altogether.

I believe with all the positive changes to my lifestyle habits, it could also be a contributing factor to my great recovery.

Why my lifestyle changes still had been a bit slow, I'm telling myself that I have made the effort to make a change. And I believe my end goal could finally be achieved.

Till then, wish me luck in kicking the habit of smoking!