Testing Results

[anxiousfree]

Dear all,

I apologize in advance for the repost. Initially, I asked my question in hypothetical regarding a "friend" but since members of the forum can only answer direct question, I'll explain my situation.

A couple of months ago, I was on a work trip. I met a middle age lady and we hit it off. We ended up having intercourse and in a moment of lack of judgement, I penetrated her without protection. I regret it what I've done and I have stopped within a couple of minutes.
A day later, I found myself very regretful and as soon as I got back in the country (Texas), I went to the clinic and received PEP and I started in like 50 hours after the accident. I was tested with rapid test and it was negative. I went back at 4.5 weeks after I stopped and I tested negative with fourth generation test. The doctor said to come back around week 12 to get another test. Then, a friend of mine said I should get tested sooner so I went back at like day 63 after said accident and test on the same test of fourth generation and it came back negative. My doctor said this is not conclusive and that PEP delays seroconversion and I should come back at week 12 for third testing. Is this correct? I'm a bit worried and I have symptoms of headache, lack of appetite and bad sleep. It's now almost 11 weeks. Do I need more tests? Should I do PCR RNA or Ab test? please, help.

[mike_no]

Your risk was negligible. You didn't need PEP for your event. You have tested negative conclusively. However, please follow up with your doctor for specific advice.

[anxiousfree]

Thank you very much for the final reassurance, Mike! I am putting this all behind me. I scheduled a follow up with my doctor to discuss further but I'm convinced I am free of HIV now. Thank you to all the community members.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Those symptoms are common to at least half a billion negative people so you shouldn't be thinking they can prove anything about hiv. Two 4 gens. are enough to be conclusive so you should forget about hiv and move on.

[anxiousfree]

thank you very much! I take it the doctor's advice is not correct around the conclusiveness of my testing. Is the CDC guideline an abundance of caution? Is there a difference in testing 4 weeks after PEP vs. 6 weeks after? Just wondering if results ever do change.

I'm sorry I don't have experience with HIV and I'm really worried because I'm in an exclusive relationship and don't want to put my partner at risk because of that one-time encounter

[AnxiousNoMore]

Is the CDC guideline an abundance of caution?  Yes.
As an example they say there is a risk (really just theoretical and only because no one can prove to the CDC's satisfaction that it can't happen) of hiv from oral sex ,even though there has never been a case in 40 years of hiv history!

[AnxiousNoMore]

It's an indescribably massive overabundance of caution.

[anxiousfree]

The only reason I ask is because I’m exclusively dating a new partner and have been avoiding sexual contact with them to not put them at risk. If we consider the test I had at 62 days conclusive, would I pose any risk to them if we end up having intercourse?

Thank you for the response!

[CurfewX]

The word "conclusive" tells you everything you need to know.  You don't have HIV.

[anxiousfree]

Once again, thank you all for the responses. I did follow the advice of Mike and reached out to my doctor again. He said he thinks I'm negative but he does not have any experience dealing with PEP patients. He said, if he was in my place, he will wait for another test at 3 months after exposure even though the odds of the results changing is less than 1%.

I personally believe my test is conclusive but is me not doing a further test putting me at risk? Is this doctor simply unexperienced?

I promise no more questions on my end (I'm not trying to spam), I just wanted to report on my doctor follow-up and seek the opinions of experts on it.
God bless.

[AnxiousNoMore]

"I personally believe my test is conclusive but ..."
It appears that you don't know what conclusive means. Pick any of the below definitions and move on.

conclusive
ADJECTIVE
serving to prove a case; decisive or convincing.
"conclusive evidence" ·
synonyms:
incontrovertible · incontestable · irrefutable · unquestionable · undeniable · indisputable · unassailable · beyond dispute · beyond question · beyond doubt · beyond a shadow of a doubt · certain · decisive · convincing · clinching · definitive · definite · positive · final · ultimate · categorical · demonstrative · unequivocal · unarguable · unanswerable · uncontroversial · airtight · watertight

[Kirstie_MHModerator]

We have exhausted this thread, and there is no other way for our members to explain what "conclusive" means.

*********** THREAD CLOSED ************

[anxiousfree]

Thank you both for the reassurance. Now the real work of mentally leaving this behind begins. It’s really such a shame that doctors can be misinformed. A lot of my anxiety could have been avoided if the doctor informed me that my second test was conclusive. Meanwhile, I was here worrying about the odds of seroconverting at 9/10 weeks after exposure.