July 2005
Cleared for Takeoff
Get tested Experts advise
a viral-load test. Undetectable? Let the break begin! 1,000 copies or
more? Get a phenotype or genotype test—you might have to cancel your
holiday. Set a budget Decide
which numbers will trigger a return to your regimen. Expert advice:
When viral load exceeds 100,000 or CD4s drop below 200, head home. Or,
as Philadelphia AIDS researcher Luis Montaner, DVM, says, set a
CD4-count limit about 15 percent above your nadir. And everyone agrees
that what Sax calls “all those nonspecific cruddy feelings we used to
call AIDS-related complex” should send you back to Doc. Early-bird special
The general rule is to drop all your meds all at the same time, but
since the non-nukes (Sustiva, Viramune) stay in your body longest, if
you’re on them, stop them some days before the rest of your combo to
avoid resistance.
