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How long does it take the viral load to drop when you restart medicine
Me and my girlfriend been having unprotected sex for 3 months between August and October. She confessed to me around the end of October that she HIV positive for 5 years. She's been undetectable for 5 years too. I went with her in the middle of October to get her test done. Her viral load went up. She said its cause she had stopped taking her medicines in the beginning of October for about 3 weeks cause she was depressed. Her viral load was 1676 and her cd4 was 1315. Ever since then she's been taking her medicine again from the end of October till now. We use condoms now since her viral load went up but we still have unprotected oral sex on each other. I was tested almost 2 weeks ago and was negative. I had a HIV antibody test and HIV viral load test. Both was negative. I want to know how long will it take her viral load to go back down again? How long will it take her to get undetectable again? What's the chances of her body becoming resistant to the medicine. The name of her medicine is called Complera
Hi Joseph, I am no expert or doctor. But, I suffer from HIV health anxiety and have learned quite a bit about oral-genitial potential for HIV exposure (due to fears that I have been exposed to HIV through oral). As an insertive partner, your risk would be extremely low and possibly 0. Doctors on this website believe so. The CDC suggests it happens 1/20,000 encounters WITH infected partners. Even then, there is nothing documented about HIV transmission to the insertive partner in oral sex. Yes, I repeat, not a single case of HIV transmission has been believed to occur this way. However, I am not sure how viral load factors into this. My guess would be that it does not; the fluid involved in oral sex is saliva, which inhibits HIV. Practically, oral sex would not involve the exchange of her vaginal fluids or blood and thus I cannot reasonably see how such a transmission would occur. Again, I am no expert. But, I am a true Health Anxiety sufferer who has spent hours on this website and others.
1 Comments
Even when HIV+ people are consistent with their meds, they are still advised to use condoms with their partners despite transmission being very unlikely to happen.
In usual circumstances, it would take around 3 months for the viral load to become undetectable, but since you say she stopped her meds in October, things may be different for her, and only a doctor would be able to give a definitive answer.
You could also post the same question on the "LIVING with HIV" forum.
We answer questions about the "before" here, and they deal with the "after" on that forum.
As our friend pointed out for oral, whether the number is 1 in 10,000 for the giver or 1 in 27,000 for the receiver, it makes no difference as nobody has ever been infect this way.
Sorry for the long comment.
In usual circumstances, it would take around 3 months for the viral load to become undetectable, but since you say she stopped her meds in October, things may be different for her, and only a doctor would be able to give a definitive answer.
You could also post the same question on the "LIVING with HIV" forum.
We answer questions about the "before" here, and they deal with the "after" on that forum.
As our friend pointed out for oral, whether the number is 1 in 10,000 for the giver or 1 in 27,000 for the receiver, it makes no difference as nobody has ever been infect this way.
Sorry for the long comment.
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