I don't know all that much as new to this, but i'm sure I read somewhere that the rate that people improve varies. Has it been steadily going down over the past couple of months?

yes on my first lot of bloods at 3 months it was 426 then 6 weeks later it was 136, the nurse is under the impression that i should have been undetectable in 12 weeks or less as my viral load was only around 500000, and should be getting better results, i have to see my specialist on the 15th July so will see what she has to say , NatXX

Hey NAT how are you?

I don't have all my stats to hand right now but I'm certain it took me around 7 or 8 months to get to my first undetectable but then again my VL was only 37650 at first diagnosis. If you have a lingering cold, flu or chest infection then in my opinion you can expect your VL to blip upwards and CD4 take a drop.

As far as I'm aware they can't test for resistance until your VL goes above 1000 so I would say your downward trend is fine and you should stick with Atripla. If the trend for your counts was going the other way then maybe it's time for a change. Personally I don't think they're giving enough time mate

thanks mate i agree , they did a resistance test before i started meds, and all were fine, i have not missed any so should have no probs, i agree its going the right way and will say that to the specialist when i see her, XX

From commencement in Jan 08 my counts went something like this:

VL 37650
CD4 210

VL 222
CD4 270

VL 171
CD4 350

VL 51
CD4 433

then just before xmas 08

VL undetectable
cd4 500

Since then my VL has blipped a few times. Once upto 84 then back to undetectable. Then after a real bad winter and one cold running into another I went up to VL 181 and CD4 307. A few weeks back I was tested again and my counts were on the mend ...VL 96, CD4 440. Summer is here and I can feel my CD4 rising again ...goodbye winter, hello undetectable!

This winter I'm aiming with the use of Colloidal Silver (just took delivery of my CS generator) to try and fend off the colds and flu, hopefully that way I will see a continued rise in CD4 and undetactable VL.

Stick to your guns mate, I'm sure before long you'll reach the goal of undetectable.

seems a little early to me to be switching meds.......................

its only been 4 months on meds and not 5 and a half as i thought and stated, however they seem to like me stressing out so soon after, well they wont get to me , XX

The aim is to get you undetectable but both specialist and the clinical nurse at my GUM told me that some people never quite achieve undetectable and hover just above. Quite often there are VL blips which they also described as perfectly normal. I mean the fact that I achieve undetectable doesn't mean there aren't still a few copies of HIV in my serum, it just means the test they use isn't sensitive enough to go below 50 copies p/m/l of blood. We're talking a few copies here and at four months they MAY change your meds?

Be polite NAT (I'm sure you will anyhow) and say "No thanks I'd like to stick with this regime whilst my VL is stable and under control"

thanks to all of your comments, i will ask to stay on the Atripla as i feel its working, [ going the right way ] the nurse also said not to eat after 9pm if taking at 11pm. but sometimes i have , and she said this may be the problem, ??

I don't see a problem NAT, your counts are going in the right direction. I think the nurse maybe NOT quite as educated on the matter as we're lead to think. The reason they SUGGEST we take Atripla at bedtime and not eat large meals within four hours prior ...is so that there is the least possible chance of experiencing some of the many listed side effects and so that the drug is pretty much the only thing ingested. i.e it's full dose is consumed into our system.

That's one of the reasons I choose to take mine at 4am each day ...wheyhey, let my hair down, have a few beers and a late night at the curry house without worrying about any interaction.

Take care NAT and keep us informed about your next counts

I agree with others that it is a bit early to be switching medications unless there are other factors besides the viral load. If your viral load was over 2,000 (significantly higher than undetectable), or you were experiencing side effects that prevented you from taking the drugs every day, or there were other factors, it would be very reasonable to switch drugs. But a viral load of 136 is very, very low and not a large concern this early in your treatment, especially if your pre-treatment viral load was in the hundreds of thousands.

Keep us posted how you are doing in the future. We are all hoping you do well.