Viral Blips & What?

 

The title of this piece says a lot...

"Viral blips during HIV therapy are common and rarely signal treatment failure, Swedish study finds"

This study followed a cohort of 4,000+ patients for 5 - 11+ years.  They found that on average a 1/5 of these patients would see at least 1 blip during that period.  A viral blip is defined as a patient with previously undetectable levels or suppressed HIV, suddenly being detectable, then being undetectable again after the next scheduled testing.  

The pathogenesis of blips isn't understood.  It could be a lot of things.  The most common finding was blips were more common among those having frequent, precise testing.   By this they mean being tested every 3 - 6 months & the test had a threshold of 50 copies per ml.  My blip came after the newer test lowered that number to 20.  IMO, the more precise & available testing becomes, the more common blips are going to be.  

As the title stated, blips are common & not necessarily a sign of treatment failure.   Read this piece.  It's a little lengthy, but informative.

Cya...

Blip's Gone...

 

For the time being, my labs are back in order.  I still don't know if the blip was from me, an error made by the outpatient center or a lab goof.  I'm sporting a fairly large bruise in the crook of my arm.  The worst parts of getting labs are actually the bruising from needle & abrasions from the tape.  At least most places have gotten rid of the tape.    

My telemed appointment is in the beginning of March.  A week later the new kitten goes in for his vet visit.   Other than wrapping up the month, those are my upcoming plans. 

Take care.

Cya...

Blips...

 

I had a blip on my last bloodwork.  My new specialist is the nervous kind.  He's reminds of a little dog trying to prove how big he is while checking off all his little boxes.  Anyway while I haven't had many, this isn't my 1st blip.   An undetectable viral load is under 20 copies per ml.  For some older tests that threshold is 50.  Mine was 28.   I'm still considered virally suppressed.  That's anything under 200, again those numbers were higher with older test.

This is a short piece over blips.  There are a lot online.  If you have a number slightly above undetectable wait until your next test.  It's likely to have gone back down.  As seldom as most people get test, 1 - 4 times annually, it's likely blips are more common than thought to be.  You're dealing with a virus & your body, nothing is static in this equation. Fluctuation is normal.  That's why testing is important.

That's it for now, take care.

Cya...