What is a Damaged Immune System??

[Guest guest]

Hi all, one thing I don't understand is how does HIV

" permanently damaged the immune system " ?

I know the T-cells can go lower but does that mean there is

permanent damage even if the meds increase them?

Thanks.

Joe.

[Guest guest]

Yes, in some cases the damage can be permanent. In my case, my t cells, back in 1993, were low enough (around 186 if I recall correctly) to start up my Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Because of the KS, which is a cancer, even if there is a cure for HIV tomorrow, my oncologist said that I will now, always and forever more, be at risk for other cancers. So, to me that is permanent damage. For others with low t cells, they may get such things as CMV retinitus, which can cause permanent, total blindness. So, even though the t cells may rise, some of the damage from low t cells are permanent and sometimes quite devastating. I'm still battling KS after all these years, but still going strong! strongfast77 <strongfast77@...> wrote: Hi all, one thing I don't understand is how does HIV"permanently damaged the immune system"?I know the T-cells can go lower but does that mean there is permanent damage even if the meds increase them?Thanks.Joe.

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[Guest guest]

Yes, in some cases the damage can be permanent. In my case, my t cells, back in 1993, were low enough (around 186 if I recall correctly) to start up my Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Because of the KS, which is a cancer, even if there is a cure for HIV tomorrow, my oncologist said that I will now, always and forever more, be at risk for other cancers. So, to me that is permanent damage. For others with low t cells, they may get such things as CMV retinitus, which can cause permanent, total blindness. So, even though the t cells may rise, some of the damage from low t cells are permanent and sometimes quite devastating. I'm still battling KS after all these years, but still going strong! strongfast77 <strongfast77@...> wrote: Hi all, one thing I don't understand is how does HIV"permanently damaged the immune system"?I know the T-cells can go lower but does that mean there is permanent damage even if the meds increase them?Thanks.Joe.

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Hi all, one thing I don't understand is how does HIV"permanently damaged the immune system"?I know the T-cells can go lower but does that mean there is permanent damage even if the meds increase them?Joe,It seems that there are levels of damage that don't get perfectly repaired, even with the miraculous ability of the human body to heal itself once HAART stops viral replication.An old and imperfect analogy is a Scrabble game. Imagine that T cells are game pieces. If you are missing only a few tiles, you probably won't even notice. The body may even be able to copy the missing tiles.If you lose lots of tiles, it becomes more difficult to spell words, and you may not have a copy of Q or Z to duplicate.More and more, clinical evidence suggests treatment earlier than a few years ago. The question of delayed treatment has been answered long ago. It is a terrible idea.You are trying to bargain with this disease, and you will lose on that deal. You need to start treatment; NowJB

[Guest guest]

Hi all, one thing I don't understand is how does HIV"permanently damaged the immune system"?I know the T-cells can go lower but does that mean there is permanent damage even if the meds increase them?Joe,It seems that there are levels of damage that don't get perfectly repaired, even with the miraculous ability of the human body to heal itself once HAART stops viral replication.An old and imperfect analogy is a Scrabble game. Imagine that T cells are game pieces. If you are missing only a few tiles, you probably won't even notice. The body may even be able to copy the missing tiles.If you lose lots of tiles, it becomes more difficult to spell words, and you may not have a copy of Q or Z to duplicate.More and more, clinical evidence suggests treatment earlier than a few years ago. The question of delayed treatment has been answered long ago. It is a terrible idea.You are trying to bargain with this disease, and you will lose on that deal. You need to start treatment; NowJB

[Guest guest]

I generally have had undetec vl. for years yet my t-cells continue to be very low..16:) There is a whole subset of us who fit in this group. I believe this is a damaged immune system. I don't think we know exactly what this means...more susceptible to cancers?Positively yours,tr

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[Guest guest]

I generally have had undetec vl. for years yet my t-cells continue to be very low..16:) There is a whole subset of us who fit in this group. I believe this is a damaged immune system. I don't think we know exactly what this means...more susceptible to cancers?Positively yours,tr

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.