Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

HIV Testing Window

•Male •18

First of all, this is driving me insane and i've been thinking about it a lot (but I try not to). I feel like I made a big mistake and I surely have learnt with it. I'll try to make it short and to the point.

On the first day of November 2014, I had sex for the first time with my girlfriend (vaginal, unprotected). Until the beggining of April 2015, I had unprotected vaginal sex between ten/ fifteen times (including two times during her period) with the same person and also oral sex (gave and received) between five and ten times.

We broke up on the same month. I got tested on September 9th for this test "hiv 1+2 - chemiluminescence". My blood was collected and sent to a lab. Everything came back "not reactive". I finally felt safe. But then it hit me: what if this was a false negative?

During the end of 2014 (november, december) I had a fever for a couple of days/ a week. My throat hurt and I had night sweats several times. I also started having this dry cough until february 2015. I felt very tired (maybe because of school), I have (until now) this kind of fungi condition on my groin and at some point I had what looked like little bug bites (itchy).

The girl has never tested, but she had unprotected sex for a single time with a guy our age (a couple of months before our first time). Red flags include her mentioning her mother used to do drugs, her father was married and had kids with two other women before and they both (especcially her mother) used to and still hits her. Now they're divorced, her father is doing a treatment in germany for excess of calcium because of heavy drinking(?) and plans on taking her mother to court for her past drug abuse (i don't know why). To me, there could be some lies in all these stories...

After we broke up, I only wet kissed four different people. Now, I'm also having some regular headaches and i'm feeling numbness in my feet and hands when I wake up and once in a while during the day. Sometimes, I have this sensation of needles/ pain in some parts of my body (some of them during breathing).

Anyway, i just wanted to know:

1-is it possible that because of high exposure, it could take more time for the test to turn positive?

Thank you so much and sorry for my bad english (it's not my first language).
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hello, test results don't change over time, it's the fact that you give blood sample every time you do the test, and the virus takes time to become detectable in blood (antibodies and antigens).
if you do test too early (less than 4 weeks after your LAST exposure). Then it might not be very accurate. If you did your test 4 weeks after your last exposure then it's more likely that you're HIV negative.

Kissing is not a risk.
Helpful - 0
13276481 tn?1451146767
1. No.

You are over 3 months from your last risk of unprotected vaginal sex. Any antibody test at this time will be conclusive. Female to male infection is not a serious risk though a risk you need to follow up on.
As for any symptoms, your test results are what you go by to determine your hiv status.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello, the number of exposures you had doesn't affect the time your body would take the develop antibodies against HIV.

CDC, which is very conservative about windows periods, state that 3 months is enough time. You broke up in April and got tested in September, that's more than enough, your result is conclusive.

May be you are looking for ARS symptoms, they're not reliable to diagnose an HIV infection, but for your peace of mind I'll tell you that those symptoms, when they appear, do it around 20 days after exposure and usually include, fever, sore throat and rash. It doesn't sound anything like your description. But as I told you, don't rely on symptoms, trust your negative test.

And by the way, kissing is not a risk.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
There's no such thing as a false negative at "3 months or over". You tested well over the window period.
You are conclusively negative and your gf's history should not be least of your concerns any more. Your symptoms are not related to HIV. Take care.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the HIV Prevention Community

Top HIV Answerers
366749 tn?1544695265
Karachi, Pakistan
370181 tn?1595629445
Arlington, WA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.