Dear Doctor,
First of all, thank you for answering our questions!
I was wondering if taking high doses of echinacea, folid acid and beta carotene could delay the window period of HIV.
The last unprotected encounter with my ex boyfriend was in the beginning of December. He never ejaculated, just would withdraw before that. However, he never tested for HIV (despite my asking repeated times until I broke up with him) and that makes me scared. Moreover, I later had an abnormal pap. For this reason, my naturopath gave me high doses of folic acid, echinacea and beta carotene for a month, from mid January to mid February. I took 2 quick HIV tests this week (March 10, at 13 weeks from last possible exposure) and both came back negative. I understand that a window period of 3 months is most common and only in very rare cases one would seroconvert after that. I have no immune problems at all and take no drugs. However, I am worried whether the vitamins could affect the window period. Can I trust my results or should I get retested at 6 months?
Thank you so much.