Hiv anitbody test 2 years past exposure???

Doc. I really respect your work and the information you provide worried people like myself. Im a 22 yr old male. In Jan. 2005 i had unprotected sex with a female who's hiv status i dont know. I had unprotected vaginal and oral on three separate occassions during that month. I Didnt worry about hiv at that time so i didnt get tested for it. But in May 2007 i started worrying about possibly being hiv + after i started seeing lessions on my arms. I started worrying about hiv alot to the point i suffered from anxiety and was depressed. I then developed more symptoms during that month. I noticed my tongue was very white and i felt something like thrush in my throat. I also have had genital sores and tongue sores that come and go. And after my hiv anxiety in may 07 i also noticed that i had little red spots all over skin and skin became itchy I also had loss of appetite, diaherrea, upset stomach. I took 2 hiv antibody tests in may 07, both where negative. I also took 2 more hiv 1/2 anitbody tests in september 2007 and both where negative. My last exposure was in jan. 05. I'm still concerned about hiv because i still have some symptoms that ive had since may 07, like white tongue, oral thrush, red spots on skin, itchy skin, genital sores, tongue sores all those since may 07 that dont go away. And now for over a month i've had dry cough, and headaches after coughing to much. My questions are. That is it possible for someone who is hiv positive to test hiv antibody negative after a certain time of having it? Do my symptoms sound like hiv symptoms? And do you know how accurate an hiv antibody test is after 2 years of last exposure? Do you think that there is any possibility that i could have hiv or aids and be testing negative for hiv antibody tests?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Your exposure was over two years ago and since that time you have had at least 4 HIV tests.  The chances you have HIV are vanishingly rare.

I have not examined your rash or the lesions you describe in your mouth.  I would suggest that when they are present you see a health care provider who is comfortable evaluating rashes and dermatologic conditions and get their opinion on what is going on.  There are many conditions, both infectius and non-infectious which can cause a variety of skin and oral symptoms.

Good luck EWH

[joggen]

Something else is causing your symptoms. You have been overtested for HIV.

[YoungAztec]

I have heard that there is a window period for a person to wait after there last exposure to test conclusively. But i havent heard if a person can wait to long to get tested before test could possibly be a false negative. I mean after someone tests positive for hiv antibodies then it's confirmed with western blot then do a cd4 but do they ever take hiv antibody tests again after that? That's what has me thinking. How accurate can a hiv antibody test be 2+ years after last exposure? Do the  symptoms i suffer from sound like hiv/aids symptoms? I've had most of them for over 5 months now and they don't seem to get much better.