POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: scotslassie on June 04, 2006, 03:47:21 pm
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Hi folks Im new please be kind!
I had a few broken condoms last year with someone, so I waited about 18 weeks and trotted along for the test
I was called back 2 weeks after to test again, being told there was a problem with my test and I had to give another sample. I was told that it was a false positive, but that my viral load had comne back negative.
They then tested this sample using p24, viral load and antibody test- Which all came back negative
Now, considering this was 2 weeks after the inconclusive( which I dont know if an elisa , wb or both was inconclusive) was this enough time for it to come back negative andf be a definite negative?
Im thinking it is, and was told it was, but I amnt sure, some sites say to wait a month before retesting ?
cheers folks
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sorry to clarify
The first sample had shown an inconclusive result- the 2nd sample drawn 2 weeks later came back negative
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lassie,
The window period in the UK is twelve weeks. The last tests you had were at twenty weeks and so your negative result is absolutely conclusive. You are hiv negative.
You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL STIs together.
Please read through the condom and lube links in my signature line. Most condom failure is caused by incorrect use. Also, there are links on the left-hand side of both of those pages and one links to information on the female condom. You might want to try them out.
You are hiv negative, keep using condoms and you will stay that way.
Ann
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thank you very much Ann, this is what the local health advisor said and also THT helpline
I think the way I was dealt with on the day didnt help, I was told it was a techinical problem, then a false positive, then it was a weak reaction on a band of western blot, all of this made me think what do I believe?
But I thank you for responding, and hopefully Ill be able to stick this in my head and not forget it :)
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One band on a Western blot isn't a false positive, it's actually just inconclusive. They could have helped out with better termanology. Bands on Western blots are not uncommon but the fact there is no viral load suggests that it was nothing to worry about at all...
R
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Thanks HIV worker
Yeah I think they did a viral load on both samples, if Im not wrong. They definitely tested one as they gave me the sheet which told me it said that. They also did the combined p24/antibody test
I think they just messed up a bit, they made me feel really anxious not knowing what the outcome was and made me sit around twiddling my thumbs thiking when will the result come back- and when I tried to speak about how Id cope with a positive result, they told me not to be so silly ::)
All a big mess they didnt have to make- they could have simply said can we have some blood, taken it and told me I was ok and Id never have worried like this
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Some people worry if they just ask for more blood. You can't win in that situation and in my opinion it's better to be transparent.
R
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Hmm thats true
I just feel that they made a big deal out of it
From what they said, if they hadnt called me back in the test would have been repeated on my first sample and reported as negative the day after- but some person thought it better to call me the day before the repeat tests were due to be repeated
::)
I will move on from it - Im quite a resiliant person and the advice I have had is to move on and to put it behind me, so I guess I have to do that :)
thanks guys
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Lassie,
I see you are posting in forums other than the Am I Infected forum. I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be doing that. Aside from Off Topic, the other forums are only for people who are living with hiv or their close friends or family.
Please only post in the Off Topic or Am I Infected forums.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Ann
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Sorry guys it wasnt meant to cause offense to anyone at all
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Just a quick update
My counsellor, who I see for reasons other than the HIV, ended up discussing it with me as I brought up hoe various things have made me think about the test a bit more, including the possiblity I might want to have a baby in the nearish future and I know Ill be tested then
My counsellor suggested going back to the clinic for more info about the actua test I had, for some closure. And it threw up some interesting comments
I saw the health advisor. On the day, I had seen someone else who said ine was a " false positive"- Which can, I have been told , be indicative of seroconversion. Well, I was outside the 12 week window period, and also had a viral load test. BUT, the health advisor got out my notes, and said look this has been a result due to a technical problem. It was never your blood at all, and the lab have stated this
I wonder why I was never told- Ok, it doesnt make much of a difference as Im about 90 percent sure I am not infected. But hey, this has made things a bit clearer. From being told I was a false positive( which made me wonder what I did have that reacted) to being a result due to lab error. So who knows why they mentioned the western blot?
Alll intriguing really
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Reposted om original thread:
Just a question about strains- I know a bit about HIV 1 AND 2- Do most places in Britain test for both of these and the subtypes- Is there a chance some people test negative but have a different strain- There is way too much info out there!
The reason I ask is mainly because an ex boyfriend lived in Africa for a year- and he was having unprotected sex- He was one of the ones I broke a condom with. Im pretty sure I am not infected but when I read about different strains in the news I wondered a bit
thank you in advance
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Lassie,
GUM clinics in the UK do indeed test for both hiv 1&2 due to the high prevalence of African immigrants. All of the strains will be detected by the end of the window period.
The window period in the UK is twelve weeks. The last tests you had were at twenty weeks and so your negative result is absolutely conclusive. You are hiv negative.
If you continue to have trouble accepting your negative hiv status, please keep working with your counselor to enable you to move past this and get on with your life.
You are hiv negative. You do not have hiv.
Ann
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Thanks Ann
Im not so much having trouble accepting it, I do accept it, I just feel a little worked up. I have had a year of feeling like I didnt know one way or theo ther pushing bf away to not have sex with him just in case etc etc- I guess its going to take a lot longer to work through this than I had expected in the beginning.
my counsellor is good, she understands where Im cming from and I am getting to the bottom of my worries about my infidelity on an ex bf etc etc- All issues which are clearly not justified to posting in am I infected, but are there nonetheless
I appreciate the work people onhere are doing.