HIV Support Group

HIV (also known as human immunodeficiency virus, and formerly known as HTLV-III and lymphadenopathy-associated virus) is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system which can lead the syndrome known as AIDS. Many of the problems faced by people infected with HIV result from failure of the immune system to protect from opportunistic...

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deleted_user 04/04/2008

My girlfriend's doctor mailed her the results of her last test but we don't know how to read them. He did call her and tell her she's doing "Great" but we'd like to get a better understanding. Could anyone possibly shed some light on what it means?

Under the Heading: Lab -HIV RNA Ultra, Real Time PCR (Graph)Name:
HV-1 RNA by PCR

HIV-1 RMA detected, less than 48 copies/al

The reportable range for this assay is 48 to 10,000,000 copies HIV RNA/ml.

Then below that it shows:

log 10 HIV-1RNA UPTCAL log10copy/ml

unable to calculate result since non-numeric result obtained for component test.

It appears to me that the numbers do indicate that she's doing great but I don't want to assume that I am understanding it all correctly. She's 30 years old and on Atripla and has been for some time. She seems to be symptom free and the side-effects from the drug seem to be manageable for her.

Thanks to everyone for all your help. If it wasn't for the support of this group I may have broken up with her out of fear and ignorance.
elginshyguy

deleted_user 04/04/2008

Wish I could help ya, Buddy... but I"m still tryin' to figure this stuff out myself! Dr. Duke??? Where are ya??

deleted_user 04/04/2008

Just saw something I overlooked that is most likely what's needed to determine anything. It says:
"Absolute CD4 Helper 678"
Is that good in light of the other info?

deleted_user 04/05/2008

I'd say that means her viral load is undetectable

And her CD4 is 678.

But I could be totally wrong!
Although I really hope that I'm right, because that would be amazing.

deleted_user 04/05/2008

HIV-1 RMA detected, less than 48 copies/al

is this supposed to say HIV-1 RNA, instead of RMA....

from what i know,
hiv rna, IS viral load....

once again, the medical industry is refusing to print this stuff in PLAIN LANGUAGE.

hiv rna levels = viralload

if viralload is 48, that's super, and 678 tcels is always good.

many many healthy people dont maintain 700 tcels

PCR... now there's a real mess.... (pcr is just the process, a process, involved in calculating the viral load)

learning about pcr is essential for understanding what viral load is, how it is calculated, and how accurate it can be.. or fail to be.

google search, kari mullis, inventor of the PCR method, also used in forensics and other lab applications. he won a nobel prise for inventing pcr process....

more on that later.

DrDuke 04/06/2008

For the HIV-1 RNA viral load measurement, the lowest level that can be reliably detected in the particular test your girlfriend took is reported to be 48 copies per microliter. I am not sure why they say 48 instead of 50. None of these tests are accurate to within one or two viruses per microliter. So anyway, the viral load is less than 48, and it might be zero, which is good news. The viral load can't be reported on the log scale (2 = 100, 3 = 1000, 4 = 10,000 etc) because "Less than 48" in not a numeric value that can be converted to a log.

Any CD4 count above 300 is pretty good. Most people do not show any serious immune system damage until the CD4 count is well below 100.

deleted_user 04/07/2008

OK I am tripping off the fact that he mailed her results to her. My doctor only discusses my results in his office. What if they had gotten lost in the mail or lord forbid put in the wrong mail box? I know I get other people's mail from time to time, which I never open. I know people who get other's mail and read it just to be nosey. I'm not sure how you or your girlfriend would feel about a neighbor getting her lab results and finding out her status, but it is really something to think about and maybe even talk over with this doctor.

Abrasho43 07/23/2019

It's pretty amazing how my result came back with cd4 of 1013 and no numbers were written on my rna viral load result, the doctors celebrated me and told me to keep using my regimen, I'm from Nigeria I was infected by my BF who lied about being positive, I got to know about it when i stumble of the medicine he's been taking and read about it online, I had to quickly fly to my country to have better access to medical care, and i found out that the test was false positive, I was told to wait a while without given prep to preventing it from happening... I was devastated,I almost committed suicide hoping it won't be positive, 6 months after i did the test but negative, I still wasn't satisfied with one lab test tried several just to be sure, I agreed to starting medication and my first cd4 was 980, second was 1094,third was 870, fourth 780, 5th 1013 and my viral load has always been 20 copies, but last year my viral load was 00.. I'm not sexually active and extra careful, health healthy and less exercise... I'm fine

Jhc1982 06/27/2020

Ive had numerous health problems over the years and am concerned i may have contracted hiv. Sympotms i have had, stomach problems, tiredness, grey tongue and sores every 3 or 4 months, spots top of legs had one rash on my stomach I recently and have had joint pains. A year ago i developed problems breathing through my nose and rely on nasal sprays. A specialist said this was likely due to an allergy. Is there anything else i should be looking for or any other advice? Thanks

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