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Author Topic: Waiting for results - but I know the answer  (Read 4455 times)

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Offline stayingcalm

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Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« on: December 08, 2010, 01:28:18 pm »
I recently had two very high risk exposures with a man who is now being cagey about his HIV status. One was a month a ago and the second two weeks ago. I am generally a very healthy and VERY careful individual. Not on these two occasions unfortunately.

Two days ago I came down with a mild fever, relentless explosive diarrhoea and have red dry blotches around my eyes. I feel fatigued and and am having terrible night sweats.

I am trying to stay calm. But am now pretty aware of the dangerous position I put myself in. I had a blood test yesterday, and will get the results on Monday. That is a long wait.

I am trying to prepare myself for the worst. My insurance expired recently, which also concerns me.

Are there any precautions I could be taking now? Or general advice on looking after myself and health in the coming days....


Offline Andy Velez

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2010, 01:36:03 pm »
What specifically do you mean by "high risk" incidents? Please clarify.
Andy Velez

Offline stayingcalm

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2010, 01:43:55 pm »
Sorry Andy, receptive anal intercourse without protection. I am a gay male 36 years old.

Offline jkinatl2

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2010, 01:48:00 pm »
If you have had recpetive anal intercourse without a condom, you have indeed put yourself at risk. In three months, an HIV test will be considered definitive.

Of course, you know that you can have all the anal sex you want with any  person, HIV positive or not, if you wear a condom. Sadly, there is not much to do now but wait, and move forward from this experience.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline Andy Velez

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2010, 03:39:41 pm »
OK, as JK has told you, you need to get tested. Receptive anal is very high risk behavior.

If you test negative at 13 weeks you can regard as that a conclusive result about your HIV status.

You need to learn from this experience. You can have anal sex with anyone you choose either insertively or receptively. You just need to do it the safer way which means the insertive partner must always be wearing a condom. No exceptions. Condoms provide very effective protection against transmission.

Good luck with your test.
Andy Velez

Offline Ann

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2010, 03:50:39 pm »
sc,

The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A negative result at six weeks must be confirmed at three months, but is highly unlikely to change.

If what you are experiencing is actually a seroconversion illness, your recent test result will most likely come back either positive or inconclusive. Inconclusive means that there are some antibodies present but not enough to be a firm positive. Either result will mean additional testing with another ELISA plus a Western Blot. You will not be considered positive unless the Western Blot is also positive.

Good luck with the testing - hopefully this will be nothing more than a learning experience and a wake-up call.

As for the insurance concerns, we'll cross that bridge when and if we come to it. Hopefully we won't.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

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"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline stayingcalm

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2010, 10:50:54 am »
My results were negative. The HIV PCR by DNA test that I took claims to be accurate 72 hours after exposure. I took this test 2 weeks after exposure.

I will definitely re-test at 3 months for confirmation, but am interested to know how accurate I can take this result to be?

Many thanks to you all.

Offline Andy Velez

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Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #7 on: December 17, 2010, 11:13:40 am »
Negative test results are always a happy thing. However, it is too early to rely on that result as conclusive. Also, that test was not designed as a diagnostic tool.

Nevertheless it's good tohave gotten that negative. A simple HIV test at 6 weeks would be a better thing to do. If  you test negative at that point the likelihood is you will cotninue to test negative.   
Andy Velez

Offline Ann

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  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Waiting for results - but I know the answer
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2010, 11:32:50 am »
SC,

I agree with Andy. The DNA test is not approved for diagnostic purposes and was a waste of money. The earliest you should test is at six weeks with an ordinary hiv antibody test.

However, saying that, given your negative PCR, I expect you to continue to test negative.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

 


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