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PCR test at 15 days antibody test at 15 weeks
I want to thank you in advance for your help. My doctor knows that I naturally have HIGH anxiety and has gives me extremely vague answers if any. So I'm hoping you can help clear some of my confusion
I am female, and gave oral sex to a male without protection, to my knowledge there was no ejaculations but there might have been precum I don't really know. Before hand I did ask if he was clean and he said yes. I didn't specifically ask if he had been tested for HIV, which I should have since I am highly neurotic. Shortly after I started to get scared and since have had symptoms
I had a yeast infection which keeps coming back (it did start before the encounter but has come back mildly since a few times). I was tested with the PCR test at 15 days and it was negative and at 15 weeks with an antibody test and it was also negative (I tested negative a year ago also). Right before the antibody test (15 weeks after exposure) my doctor told me I had oral thrush and I asked for the antibody test. At two months I had swollen glads and since about a month after the exposure have had joint pain in my shoulder and hip.
With the antibody test at 15 weeks I also had other blood work done which showed low platelet levels barely. Again I freaked out and all my doctor has said is that if I'm concerned I should be tested at 6 months
1. Would PCR at 15 days be conclusive
2. Would antibody at 15 weeks be conclusive
3. Should I be worried that the thrush, low platelet level, and swollen glands are symptoms and I will test positive at 6 months?
4. What are your suggestions / opinions
The idea of waiting 3 more months with this anxiety is terrible and I can't get answers from my doctor. As a side note I am going to see someone about my anxiety and fear issues
I am female, and gave oral sex to a male without protection, to my knowledge there was no ejaculations but there might have been precum I don't really know. Before hand I did ask if he was clean and he said yes. I didn't specifically ask if he had been tested for HIV, which I should have since I am highly neurotic. Shortly after I started to get scared and since have had symptoms
I had a yeast infection which keeps coming back (it did start before the encounter but has come back mildly since a few times). I was tested with the PCR test at 15 days and it was negative and at 15 weeks with an antibody test and it was also negative (I tested negative a year ago also). Right before the antibody test (15 weeks after exposure) my doctor told me I had oral thrush and I asked for the antibody test. At two months I had swollen glads and since about a month after the exposure have had joint pain in my shoulder and hip.
With the antibody test at 15 weeks I also had other blood work done which showed low platelet levels barely. Again I freaked out and all my doctor has said is that if I'm concerned I should be tested at 6 months
1. Would PCR at 15 days be conclusive
2. Would antibody at 15 weeks be conclusive
3. Should I be worried that the thrush, low platelet level, and swollen glands are symptoms and I will test positive at 6 months?
4. What are your suggestions / opinions
The idea of waiting 3 more months with this anxiety is terrible and I can't get answers from my doctor. As a side note I am going to see someone about my anxiety and fear issues
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Oral sex, with or without pre-ejaculate fluid, is extremely low risk. One estimate (from CDC) is that if the penile partner has HIV, the oral partner has a 1 in 10,000 chance of catching it. That's equivalent to giving oral to infected men once daily for 27 years and maybe never catching the virus. Probably lower than that if there is no ejaculation in the mouth.
6 month testing is sometimes recommended for medicolegal cover, simply providing an unnecessarily long margin of safety. It also goes back to older tests, not in use for the past 10 years.
6 month testing is sometimes recommended for medicolegal cover, simply providing an unnecessarily long margin of safety. It also goes back to older tests, not in use for the past 10 years.
Thank you so much for your response. My doctor wouldn't answer any of the questions I asked you which is frustrating. She also didn't say that I don't need a test at 6 months all she said was if I'm concerned I should.
Thank you again for such a quick response this is the first time my anxiety has gone away!
Last question. Why do some people suggest 6 month? and is oral sex with precum a possible way to catch HIV
Thank you again for such a quick response this is the first time my anxiety has gone away!
Last question. Why do some people suggest 6 month? and is oral sex with precum a possible way to catch HIV
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Wlecome to the forum.
All the information to provide a definitive answer to your question is included in the title you chose: If you have had a negative HIV PCR test at 15 days plus a negative antibody test at 15 weeks, it impossible you caught HIV. It doesn't matter what more I might read in the rest of your question.
Now I have read it. Guess what? HIV lab test results always overrule exposure history and symptoms. Your test results prove you did not catch HIV and that HIV is not a possible cause of your symptoms. You doctor was trying to reassure you by advising a 6 month test only if you are concerned; he obviously believe you don't need it except for anxiety relief. I agree.
1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) No. HIV is not a possible cause.
4) Try to accept the reality that you didn't catch HIV, stop worrying about it, and move on with your life.
As your doctor and I both have said, you do not need further HIV testing except for anxiety relief from yet another negative test result. But to be frank I do not believe that will relieve your fears. Your anxiety is obviously very deep, and anxiety almost never goes away by reasoned analysis and evidence, even when the evidence is incontrovertible. I'm glad to hear you are planning to seek professional assistance with it. That is where your future happiness lies.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
All the information to provide a definitive answer to your question is included in the title you chose: If you have had a negative HIV PCR test at 15 days plus a negative antibody test at 15 weeks, it impossible you caught HIV. It doesn't matter what more I might read in the rest of your question.
Now I have read it. Guess what? HIV lab test results always overrule exposure history and symptoms. Your test results prove you did not catch HIV and that HIV is not a possible cause of your symptoms. You doctor was trying to reassure you by advising a 6 month test only if you are concerned; he obviously believe you don't need it except for anxiety relief. I agree.
1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) No. HIV is not a possible cause.
4) Try to accept the reality that you didn't catch HIV, stop worrying about it, and move on with your life.
As your doctor and I both have said, you do not need further HIV testing except for anxiety relief from yet another negative test result. But to be frank I do not believe that will relieve your fears. Your anxiety is obviously very deep, and anxiety almost never goes away by reasoned analysis and evidence, even when the evidence is incontrovertible. I'm glad to hear you are planning to seek professional assistance with it. That is where your future happiness lies.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
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