High Biotin and HIV Test Accuracy

[Zanmike7]

Hi, I had an HIV 4th generation Ab/Ag test done at 35 days past my exposure date with vaginal sex. The test came back negative but I am very anxious as I read that Biotin will affect the HIV test and antibodies. I’m scared because an hour before my test I had a protein powder, peanut butter, almond milk, yogurt shake for breakfast. I read peanut butter and almond milk are High in biotin. I had about 4 tablespoons of peanut butter in the shake. The night before I had steak, spinach and potatoes as well.  Im still having symptoms of unrelenting headaches everyday and peripheral neuropathy (pain, numbing, tingling) in my hands and feet. These symptoms continue 3 weeks after I had fever, headache, nausea, night sweats for 4 nights.

Did the peanut butter/almond milk/yogurt/protein powder shake with all that biotin I had an hour before my test affect my results? Can I trust the HIV results? Please help as I’m worried because I’m still having these headaches and neuropathy symptoms with a neg test.

Thank you.

[Sara_MHModerator]

Our members have told you that the dose of biotin that affects a test is significantly higher than you would take in supplement or through food. They've told you that your test is conclusive.

***  thread closed ***

[GuitarRox]

You need to stay off the internet as you appear very anxious. No, eating peanut butter and steak and potatoes will not change an HIV test. Stop reading things. You tested negative. Conclusively.

[GuitarRox]

was your vaginal sex with a condom?

[Zanmike7]

Unprotected. Am I still conclusively negative?

[Zanmike7]

The papers that came with the test said to not ingest more than 30mcg of biotin within 24 hrs of the test. I had much more biotin than that with the peanut butter and almond milk only an hour before the test. Why would they say this on the papers about the biotin? I got my test done with stdcheck.com

[Zanmike7]

Also, why am I still having these unrelenting headaches and peripheral neuropathy in my feet and hands 3 weeks after initial symptoms of fever, night sweats etc? Is this from HIV? Or perhaps syphilis?

[AnxiousNoMore]

If the papers said not to ingest that much before the test, why did you test after ingestion? You are negative but won't believe it so take another test and move on.

"Unprotected. Am I still conclusively negative? " Of course you are still negative after the test. Your last question seems to think that the test is only accurate when someone doesn't have a risk.
You have no medical training so you should have zero faith in your own ideas, however unfortunately the only ideas you believe are your own. Your ideas are illogical and that combined with your hiv fixation makes no scientific sense. For example you can't expect someone here to agree with YOUR idea that your headache proves you got hiv when billions of negative people get headaches.
See a doctor to see if you even have any symptoms, and stop wasting your time trying to prove that the only disease you can think of (which you don't even have!) has caused health problems.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Why are you taking biotin? Did your doctor prescribe it?

[Zanmike7]

I didn’t read the papers until after I took the test. I’m not taking biotin supplements, but I ate foods with biotin in it before the test, such as peanut butter and almond milk in a shake, which has a lot of biotin. I can still trust the negative test even with my unrelenting daily headaches and peripheral neuropathy in my hands and feet? I also feel lymph nodes enlarged in armpits.

[GuitarRox]

I already answered your question that it will not affect your test. Even if you took supplements, the amount you have to take to interfere is extremely high. No issue. Your test is accurate.

[Zanmike7]

Thank you. What about syphilis? Can it cause headaches and neuropathy everyday? I don’t have that syphilis rash. Had fever, night sweats, nausea, headache 3 weeks ago and the only thing that never got better was the daily headaches (and now with the neuropathy)

[AnxiousNoMore]

These diseases that you try to diagnose from headaches can only be diagnosed from tests. Accordingly, no one here pays attention to symptoms, and you shouldn't either - it's totally unscientific.

[Zanmike7]

I'm sorry, but I tested again this morning.  I'm really worried that since I ate that much peanut butter, almond milk and protein powder only ONE HOUR before the last test, that my negative result was affected by the high  biotin in the foods. Are you sure my last test was a true negative even eating those high biotin foods right before the test? Very anxious here. Thanks

[Zanmike7]

My nonstop headaches everyday and feet/hand neuropathy are just too real.  Can I be suffering these symptoms everyday from anxiety alone?

[Peaceful43]

Yes your headache and peripheral neuropathy are related to anxiety alone ... the test is based on detecting hiv antigen or antibodies in your blood ... Antigens appear first then the body reacts to the antigens and release the antibodies and once antibodies are formed they never disappear for any reason ... is it logic that eating peanut , yogurt or almond milk will eliminates the antibodies from your blood thus you got negative result .. this is not logic at all . You have severe anxiety so please visit therapist instead of repeating the test and keep posting anxiety driven questions.

[Zanmike7]

Are the antigens always there until there is enough detectable antibodies in the blood? In other words, there is no gap in which the antigen disappears and the antibodies cannot be detected?

[Zanmike7]

I was also just saying that the biotin affects the test functionality, which is what I'm worried about.