Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 08:23:21 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772945
  • Total Topics: 66310
  • Online Today: 375
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 2
Guests: 349
Total: 351

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Welcome to Do I Have HIV?

Welcome to the "Do I Have HIV?" POZ forum.

This special section of the POZ forum is for individuals who have concerns about whether or not they are HIV positive. Individuals are permitted to post up to three questions or responses in this forum.

Ongoing participation in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum (posting more than three questions or responses) requires a paid subscription, with secure payments made via PayPal.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There is no charge to read threads in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the other POZ forums. In addition, the POZ Basics "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "HIV Testing" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Do I Have HIV?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author Topic: Late Seroconversion Question  (Read 12907 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline jerseyguy

  • New Member
  • Posts: 2
Late Seroconversion Question
« on: November 05, 2006, 06:55:10 am »
Hi. I have been reading a lot of the posts and info on here and it has been really helpful.
Here is my situation. About 2 months ago I want through this phase of giving and recieving oral sex in gloryholes. I would say the total amount of bj's i gave was 12. I did not use condoms for any and only a couple ejaculated in my mouth which i spit out. Then oct 9 my toung swelled up and became very dry. When i researched onling i saw std connections and started to worry.It is dry coated and i think it might be hairy casue it is fuzzy and dry. No other symptoms except for loss of sleep and nausea from stress i think. I also have noticed tingling in my feet but i work on my feet all day so i am not sure if it is worse now or i am just focusing on it. Last night I had upper abdominal cramps and night sweats. Could that be symptomatic or stress related? I had a oraquick test done but the clinic had me swab my gums and not a blood test. I am worried sick. I plan on getting a blood test done tomorrow. Please Help advise! Are there any other stds that i could have? i cant find any searching the web. Also, I have not taken any medications.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Am I infected
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2006, 08:03:32 am »
jersy,

There have been long-term studies of couples where one is positive and one is negative. In the couples who used condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, but not for oral activities, not one of the negative partners became infected with hiv. Not one. This shows us two things. One, condoms are very effective for the prevention of hiv transmission. Two, oral sex is much lower risk than previously believed. We now have the evidence that oral sex is a very low risk activity where hiv transmission is concerned.

However, it is fairly common to end up with a gonorrhea infection in your throat from giving head. You should have your throat swabbed for possible sexually transmitted infections.

The oraquick gum-swab test is every bit as reliable as the blood test, otherwise it wouldn't be in use. As the vast majority of people who are actually infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, if that oral swab test was negative and six weeks or more past your last incident, then you can pretty much put this behind you. It's highly unlikely that you would have become infected with hiv through giving head in the first place and you didn't really need to test over these specific incidents.

And by the way, symptoms or even the lack of symptoms means nothing when it comes to hiv infection. Only testing will reliably reveal your hiv status.

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

Offline jerseyguy

  • New Member
  • Posts: 2
Re: Am I infected
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2006, 07:08:44 pm »
i cant find anything about tonuge disordes from gonnarea. Has anyone else had these symptoms? does anyone else have input? It would be appreciated.

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Am I infected
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2006, 07:21:03 pm »
As Ann has told you, the risk for HIV transmission in giving oral is at the way low end of the risk spectrum. Can it happen? Yes. Does it happen? Very, very rarely. Given that it is one of the most common of sexual activities we would have known long before today if it was a greater risk.

However, other STDs are much easier to acquire than HIV, so if you have persistent symptoms it's always a good idea to discuss the situation with your doctor. Also, we recommend that anyone who's sexually active should get a full STD panel at least annually, and every six months is even better.

Nothing you are reporting is in any way HIV-specific, but then neither the presence nor the absence of symptoms will ever tell you anything accurately about your HIV status. Only an HIV test done at the appropriate time will give you that answer.

The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. All but the very smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure to the HIV virus. So even though it's questionable as to whether you even need to test, a negative at approximately 8 weeks is the next-best-thing to an all clear. If you have any further doubts about it, re-test at 13 weeks, collect another negative and move on with your life.

Cheers, 
Andy Velez

Offline GMAN372

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2007, 10:03:48 am »
Hi, I have been doing a lot of research on different website and you guys seem very knowledgable so I wanted to pose this problem to you.
I exposed myself to some low risk exposure 3 months ago. I have tested negative at 30 days dna pcr and elisa. Also elisa again at 3 months. I have been experiencing symptoms of candida (white film in mouth and severly dry lips), nasty GI problems including flatulence that makes you wanna puke, itching and burning sensations on face, butt and legs where i have aslo noticed some sings of lipodystrophy, amnesia (waking up early), peripheral neuropathy in fingers and toes.

My question is: this hiv virus enters the system and then 'seroconverts' in the blood. But isnt in the blood to begin with? I have read the lessons and feel like this thing is somehow reaking havoc on me without being detectable in my blood. How could I be experiencing these symtoms if the virus isn't in my blood.
Also, could I iraddicate the virus before seroconversion?
Or am I just waiting for some OI (pnemonia) to kick me into positive status?

Thanks!
Gman

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2007, 10:07:13 am »
Hey, hey, Gman! Back up here.

None of the symptoms you are describing are in any way HIV specific. You should be discussing them with your doctor.

Of course it's not surprising they aren't HIV specific since you have reliably tested negative for HIV. You ARE HIV negative.Period. End of that story.

Whatever is going on has nothing to do with HIV so don't get any further to twists and turns about that issue because they have absolutely no relevance in your situation.

Cheers,
Andy Velez

Offline GMAN372

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2007, 10:15:07 am »
Hi Andy, Thanks for the quick response but I have done a lot of research and all of these symptons are specific to hiv - peripheral neuropathy, lipodystrophy, amnesia.
Dont get me wrong. I would love to be conclusively hiv- but what about the late sero issue?

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2007, 10:32:55 am »
Frankly, I don't care what "research" you have done.

Those are absolutely not HIV-specific symptoms. Each of the ones you have mentioned can and do occur in other medical situations. You should be discussing your problems with a doctor to determine the real cause.

I'm also not going to argue the matter with you. You can insist all you like for whatever reason that you need to do that. It won't change the fact that unless you had another risk AFTER your test result, this is NOT an HIV situation.

Period.
Andy Velez

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2007, 11:16:55 am »
GMAN372

Can I ask why you are using different usernames while posting to our forums? Thus far, you have also used jerseyguy

Please realize that this kind of activity is disrespectful of other forum members, as well as our moderators. People spend a considerable amount of time helping others in these forums. Using multiple accounts is at the very least annoying, if not deceiving and disrespectful of others. It is also against our Terms of Membership which you agreed to when you became a member. This information is also contained within the Welcome Thread, which you should have read by now. So really, you have no excuse.

You must realize that the answers won't change, no matter how many names you post under.

I would appreciate a reply to this message, and I hope you will commit to using just one account - preferably your original one. If not, you will be banned from further access to the forums.

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

Offline Andy Velez

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 34,126
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2007, 11:25:44 am »
PS And man! It that multiple name stuff really pisses me off! Disrespectful is one word for it.
Andy Velez

Offline GMAN372

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2007, 12:28:40 pm »
Sorry about that, I honestly just forgot the hotmail account i used for that last post so i had to get a new account. I did not mean to abuse the system, I appreciate all that you moderators do here. Your experience and helpfulness with people who are in a very foggy point of understanding what is going on with them is priceless. I thank you for all your help.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2007, 01:14:07 pm »
G,

Write your details down this time - if you create yet another new account you will be banned permanently. I'm going to merge your threads so we have all your details in one thread.

It's hardly surprising that you have tested negative, you hardly had a risk as you were told as jerseyguy.

You don't seem to understand what the hiv tests actually test for. An ELISA test looks for hiv antibodies - the term seroconvert refers to the time when your body has produced enough antibodies to be picked up by the test. The average time it takes for this to happen is 22 DAYS.

Peripheral neuropathy and lipodystrophy are side effects of the DRUGS used to treat hiv and do not occur during the early stages of infection.

Amnesia is total or near total memory loss. And no, amnesia did not cause you to forget your hotmail account. Amnesia is usually the result of trauma to the head, not hiv.

You need to go to your doctor about your symptoms. They are nothing to do with hiv. You are conclusively hiv negative and it's time to look for other causes for your problems.

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

Offline GMAN372

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2007, 07:12:48 am »
Hi,

Well I have some more questions for you guys. It seems that the insomnia(not amnesia as i had wrongly described on my last post) has subsided and so has the peripheral neuropathy. But that itching on my face has now produced pimples all over my body and head which seem to be seborrheic dermatitis. I itch all day long and its really annoying. Also I have a testosterone test of 59 come back which is wicked low and links to HIV.  But why are some symptoms disappearing adn others appearing? I tested negative at 3 months for antibodies. Should I do another dna pcr test now to get a more conclusive result since my first one was right at the 30 day mark? I am confused! I cant figure what else this could be! Please help.

Thanks

Offline Darkfiber

  • Member
  • Posts: 80
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2007, 07:49:21 am »
Gman

1. You didnīt have "peripheral neuropathy"
2. An HIV antibody test 3 months post exposure is conclusive
3. A negative HIV antibody test outside the window period trumps symptoms.
4. No more tests!


Have a good weekend!

D.
« Last Edit: February 09, 2007, 07:51:54 am by Darkfiber »

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #14 on: February 09, 2007, 08:07:31 am »
Gman,

You are reliably, conclusively hiv negative. You do NOT need further testing. The DNA test isn't approved for diagnostic purposes anyway. You do not need further hiv testing of any sort.

Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv. You don't have hiv. You are hiv negative. Work with your doctor to find out what, if anything, is causing your physical problems. You have ruled hiv out of the picture.

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

Offline GMAN372

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #15 on: June 24, 2007, 08:28:50 am »
Hi, I am back again with some new questions.It's been 8 months since i first started seeing symptoms and currently i still think i have oral thrush, seborrheic dermatitis, gastro issues uncluding bad gas and urine odor and every night and morning my hands and arms fall asleep and are numb and tingling when i wake up. NONE of which i experienced before my risky exposure. I was retested ELISA in January and DNA PCR in march of this year. Still negative.

My question is can those tests pick up other subtypes? Sould i go to test for them? I read subtype 2 is rare but what about subtype O?  Should I test for these too?

I really need help with this I have came up normal on thyroid, blood sugar , etc...tests and feel its in my system.

Is it hiding in my stomach and not in my blood?

Thank you for your time and consideration with my issues.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Late Seroconversion Question
« Reply #16 on: June 24, 2007, 08:54:56 am »
GMAN,

Hiv does not hide from diagnostic tests. The ELISA tests for antibodies to hiv, not the hiv itself. Your body starts producing hiv antibodies within hours of becoming infected. It takes several weeks for enough antibodies to be produced to be detected on the ELISA test.

The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six WEEKS. A negative at six weeks must be confirmed at three months.

You've had your confirmation. You are not hiv positive. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv. Hiv isn't the only cause of illness. Keep working with your doctor to find out the true cause.

You do not have hiv.

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

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.