A Woman's Guide to Living with HIV Infection by Rebecca A. Clark & Robert T. Maupin Jr. & Jill Hayes

Author:Rebecca A. Clark & Robert T. Maupin, Jr., & Jill Hayes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2012-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

It is unclear whether HIV infection affects menstrual cycles. There have been several studies comparing menstrual irregularities in women with and without HIV. Some studies have found no difference, but others have found that women with HIV—especially those with a CD4 cell count below 200—are more likely to have lengthy intervals between periods. These intervals might last up to six weeks. One study also showed that low CD4 cell counts and high viral loads may cause either longer or shorter menstrual cycles and irregular cycles.

There is also very little information on whether menstrual periods are affected by HIV treatments. One report from Denmark described four women who experienced increased menstrual bleeding after starting on Norvir (ritonavir). However, no other studies have found this association with Norvir. Another study that focused on the connection between HIV and menstruation found that women with HIV and regular periods do not ovulate in 29 percent of their cycles. A second study of women with HIV and both normal and abnormal periods found that 48 percent had at least one cycle in which they did not ovulate.

If a woman is trying to become pregnant, she needs to know whether or not she is ovulating. The least expensive and easiest way to determine whether you are ovulating is to keep a basal temperature calendar as described in chapter 10. You can also buy over-the-counter kits that will confirm when you ovulate.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.