Aa
Anyone test pos after 8 weeks/11 weeks/12 weeks?
I was concerned to know if anybody could answer if someone who tested negative then positive after those testing times. Most will agree that after the 8 weeks your chances go down and at 11/12/13 weeks negative you are pretty much in the clear. Just some pretesting anxiety.
your guy that took 8 months was probably positive by much earlier ... and was he an iv drug user himself? Because that alone can delay the window period.
Although i've tested negative twice for hiv and stds up to the three month mark, i'm having trouble accepting my status based on the strength of my symptoms and gut feeling. I've had the most serious exposure one could possibly experience (needle stick/by homeless iv drug user). Infetion/coinfection with hep a/b/c are also serious thing i must worry about as 80+% of iv drug users have hep c as well. The symptoms i've experienced go well beyond the listed symptoms for either disease not to mention my symptoms started earlier/stronger than most information symptoms guidlines indicate. A guy who tested pos for hiv/hep-c said without giving his personal details that it took him 8 months to convert! Dr.HHH said this is not possible and that the turn around time is the same in the ask a Dr. forum on several posts. I never got a rash which is odd because both cause rashes so my thinking is i would have had a rash. He knows his stuff but i'm still concerned.
With direct quoting, it is often a good idea to include the source for one's material. For instance, the following comes from the CDC:
"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."
Link: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/resources/qa/be_tested.htm.
*****
Here is the San Francisco AIDS foundations interpretation of this:
he "window period" is the time it takes for a person who has been infected with HIV to react to the virus by creating HIV antibodies. This is called seroconversion.
During the window period, people infected with HIV have no antibodies in their blood that can be detected by an HIV test, even though the person may already have high levels of HIV in their blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk.
Here is what the CDC says about the window period:
"Antibodies generally appear within three months after infection with HIV, but may take up to six months in some persons."
This CDC definition of a three to six month window period has been commonly used for a number of years.
What does this mean for you?
* The three month window period is normal for most of the population. Many people will have detectable antibodies in three or four weeks. Very, very rarely (i.e., only a few cases ever), a person could take six months to produce antibodies.
Link: http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/hiv_testing.html#window
*****
This is certainly not a comprehensive overview of the topic, but it does provide a brief, and, in my opinion, accurate initial primer on the 6 month question. My own reading on the topic has certainly led me to conclude that a 3 month test is conclusive (and, in fact, in many cases may be overkill - but, I will leave that debate to others).
In the end, though, so much of this debate is pointless. Everyone will eventually test out to the number of months with which they feel comfortable. Some will feel good with a 6 week test, other with a 3 month, and still other will only gain comfort with a 6 month or even 1 year or more test. You have to do what puts you at ease, really. The danger is, though, in allowing this to become a long term obsession. At some point, you will have to accept your results and move on.
"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."
Link: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/resources/qa/be_tested.htm.
*****
Here is the San Francisco AIDS foundations interpretation of this:
he "window period" is the time it takes for a person who has been infected with HIV to react to the virus by creating HIV antibodies. This is called seroconversion.
During the window period, people infected with HIV have no antibodies in their blood that can be detected by an HIV test, even though the person may already have high levels of HIV in their blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk.
Here is what the CDC says about the window period:
"Antibodies generally appear within three months after infection with HIV, but may take up to six months in some persons."
This CDC definition of a three to six month window period has been commonly used for a number of years.
What does this mean for you?
* The three month window period is normal for most of the population. Many people will have detectable antibodies in three or four weeks. Very, very rarely (i.e., only a few cases ever), a person could take six months to produce antibodies.
Link: http://www.sfaf.org/aids101/hiv_testing.html#window
*****
This is certainly not a comprehensive overview of the topic, but it does provide a brief, and, in my opinion, accurate initial primer on the 6 month question. My own reading on the topic has certainly led me to conclude that a 3 month test is conclusive (and, in fact, in many cases may be overkill - but, I will leave that debate to others).
In the end, though, so much of this debate is pointless. Everyone will eventually test out to the number of months with which they feel comfortable. Some will feel good with a 6 week test, other with a 3 month, and still other will only gain comfort with a 6 month or even 1 year or more test. You have to do what puts you at ease, really. The danger is, though, in allowing this to become a long term obsession. At some point, you will have to accept your results and move on.
No one can give you proof, but they can point out that you are extremely unlikely to be among the .0012 that maybe, thought unlikely, turn positive after 6 months. If you wish to persist in thinking that you may be, and if you wish to persist in your belief that exceedingly unlikely things are bound to happen to you, I would suggest:
*Never driving an automobile again - homicidal strangers do throw rocks from overpasses.
*Wearing thick rubber shoes just in case a lightning bolt strikes you out of a clear blue sky
*Doing a check for lions and tigers as you exit your suburban or urban home because people have been so killed, albeit very, very rarely
*Wearing a helmet at all times when out of doors (objects have been known, though rarely, to rain down from the sky and crush skulls, after all)
*Getting meteor strike insurance on your home, because, you know, it has happened.
Can I tell you that none of that crazy and deadly stuff is going to happen to you? Actually, no, because even if it has happened to only one person, ever, it still has happened. Can I tell you that you probably shouldn't live your life worrying about any of the events described so much? Why, yes I can.
This post is not in jest, nor is it meant to make light of your situation. It is an attempt to help you gain some perspective on the notion that you may test positive after testing negative on a 3 month test. Is that really going to happen? No, it isn't.
*Never driving an automobile again - homicidal strangers do throw rocks from overpasses.
*Wearing thick rubber shoes just in case a lightning bolt strikes you out of a clear blue sky
*Doing a check for lions and tigers as you exit your suburban or urban home because people have been so killed, albeit very, very rarely
*Wearing a helmet at all times when out of doors (objects have been known, though rarely, to rain down from the sky and crush skulls, after all)
*Getting meteor strike insurance on your home, because, you know, it has happened.
Can I tell you that none of that crazy and deadly stuff is going to happen to you? Actually, no, because even if it has happened to only one person, ever, it still has happened. Can I tell you that you probably shouldn't live your life worrying about any of the events described so much? Why, yes I can.
This post is not in jest, nor is it meant to make light of your situation. It is an attempt to help you gain some perspective on the notion that you may test positive after testing negative on a 3 month test. Is that really going to happen? No, it isn't.
CDC doesn't recommend 6 months testing but says in some cases it takes up to 6 months.
Now, give me a proof that we are not rare cases.
Now, give me a proof that we are not rare cases.
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