Teak, do you know which autoimmune diseases can effect testing results?? I've had an episode of Alopecia before years ago. can that effect my negative test result??
The guidelines is 3 months to collect a conclusive test result. There are NO TESTS approved to give you a conclusive test result earlier.
If you had a negative text on March 26 after having unprotected sex January 3, you are fine. That is precisely 12 weeks. Your razor blade cut was never a risk; thus, it should not factor into the equation. Your only risk was unprotected sex. Congratulations, you are negative. Next time use protection.
what kind of test did you take at 6 weeks?
My situation is an unprotected sex event that happened on Jan.3rd 2008. I tested March 26th 2008, NEGATIVE! but had a razor blade cut on my arm, and tested 6 1/2 weeks after just in case there was infected blood on it. And that would make both situations 18 1/2 weeks from sex, and 6 1/2 weeks form cut test was NEGATIVE.
This is why I wonder about the 6 week negative result....
The CDC site claims that people can seroconvert after six weeks, any time up to six months. An infectious disease specialist I spoke to about my own risky encounter told me that a six-week negative means nothing, although everyone else has told me he was wrong. Regardless, it seems that with the increased sensitivity of newer tests, along with what most doctors, including the doctors in the forums here say, seroconversion after six weeks must be very rare, although according to the CDC it is not impossible. I would always test out to three months just to be certain, but if you have a six-week negative, you should not be nervous while you wait for the three-month test.
All of this testing info is very confusing.... I wish the "window period" just wasn't even an issue!!
Does anyone know of anyone testing 6 weeks, then having turn postive at 12?? Does that even HAPPEN??
So, wait, you also had a 13-week test? What are you worried about then? You're absolutely, totally, completely fine. Go out and enjoy life. Just make sure to practice safer sex.
so i am in boston on business and I am having huge issues coming to terms with the fact that I am hiv- as I have symptoms like you wont belive. So i call teh state AIDS hotline... ghet asked loads of questions about exposure ect ect .... the call handler (who was fantastic) says my 6 week test was conclusive and my 13 week test just confirms it..... she said tests today are SO sensetive you get false positives but NEVER a false negative.. This was Boston though....
And you are trying to differentiate a difference of less than 1 percentage point, which is nothing in the scheme of things. Bottom line when you get confused and want to jumble numbers, rather than play stats just follow the CDC guildeline of 3 month conclusive. That makes it easy.
The problem is that most people who turn HIV positive have had multiple exposures, so it's very difficult to nail down the exact time they were infected.
Also, in the beginning, tests were not nearly as sensitive as they are now.
Over time we've been able to find out that the 6 month and then 3 month estimates are quite a bit off from reality...Especially now with modern testing. But changing people's mindset of the time frame is very difficult to achieve.
If you've got a 6 week negative, you don't have HIV.
I know. I was just reading different posts and some of they share different info. Like the post on your thread, stating the week testing timetable. 6 week at 99%. But the docs saying 12 week 99.9%. And the whole Massachuets 6 week conclusive...? crazy.
Well if you have 2 HIV specialists say they have never seen a 6 week negtaive turn positive then you can take that for whatever its worth. I would be damn confident in a 6 week test.
You dont even need to be thinking of this though because you have a conclusive result and the thing that you think is a possible risk is really silly.
I was just curious... I've seen other postings stating 6 weeks is 99%, and no other testing is nessecary. It's all so conflicting...? ya, know??
Because the test manufacturers and the CDC say 3 months which many will say allows a lot of room for error so it had a lot of padding room in it and is on the conservative side. Like i am sure you have seen the docs say already, they have yet to see a 6 week negative go positive later on.