Thank you very much for your clarification and answers I do appreciate it, honestly your answers already encouraged me to do the test, you already did a lot and honestly I think only the lab. test will tell if I got infected, so I go for it and I hope every thing will be fine ( the doctor told me I will get the result while I‘m in the clinic ( 1 hour only)) , as far as the symptoms I think I should looking in the internet about the symptoms because as soon as I read about HIV and look at on of the pictures I feel I have all of those symptoms, thanks once again for your help
The web site you refer to is not one of our expert Forums but the community site. The post you mention does not indicate that someone had a positive test at 4 months but an indeterminant test. They did not have HIV, neither do you...
My original advice is unchanged. You do not have HIV. You need to be;ieve your test results. EWH
Dear Doctor, thanks for your advise but I was reading one of posts in your web site that person got test positive after 4 month of his last exposure and he became hiv+ (
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/4-MONTHS-VE-ELISA-AND-INDETERMINATE-WESTERN-BLOT/show/1131950) and to relax myself from HIV fear I did HIV test today morning in the clinic and I have asked them about the best HIV test and they recommend HIV combo ab & ag which can reduce the window period to 6 weeks instead of 3 months and the result was negative!
1- is this true people might be HIV+ after 4 monthes ?
2- I have calculated the days and today is 95 days after the last exposure is this enough or I might be as same as that person who said that his doctor told him that we might be HIV+ in the future ?
Rapid tests are reliable. Take your test results as proof that you do not have HIV. EWH
Dear Dr. Hook
Thank you very much for your advise which is really appreciated and I promise I will be more careful with using the Internet in Future.
I just came from the Lab and got my test result with me, the doctor did a quick rapid test and it is already 12 weeks after my last exposure, so do think this result conclusive and I can relax now or should I wait for another period to make sure I’m 100% clean, moreover what do think the reliabilities of the HIV Rapid test or should I retest using other method of HIV testing like ELISA ?
Welcome to our Forum. Much of what I am about to say will reinforce the information you have already received on the HIV Prevention Community site.
Before I address your personal concerns, let me also emphasize that the internet is sometimes not a good place to seek information about HIV or, for that matter, other health symptoms. The symptoms of HIV, like those of many other illnesses, are share by many other health problems. Health care providers go to school for long periods of time to learn how to best put the variety of symptoms and signs that each person has to generate an accurate diagnosis. For you to try to put pieces of information that you get from the internet into a meaningful diagnosis will lead you in the wrong direction more often than it will help. Please be careful of the internet. While there is much useful information there, there is also much that can be misinterpreted.
The ARS typically occurs 2-4 weeks following exposure and does not typically occur after that.. Furthermore, the ARS has the same characteristics as many. many other far more common viral illnesses of the sort that most people get once or twice a year in the course of their normal activities. For you to try to identify the ARS or to be worried about symptoms which might have been described as part of the ARS is a waste of your time.
As for your specific questions, the only way to be sure that you o not have HIV is with a blood test, performed at least 8 weeks after your last sexual exposure. In your case, when you have a negative blood test 8 or more weeks after your last exposure, you can be confident that you do not have HIV. To worry about symptoms before or certainly after that period of time is misleading and a waste of your time. Believe the blood tests an don't worry about symptoms.
I hope these comments are helpful to you. EWH
Sorry for the mistake I mean I should stop looking in the internet for HIV info.
I just realized I answered in the expert forum! My sincere apologies for this, everyone, and especially to the doctors.
Transitioning into the graveyard shift is taking its toll!
-B
Your main question was answered in another post. Please be advised that there are no doctors on this forum. If you'd like to pose your question to a doctor here on MedHelp, please visit the expert forums, and browse to the HIV Prevention board there.
1.) ARS symptoms do not take up to 12 weeks to develop. They take up to 4 weeks. And that's if they show up at all (most people do not develop ARS). Your "good immunity system" will not change this.
2.) I don't know about your doctor's advice. Following it is usually the right course of action. However, in this case, I'm not sure why he or she told you to monitor change for one year on account of HIV. A test at 3+ months will tell you conclusively if you've been infected. "I don’t want any shock news I might receive" - There is really nothing we, here can do about this. You may want to speak to a mental health professional if you believe you are not emotionally ready to handle a positive result.
3.) HIV does not have any symptoms, per se. HIV weakens your immune system, making you susceptible to other illnesses, and it is these that will show symptoms. You might be thinking of ARS, which happens during an initial HIV infection to a relatively small portion of those newly infected with HIV.
4.) Again, HIV has no symptoms. ARS does. Please see my answer to numbers 1 and 3.
5.) I'm not sure I understand your question. I can tell you that, like the flu, ARS can show up with just a few symptoms. They will come all at once, last about 3 to 14 days, and all go away at the same time. You will not have one symptom one day, and another symptom a few days later. It just doesn't work that way.
Now, go get your 3-month post-exposure test for a conclusive result. I HEAVILY suggest you refrain from looking for ARS symptoms (you are NOT experiencing ARS, period). Good luck with the results. Be well.
-B