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Avatar universal

Plenty of sites stating a 6 month Window Period applies, What the hell???

I was starting to feel a little comfortable with my 8.5 negative test and I decide to check on the internet how many organizations are fully backing up a 6 month window period: dozens upon dozens!! What sort of cruel joke is this?? Yahoo questions has people stating they tested at 11 weeks after exposure with negative results only to have their result changed after the 3 month baseline!!

AAAAHHHH!!!

Someone please tell me what is going on!?!

are they lying? are the docs here and some other sites lying? doctor Edward here says an 8 week test catches like 98-99% percent of the people that are going to turn positive. are all these internet cases part of the 1% ??

I am so near of the 13th week, I was feeling like the uncertainity was finally coming to an end but it seems like no test ever will be conclusive. If I search for 1 year window period, I will find serious organizations backing that up. The scientific and medical world should be ashamed of all this, what kind of world are we living were a goddamn test for HIV will never be certain?

and what the hell is wrong with some specialists? a girl asks a doc in thebody.com if she could be positive after one full year of testing and he replies " It's very unlikely you are positive after a year".... what kind of a ****ing answer is that? a YEAR? shouldn't he answer, " you are NOT positive! move on and leave this behind! "...???

ahhh, god. This really gets on my nerves.

sorry, I had to get this out of my chest.
22 Responses
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Avatar universal
did hiv antibody test but dont know which one ....... i did this test at 4 months and 4 or 5 days after having one time unprotected insertive vaginal sex ... is my negative test conclusive ?or do i have to retest at 6 months? i am really stressed ...especially looking at late seroconversion etc .....
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Avatar universal
No you don't need to retest.
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Avatar universal
I was tested on 7 months and it was negative, do you think i must test again?
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Avatar universal
i have nothing but complete respect for your answers and advice.sorry jumped on an outdated old forum.just like the 6month window period i guess.
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Avatar universal
Any reason for you to post to a 3 year old thread?
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Avatar universal
teak you lizzie and the doc are the only people who know what there talking about. the hiv window period has always been 3months.
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Avatar universal
what drugs are you on.the window period is 3months.stop confusing people with your garbage.
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Avatar universal
what drugs are you on.the window period is three months.end of story.
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Avatar universal
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH get a six week test and sleep at night. Life is to short to sweat longer.
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Avatar universal
There is some that can take longer than 3 month 6 month 1 year 2 year 7 year this is a fragile virus,but the average person is actually infected with HIV and when antibodies to HIV can be detected is 12 to 13 weeks .
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Avatar universal
The topic was testing 3-6 months and the CDC no longer uses 6 months guideline. I disagree on the CDC stance on oral sex because of the oral sex studies on discordant couples. In those those studies that some have went on for over 10 years and others are still on going. Not one of those in the studies have serocoverted. The CDC was involved in one of the studies. You can post the questions to Dr. HHH and Dr. Hook and you'll see that they both agree and will site the studies on oral sex.
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Avatar universal
This is actually what the CDC says. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/resources/qa/be_tested.htm#wait

How long after a possible exposure should I wait to get tested for HIV?

Most HIV tests are antibody tests that measure the antibodies your body makes against HIV. It can take some time for the immune system to produce enough antibodies for the antibody test to detect, and this time period can vary from person to person. This time period is commonly referred to as the “window period.” Most people will develop detectable antibodies within 2 to 8 weeks (the average is 25 days). Even so, there is a chance that some individuals will take longer to develop detectable antibodies. Therefore, if the initial negative HIV test was conducted within the first 3 months after possible exposure, repeat testing should be considered >3 months after the exposure occurred to account for the possibility of a false-negative result. Ninety-seven percent of persons will develop antibodies in the first 3 months following the time of their infection. In very rare cases, it can take up to 6 months to develop antibodies to HIV.

CDC HIV Training manual Page 11 #4   http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/gap/pmtct/Trainer%20Manual/Adobe/Module_6TM.pdf

A negative result usually means that the person is not infected with HIV. In rare period.This is the period of time between the onset of infection with HIV and the appearance of detectable antibodies to the virus. The window period lasts 4-6 weeks occasionally up to 3 months after HIV exposure. Persons at high risk who initially test negative should be retested 3 months after exposure to confirm results. .

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Avatar universal
Everyone is cleared at 3 months unless they are chemo paitents, on anti-rejection drugs for transplants or chronic IV drug abusers. Those that have occupational exposure are tested longer to satisfy their insurance company and hospital policy.
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Avatar universal

So CDC says only 97 % accuracy at 3 months? Well, well.

Which is why testing should depend on level of risk. If you have a very low risk activity , the odds are already so low that , even 8 week testing will lower it to almost zero.( because you are combining TWO very unlikely things, viz getting HIV from a single low risk activity AND being one of the few whom the test might fail to detect. The combined   statistical chance of these two occuring to the same person is almost zero).

However  if you have high risk exposures or live a persistently high risk sexual lifestyle , your odds are already high to begin with. So the lowering of the odds by a 8 week test will not be good enough and 3 months might be a good idea. And there might be a rare case where even at  3 months cases might be missed( I am not sure about the 97% accuracy statement though). Hence i for such persons , instead of testing after every episode, a routine screeing programme of testing , say every 3-6 months is the way to go, so that even the very rare situation of a late seroconversion is picked up.
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Avatar universal
You have your conclusive negative result. You need to move on.
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Avatar universal
i understand the hell you must be going through...... i´m living the same situation but dont worry trust doctors and i think 3 months period is good enough , although your test should be 4th generation test and if your exposure was not too risky as mine you will be fine, i hope your test is negative and you can move on.
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Avatar universal
getting HIV from oral?? There hasn't been reports of ANYONE ( ever, in all medical history ) getting infected with oral sex, the oral sex risk talked about everywhere is theoretical and since science and medicine aren't exact matters, everyone must be reminded that there is risk, even if it has remained in the theoretical realm until now.

the mods and founders at aidsmed.com are great people, they really seem to REALLY know their stuff. Many regular HIV+ members that post on the " living with HIV " forum spread lots of BS, though.

" My docs says I was most likely infected in X month but no, I am pretty sure I was infected way earlier I just took 10 months to seroconvert. I tested every month and voila, positive only 10 months later. "

" I swear I never did anything risky, It must have been the blowjob I did on that guy "

I don't know how the mods there (Ann, Andy and the rest) tolerate the ******** when they themselves perfectly know it is false info. Ann has stated COUNTLESS times, she still has to see a 6 WEEK ( as short as six weeks! ) negative turn positive later. She once claimed a 10 week negative turned into positive later is unheard of. Both Docs here have stated more or less the same, that an 8 week test tells the story, that any negative result changing past that baseline, be it 10 weeks, 13 weeks or 6 months has already entered the realm of " highly unlikely and very rare".    

I just wished I could put more weight on my 8.5 week negative test and hold on to that.. :( .. that is my fear, I fear that no test will ever have the resounding weight of a "100% confirmed negative" because all will be " 99% sure ".

besides, have you people ever wondered the " 97% detected people detected by the 3rd month " thing on the CDC guidelines?  97% is NOWHERE near 99.89% or 99.9999%. 97% rate means that out of 100 people that are going to seroconvert, 3 will do it past the 3rd month (!!), I don't know what you think but 3 is one hell of a multitude fur such delicate matters like HIV. So all of you stating CDC says 3 months, I read and reread and I don't see where they state 3 month is conclusive. They say " most people will have seroconverted" which doesn't equal 100% conclusiveness, they even made certain to include the 6 month comment, they haven't moved on at all. Where is this CDC 3 month conclusiveness you people are talking about?    

Dr. HHH speaks of a 98-99% detection rate around the 8th week, CDC speaks of a 97% (?!?) at 3 MONTHS??? what is going on here?, either CDC is REALLY gone out of date or Dr. HHH experience and knowledge has to be taken with a grain of salt.
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Avatar universal
It will be highly unusual for somebody to test after 3 months; if that were the case, we will have too many people with HIV, which is not the case. So you can bank on a 3 month test.
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Avatar universal
I also 3rd all this. The other websites, as i too have loked, i don't think have been updated in quite some time. YOude have to email some people on each of those websites, to find out IF they think 3 or 6 months. On another note, on aidsmed.com, i read a ost of some younger guy, gay, perfromed alot of oral sex, 1 and 2 months, negatinve, then tested again at 6 months, and turned positive. He didn't say anything about anything else going on, so who knows...I think what it is, is the 3 month windo wis lsowly catching on, and taking time for everyone to catch up./
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366749 tn?1544695265
COMMUNITY LEADER
I second what LIZ has answered. All the highly reliable bodies like CDC and health ministries (including my won country) unanimously state window period of 3 months (though manufacturers of third and fourth generation of ELISA claim that the test is capable of detecting the antibodies much earlier, after 6 weeks).

Three month window period is conclusive and final for all those with normal and healthy immune system. Six month time is for those on chemotherapy and having deteriorated immune system,,, and then a big Full Stop. Period.
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186166 tn?1385259382
according to the CDC, FDA, and the manufacturers of the hiv tests...3 months is conclusive.  

you will find all sorts of conflicting information on the internet...and the more you read...the more confused you can become.  ANYONE can write ANYTHING on the internet.  so who do you believe...random internet sites or the above mentioned?

also what i have found is that when ppl search the net...they ONLY read a part of the story...half of what the information states.  it has happened here many times with ppl CONSTANTLY posting sites to prove their point...only to have that disproved when someone actually reads the whole of the information.

stop searching...test at 3 months...and take your negative result to the bank!!!!!!!
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Avatar universal
Everyone is entitled to stand behind their belief. However, the CDC states that a test after 13 weeks is conclusive. At this point, you're going to continue to find conflicting information on the 'net. There's really nothing anyone can do at this point that'll resolve your fears. Just test up till 6 months to put your mind to rest.
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