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How long can an HIV person live without taking medication?
Without using HIV treatment, life expectancy is related to how quickly your CD4 count drops and how low it gets. Without treatment, some people see their CD4 count drop to under 200 within a few years of infection, while others people can go for 5-10 years or longer before they need treatment.
Can you stop HIV medication?
Keep Taking Your HIV Medication to Stay Undetectable If you stop taking HIV medication, your viral load will quickly go back up. If you have stopped taking your HIV medication or are having trouble taking all the doses as prescribed, talk to your health care provider as soon as possible.
What happens if you miss your medication?
If you forget to take one or more doses, take your next dose at the normal time and in the normal amount. Do not take any more than your doctor prescribed. If you miss one dose, skip it and continue with your normal schedule.
What happens when you stop taking HIV medications?
Once a patient stops that medication, the virus will begin attacking those cells again, leaving the patient susceptible to infection. It is those secondary infections which typically result in the death of the patient, not the AIDS virus.
Can interrupting HIV treatment be harmful?
However, interrupting HIV treatment can be harmful in several ways. First, HIV drug resistance can develop when patients stop taking certain antiretroviral (ARV) medications, particularly those in the NNRTI class–like efavirenz (Sustiva), and rilpivirine (Edurant)–or the combination pills Atripla, Odefsey, and Complera.
What happens when HIV becomes resistant to medication?
Once the HIV develops resistance to a medication, that medicine can no longer be used to effectively treat the virus. Breaks in treatment can jeopardize the availability of some or all of the interrupted medicines for future treatment.
Can Hodgkins relapse while on HIV medication?
The risk for Hodgkins to relapse is likely to be higher when you are not on HIV meds, compared to being on treatment. You said your CD4 count is about 500 and an undetectable viral load. These are a good indication that the medication was working really well.