Possible false negative

[jsd30]

To make a long story as short as possible. I had a high risk encounter unprotected vaginal sex me being the top. A few months later started having symptoms that continue to this day. I was put on a 6 week course of antibiotics for prostatitis 2 months after encounter. I then started getting daily tension headaches. I went to the doctors at exactly 17 weeks and 5 days after exposure and tested for hep b, syphilis and hiv 1/2 using hiv eia a/b test. All results came back negative. I also tested the next week with Ora quick home test negative as well. I know this is considered conclusive , but shortly after I came down with oral thrush which I still have now and have been treated for several times. I feel good when taking the antifunguls (difluican) but a week after there done my thrush and headaches return. I also have started getting horizontal nail ridges and splinter hemoraghes in my nails, and little dry non out pimple like rash on shoulders.

Insight of these symptoms should I retest?

If it's not hiv than why would my candida not clear up? 5 weeks on total though spaced out of antifunguls

I have also had several cbc and organs checked and two urine cultures done.
all normal.

Is it possible that at the 17 and a half weeks when my symptoms started I was just starting to seroconvert and that's why I got two negative tests.


What generation was my hiv eia a/b?

Have you ever seen someone with this many symptoms still turn out negative? Or turn out positive after a 18 week negative.

I apologize for the spelling and grammar as I am on my phone typing this.

Thank you for your time.

      

[jsd30]

Thank you Dr I will look to other reasons

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

There are no health conditions that make HIV testing unreliable; that's an urban myth.  There are no cases of people testing negative after a few weeks and still having HIV.  And it is not true that thrush is limited to people with immune deficiencies or autoimmune diseases; antibiotic therapy and diabetes are more common triggers.  And it can occur in entirely healthy folks; I once had it myself once.

As for what you can find on the internet, I'm sure you are aware there is no regulation; anybody can post anything.  If you limit your online research to professionally organized sites, you won't be so easily misled.  

So this additional information does not change my opinion or advice.  Continue to work with your doctors, but you truly can put HIV out of your mind.  There is simply no chance you have it.  Do your best to accept the reasoned, science-based reassurance I have tried to give.

[jsd30]

Thank you for the prompt answer. My oral thrush was indeed confirmed by a doctor and a swab the second time it was confirmed. If my symptoms are not hiv specific how come I keep reading that recurrent oral   Thrush only happens in autoimmune diseases or hiv. Also daily headaches are very out of the normal for me.  So if I did have a autoimmune disease would it alter my 18 week negatives? Is there any cases in the last 5/10 years that someone has tested positive  after a 3 month negative. I've just been told and heard so many different opinions via internet and different doctors 3,6, and even 12 months as standards.    

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.  Thanks for your question.

The standard HIV tests are among the most accurate diagnostic tests that exist, for any medical condition.  If testing is done sufficiently long after the last possible exposure (4-8 weeks, rarely 3 months, depending on the specific test or combination of tests), the results overrule all symptoms (no matter how typical) and exposure history (no matter how high the risk).  In other words, with the standards tests, like you had, there is really no such thing as a false negative result.

So you're going to have to continue to work with your doctor about other explanations for your symptoms.  You don't say whether your thrush (by which I assume you mean an oral yeast infection) was professionally diagnosed -- if not, that's an important step.  Most things people call "thrush" (e.g. white coated tongue) are yeast infections at all.  And your other symptoms really are not suggestive of HIV, or any other STD, for that matter.  Much of what you mention doesn't even sound particularly abnormal.  I am confident that whatever is going on, it is not HIV or any other infection from the sexual exposure several months ago.

I can't tell what "generation" HIV test you had, but it doesn't matter.  The difference between older and newer tests is in how they perform within the first few weeks.  After 6-8 weeks, there is no difference.

I have never had a patient with symptoms like yours who turned out to have HIV.  As I suggested above, you'll need to continue to work with your own doctor about alternate explanations.  But all things considered, and with your normal CBC result, I am confident it's nothing serious.

Best wishes and happy holidays--  HHH, MD