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4 - 6 week and 3 months window periods
I understand people insist on the 12 week window period ... yet if the new duo tests aim for anitgen which is present 10-16 days after the test.. it should then obviously catch it by then ....
Also various countries differ on their window period, so which should we generally stick by ? I understand the guidelines are 3 months yet all the HIV experts (on here also) state that 4 - 6 weeks is virtually 100 percent...
When I went and saw my GP he states 3 months and on the test it states 3 months until conclusive (duo test)... yet when I went and spoke to a HIV specialist in a private clinic he stated that 4 - 6 weeks was long enough ... and that he has usually gotten people to test positive within 2 - 3 weeks and on an occasion he had someone test positive within 10 days... and that if I tested negative at 4 - 5 weeks I can definitely get on with my life.
Also a comment from Sean Cummings of Freedom Health in London has stated since he has been using the duo test in 1998 that he has never seen anyone test positive after a negative 28 day test.
Also Dr. HHH also stated that he went to a HIV conference and no doctor put their hands up to when asked if anyone had tested positive after 6 weeks of exposure .. and that the CDC even stated that 3 months is a long time now.
Now after all this, who do we go by ? and its a bit silly that I could be in one country and undertake the same test at 6 weeks and claim it conclusive yet be in another and with the same test claim it not conclusive and be required to wait yet another 6 weeks for conclusive result ??? Do the tests slightly differ between countries ? what is the go with all this ?
Also various countries differ on their window period, so which should we generally stick by ? I understand the guidelines are 3 months yet all the HIV experts (on here also) state that 4 - 6 weeks is virtually 100 percent...
When I went and saw my GP he states 3 months and on the test it states 3 months until conclusive (duo test)... yet when I went and spoke to a HIV specialist in a private clinic he stated that 4 - 6 weeks was long enough ... and that he has usually gotten people to test positive within 2 - 3 weeks and on an occasion he had someone test positive within 10 days... and that if I tested negative at 4 - 5 weeks I can definitely get on with my life.
Also a comment from Sean Cummings of Freedom Health in London has stated since he has been using the duo test in 1998 that he has never seen anyone test positive after a negative 28 day test.
Also Dr. HHH also stated that he went to a HIV conference and no doctor put their hands up to when asked if anyone had tested positive after 6 weeks of exposure .. and that the CDC even stated that 3 months is a long time now.
Now after all this, who do we go by ? and its a bit silly that I could be in one country and undertake the same test at 6 weeks and claim it conclusive yet be in another and with the same test claim it not conclusive and be required to wait yet another 6 weeks for conclusive result ??? Do the tests slightly differ between countries ? what is the go with all this ?
THIS forum maintains the advice of 3 months based on the official testing guidelines set up by the testing manufacturers and the CDC. Until those entities change the window period, our advice will remain the same.
I will go back in 4 months time and see if it has changed - will post back here ...
FACT: There are no tests marketed or sold to give a CONCLUSIVE NEGATIVE test result earlier than 3 months post exposure.
The OFFICIAL guidelines from the manufactures is 3 months to obtain a conclusive negative test result.
Just so you know I had my 5 week duo test .. negative .. doctor told me to put it all behind me and it will not change :\ .. now im not sure if I should put it behind me or go back in 3 months...
You are correct,the manufacturers of the DUO have stated that the test is 99.89% accurate at 4 weeks+ and DR Garcia and DR cummings both say this test is conclusive at 4 weeks+ regardless of the exposure and they say this time and time again.The US does not have the experience that the UK has with regards to the DUO nor do they have the same knowledge about this test.To silly_guy,if you have received a negative DUO at or after 4 weeks you are as good as home.Dr Sean Cummings is one of the best HIV experts in the UK and he is providing facts when he speaks of the DUO test.
Dr Sean Cummings from Freedom Health state that the manufacturers tell him that the tests are 99.89% at 4 weeks ... and he states it conclusive and definitive after 28 days... but I guess an antibody test at 3 months is 99.99% but I am very happy with a 0.1% difference..
especially when my risk (and others) was supposedly 0.1% (even less) with a female to male transmission...
I guess I will take a 6 week test and then a 4 month test and we could know !
especially when my risk (and others) was supposedly 0.1% (even less) with a female to male transmission...
I guess I will take a 6 week test and then a 4 month test and we could know !
The manufactures say that 3 months is when you can obtain a conclusive negative test result.
I guess so .. I guess for the DUO in Australia its conclusive after 6 weeks .... 42 days ? right ........which makes me think why should it be less in other countries ? Dr. HHH said supposedly the CDC is saying aswell that 3 months is way too long.
Hey guys .. just had my 33rd day test (bit paranoid thinking maybe 28 day was too early or could be a false negative..) and it came back negative !!(thank god) ... yet a little difference I noticed on this test that was different from the last one I had at a different pathologist and medical center ... is that this test says the window period is 6 weeks and the last one says 3 months .. yet they seem to be the same type of test ..
The last place was a general local medical center ... and this time it was an actual STD clinic.. I mean this STD clinic and pathologist must be fairly confident with 6 weeks ... if I go and test negative at 7 weeks ... and then afterwards test positive for HIV at 4 months, I could literally sue them for millions .. they are dealing with peoples health and lives here .. and I am sure they are smart enough to know this and have probably even allowed an extra 2 weeks ontop of 4 weeks to be safe ?? I feel the HIV experts on here and that I have seen are correct with saying 4 - 5 weeks is long enough.
I am getting another test results tomorrow for my 36th day test (over 5 weeks) and I doubt I will get a post 6 week test if this is negative, as the doctor said I could put all this behind me after my post 5 week test since I am not a IV drug user or ever had serious health problems etc.
The last place was a general local medical center ... and this time it was an actual STD clinic.. I mean this STD clinic and pathologist must be fairly confident with 6 weeks ... if I go and test negative at 7 weeks ... and then afterwards test positive for HIV at 4 months, I could literally sue them for millions .. they are dealing with peoples health and lives here .. and I am sure they are smart enough to know this and have probably even allowed an extra 2 weeks ontop of 4 weeks to be safe ?? I feel the HIV experts on here and that I have seen are correct with saying 4 - 5 weeks is long enough.
I am getting another test results tomorrow for my 36th day test (over 5 weeks) and I doubt I will get a post 6 week test if this is negative, as the doctor said I could put all this behind me after my post 5 week test since I am not a IV drug user or ever had serious health problems etc.
I work with pathologists that use the DUO test everyday and the fact is that anyone infected with HIV will have high detectable levels of p24 antigen very early on,it will peak at around 3 to 4 weeks and then stay constant throughout the illness.This is the reason why it has an accuracy of 99.89% at 4 weeks.
they dont decline afterwards .. they stay high for a couple of of weeks (http://www.freedomhealth.co.uk/sexual-health/hiv-test-hiv-testing-london/125/)
so really unless there is a false positive .. supposedly 28 day test should be fairly reliable
so really unless there is a false positive .. supposedly 28 day test should be fairly reliable
Duo test looks for antigens that appear earlier than antibodies and peak at around 21 days,however it starts to decline after that..so you may take the standard ab test if u test after a 2 month period, which is good enough, but to follow the 3 month will give u total replief
The DUO is 99.89% accurate at 4 weeks,if you don't like those odds well I'm afraid it's not going to get any better than that.
the difference "supposedly" between a 4 week hiv duo test and a 3 month test is 0.1% ... as the HIV duo test at 4 weeks is 99.89% and the 3 month antibody test is 99%
Obviously .. nothing in science or medicine is 100 percent right ?... even the 3 month tests are not 100 percent literally ... ? I just find it odd that 2 separate HIV specialists I have seen have said 4 - 5 weeks is long enough and I could claim it conclusive (duo test) yet the GP states that I have to wait 3 months... 99.89% is virtually conclusive to me if it is that after 28 days.
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