leonniefm 30 May 2009 Special 172 views 8 Comments Print This Post  Email This Post

Today, May 29 2009, We are only six days away since Fajar’s blood sample was sent to the lab to get his viral load tested. The method they use should take up to three weeks, with additional days we should have the result paper within one month.

Well, maybe they have changed their mind to use the latest test method, but the result paper was sent to our home this evening. Surprisingly it printed there:

Type of test                 Result               Measurement           Notes

IMMUNOSEROLOGY

HIV

HIV-RNA (Viralload):

- Conventional          Virus undetected         copies/mL       result <400copies/mL virus undetected

- S I                           Virus undetected          UI/mL

We took the test because for the last four months and two CD4+ test, the results trend to drop.

The Viral Load test result seemed to be too amazing to believe without any visit to dearest Google. We went through one article after another, tried to understand what does “Virus Undetected” mean. We stopped at one point by saying, this is a good news. It may not be the end of the battle but it is one freaking good news. So we went first to the place where we share our lives in 140 characters:

• Still need to be careful because my body is marginally weaker than normal; but the virus itself is contained and tamed for now.
• It means that I still need to manage my stress & lifestyle, - but the HIV inside is unlikely to push my body further downward.

These are some of the replies from our fellow Twitterers:

These kind of responses have accompanied Fajar for at least six months since his condition dropped to the stage where he needed to be medicated with Anti Retroviral Drugs (ARV). There were always tweets to support him in each high and low. Each may not contained more than 140 characters, then again LOVE only contains four characters. The impact may change a person’s spirit to live.

The battle is far from end. There is the possibility of new resistance to the current ARV, not to mention Fajar’s CD4+ counts which is not even half of the minimum requirement ( 14%, minimum requirement is 31%). Today, those numbers and every scientific calculation made on it would have to admit that something unmeasurable like love could make them undetectable.

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LINKS:

Undetectable viral load :
Having undetectable viral load is desirable for two reasons:

• A very low risk of developing AIDS.
  

• A very low risk of developing resistance to the drugs you are taking now.

Viral load and drug resistance:

Suppressing viral load to undetectable levels (below 50 copies) is likely to delay the development of resistance for longer.

Viral load and CD4

T-Cells Dropping and Viral is now Undetectable