How long does it take for hiv to run down immune system?

Like how long would it take from time of exposure to months to years afterward before you to get those "hard to get rid of" or "reoccurring" type illnesses.

Like say you have a yeast infection that's hard to get rid of or keeps reoccurring. Or a cold that keeps coming back. Is this during the early stages of hiv infection or later stages like months or years down the road?

I am not a doctor but this is what I know.

It is hard to say but if you had a healthy immune system which is about 1500 t-cells to start with...

You system starts to really get compromised when t-cells fall below 200. T-cells are the helper cells that fight infection.

If you have no treatment you could lose about 50 t-cells a year (keep in mind you may lose more or less but this is just an average) in 7 years you would be at the very dangerous stage.

Remember many people dont even realize they have HIV because you may not seek a diagnosis until many years after exposure. This delay in seeking medical assistance gives HIV the time to kill your t-cells while multiplying the viral load (this is the amount of HIV in your body). In an HIV infected person it is best if the viral load is 50ppm or less this is considered undetectable.

The number of t-cells you will lose eventually will be affected by your lifestyle, smoking, drinking, drugs, food. Sickness, stress, exercise all play into this factor.

My suggestion is to get to a doctor if you think you have been exposed to HIV and really re-examine your lifestyle to make healthy choices.

Recurrent yeast infections are common and repeated colds also. Neither indicate HIV related infections, even if you know that you have been infected with HIV. Pneumocystis pneumonia and many other serious infections that are usually not seen in uninfected people would indicate a "run down immune system" or a dangerously low CD4 count (less than 200-500). If you are infected you should be followed by an infectious disease specialist. If you simply think you might have been infected, then you should get tested anonymously.
Good luck.

it could be months OR years....just depends on your body and your exposure to viruses.

The healthy immune system of some uninfected people is weaker than the level at which infected people are generally considered to need to start treatment in order to prevent AIDS from developing. If you are one of these people, you are at a risk of developing AIDS within a year or two of infection.

There is also age to consider. As we grow older, our immune systems tend to grow weaker - so the older you are when you are infected, the quicker you are likely to develop AIDS.

It usually takes 8 to 10 years to progress from infecting to AIDS. AIDS is the condition caused by HIV that means that your immune system is ruined. Of course this is when the infection is untreated. If treated properly most people don't ever progress to AIDS.