Together, you and your healthcare provider will make an HIV treatment plan. This plan is more than just taking medicines to control HIV. The plan includes other things you can do to stay healthy, such as:

Take your medicines the right way every day
Take control of any side effects. If you need help, call your healthcare provider
Have blood tests often to find out how well your medicine is working
See your healthcare provider every few months for a checkup
Keep track of any changes in your health
Eat healthy foods and be physically active

The goals of your treatment plan

Goals are things you want to happen. The goals of your HIV treatment plan are to have:

Very little virus in your body

The amount of HIV in your blood is called your viral load. It tells how well medicines are controlling the virus
When treatment works well, your viral load drops so low that tests cannot find the small amount of virus in your blood. This is called undetectable viral load

A strong immune system

When treatment works well, your viral load goes DOWN and your CD4 cell count goes UP. Less virus in your body means fewer CD4 cells are being destroyed
The more CD4 cells you have, the stronger your immune system is. This helps you fight off diseases and infections. It also means you have a lower chance of getting an AIDS-related illness

Few medicine side effects

A good treatment plan controls the virus but does not cause too many side effects. A side effect is a symptom or feeling you do not want but may get when you take medicine. Learn more now about side effects of common HIV medicines
You and your healthcare provider can talk about ways to help cope with side effects if you get them

You are still infected with HIV even when tests show that your viral load is undetectable. Keep on using condoms and don't share your drug kit. And be sure to stay on your medicine to keep the virus controlled.

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