6 week vs 12 week

[scar21]

Hey guys and gals.  Quick question.  I am sure you all know Dr. Bob over at TheBody.com  Great website if you have not been there.  Much like one.  Giving out the most up to date truth about risks, testing, exposures, and dealing with all of us with the fears we have.  Between Dr. Bob and Dr H here, I am doing much better with how low my actual risk was and how important it is to put everything into context.  

Anyway, my question is this.  Why do you think Dr H says the 6 week test is generally OK but Dr Bob says dont test until 3 months.  I think it is because when you take a risk like 1 in 10,000 like mine was and add in that the 6 week test is like 98% accurate, then you are talking about astronomical odds that you will get a false neg.  My only real wonder is why Dr. Bob seems more (and I hate to say this) conservative about the tests.  I have read a bunch of stuff on thebody.com and no where does he suggest to test before 3 months.  Anyone have any insight into this?

Thanks.  Hope everyone is doing well.  

Also, does anyone exchange email addresses?  It seems that many of us here are in the same boat and maybe it would be nice to be able to email instead of posting when you want to see how someone is doing or if you need a bit of reassurance.  

Love and prayers

[skerdstraght68]

Though ELISA is highly sensitive to pick up viral infection, it has a serious drawback. In the case of HIV infection human body requires 2 to 6 weeks after infection to develop enough antibodies so that a sample of the blood can trigger a positive ELISA test.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Mar282006/snt949212006327.asp

[skerdstraght68]

The HIV window period for second generation tests is considered to be 22 days (range, 6-38)

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/jun2/whyte/whyte.html

[skerdstraght68]

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Women/Archive/WomenMisc/Q148947.html

[splashsplash]

I take Dr. HHH's word of Dr. Bob's.  Dr. HHH seems to be extremely well respected and established in his field, (I'm not sure how one becomes any more of an authority on the subject).  I feel like Dr. Bob's posts frequently seem to have a public health concern to them--i.e. it is better for HIV counselers to be conservative, to have the population err on the side of caution will end this pandemic more quickly.  Dr. HHH is (rightly) concerned with calming the WW, which is about everyone on the poast.  
I don't see how the average can be 22 days, because that would mean that there are large percentages that do not convert until after 22 days, which does not seem to be the case.  
If you or anyone else can find the doctor or anyone discussing the seroconversion and ARS timeframes as they relate to eachother, please post it.  Does a ARS after 2 weeks indicate a sooner seroconversion than ARS after 7?  It would seem to reason that it does, given that seroconversion (if I am correct) is a response to initial infection, the symptoms of which are ARS.
Love to here your thoughts everyone.  And if you worried, get tested, not because you need it but because your anxiety needs it.  I promise you'll thank me.

[cholny29]

from what I have interpreted from many other posts is that the average person converts in 22-23 days. also I believe that when the body is experiencing ars is when the person is seroconverting. like if one is suppose to experience ars 2-4 wks and that it can last 2-4 wks that would mean the body would be through seroconverting at 4-8 wks which is conincidentally the timeframe when the test results are highly accurate if not conclusive.  as to why the bodys doc seems more conservative i don't really have a clue but i have definitely picked up on that vibe too.  maybe doc hhh has been in the business longer and tests more ppl per year and he therefore has the personal experience combined with the professional experience, I dunno? i did see one time on the body not too long ago a couple months back where a guy had unprotected sex with another guy like 20 times in a week and he had tested negative with EIA all the way out to like maybe 10 wks or something but in the meantime he had experienced reliable ARS symptoms and it just so happened his sex partner came back and told him he had just found out he was positive (he wasnt positive before because he had been tested a month before their sexual episode) and i cant remember how long dr bob told him to test out until but he definitely said 13 wks mark. but he did state that for most ppl an 8 wk would be fine but considering he had reliable symptoms and later found out it was with a known positive he recommended him test out to a further period. but yes i have pondered that thought in my head many times before why the discrepancies of dr bob and dr hhh?

[splashsplash]

Your exactly right, I cant tell you how many times I was convinced that I would be the first case ever of oral insertive contraction :)
Been_there, where do you arrive at the conclusion that 22 days is the average seroconversion?  I think this is false.  The doctor (and elsewhere) have said that most people convert within 10.  OraSure, the makers of the test I took, claim that 95% show positive within 25 days, which is considerably earlier than I have heard, however, it seems like they would probably be a reasonably good authority on the subject.  As the doctor has mentioned, for most people that actually convert, their risky behavior was habitual and occured several (if not many) times, so an average seroconversion rate is difficult to find.
Coincidentally, does anyone know, does ARS onset indicate seroconversion to any degree?

[skerdstraght68]

First of all, alot of people visiting Dr. Bob are MSM.  Also his site is read by people all over the world.  Some places might be using older HIV tests.  Dr. Bob has stated that he is ultra conservative to cover all these areas.  Most of the people who come on here are hetero ww.  Not everyone on the body considers 6 weeks unreliable.

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/Archive/Testing/Q140782.html

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Women/Archive/WomenInfected/Q159734.html

[scaredstr8]

The truth of the matter is that we are on here because we had a brush with anxiety. We not all have been exposed and we most likely all have nothing to worry about. But I was one who could not stop thinking about the fact I could be the "one". I went to see a mental health DR and he gave me some great info that I would like to pass along to you guys.

He said the best explanation for what we all have is known as "Medical student

[been_there]

Dear Scar,

The average time to seroconversion is about 22 days.  PCR tests may also detect antibodies much before that but they are quite sensitive, expensive and prone to give out false positives.

6 weeks tests are 99% to 100% reliable.  Testing at 12 weeks would be done for an extremely high situation and / or after having taking PEP and also to I guess to remove any residual statistical risk.

regards,

[nonegiven]

Hey, what exactly what your risk?  I too had a low-risk but am paranoid with fear ever since realizing that many of my symptoms 2 weeks following exposure were consistent with ARS.
If you or any others would like you can contact me through my email - ***@****    It definitely helps talking to others in the same boat to help lessen the anxiety!