3 years( again)

Jan 19, 2005

dr.young I wrote to you asking abpot my vl and tcells a month ago.thank you fore your response.I was asking you why my tcells have increased so much over the past 3 years from 240 to 1350 and my vl went from 704,000 to 200. you mentioned that the concern is that such a low viral load might lead to some resistance.I did forget to mention that in the past 3 years my cd4's have always increased but there where a few times that my vl increased also.one of my tests revealed that my vl went frome like 900 to like 2500 i dont remember the excact numbers.at that time i told my doctor i wanted a resistance test wich came back that i wasnt resistant to my meds.my next test my vl was back down again.also my latest labs where my vl went from 170 to 800 and my cd4's went from 1350 to 1170.a couple points to note: 1 I did my blood work a 7am and ii herd thet your cd4's are lower in the morning then afternoon,2 it seems to me when i do my labs after haveing been sick with the flue or a cold my numbers seem to be worse and 3 these latest labs that i gave you i did in nov of 2004 after being ill for awhile.( cold i think )and at 7am,I am retesting in feb just to see whats going on if infact these increases in vl and decreases in cd4's infact where do to being ill.so my question is what do you think about being ill affecting your numbers and about the fluctuation in vl over the years with my test saying i had no resistance?

Response from Dr. Young

Hello again, 3 years,

You're correct on all points-- there is a lot of variability to the viral load test, and illness (even something as insignificant as a cold) or immunizations can cause small increases in the measurement. The later nearly always occurs in the abscence of resistance. Such could be the case when your viral load is higher.

I certainly recommend that patients defer getting their viral load and CD4 cell counts during periods of such illness; wait a couple of weeks before getting the tests done.

That said, it's rather unlikely that you're always sick when your lab tests are done-- I still am puzzled about cases like yours, but rest assured that there are others like you.

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