HIV Antibody Test Positive, but PCR by DNA Negative???

[jam_borg1987]

I was diagnosed as HIV positive in Early December. When I went for my initial follow up, my viral load was undetectable, and my T-cell count was normal (750). The doctor sent me for another HIV test (ELISA/Western Blot), just to be sure, and the test was once again positive.

When I went for my second HIV follow up, my viral load was mysteriously still undetectable, and my T-cell count was actually higher (850), even though I have not been put on ANY meds. The doctor then started becoming very skeptical about my diagnosis. He sent me for a PCR by DNA test. He explained that this test tests for the actual virus itself, and is so sensitive, because it forces any HIV to replicate, if there is any, and then the replicated sample is tested for viral load. He explained that if there was even one copy of HIV, the copy would be replicated by the test, and would show up.

However, this test, came back negative. The doctor became increasingly more confused, and ordered another PCR by DNA test as Well as another conventional HIV antibody test. Once again, the HIV antibody test came back positive, but the PCR by DNA was once again, negative.

He is now working with the Chief of Virology dept. to find out what exactly is going on. He was very clear to say that I am to consider myself HIV positive until more evidence shows itself to the contrary.

I was doing research and I found, that the antibody test, is rarely false positive to begin with, but never 3 times in a row, but that the DNA by PCR has almost no false negatives, yet this has been negative 2 times in a row.

So I really wish I knew what was going on. While Im waiting for my doctor and the virologist to figure out whats happening, I figured I would reach out to some other very well educated people to help me as well.

What do you guys think is going on?

[Ann]

James,

It is very possible that you are a Long Term Non-Progressor (LTNP) and perhaps even an elite controller. What this means is that your body is able to control the virus on its own without needing meds.

There is a website you and your doctor may be interested in - the Zephyr Foundation. It was started by a LTNP woman who used to post here. Like you, she also tests positive on the antibody and WB tests, but has an undetectable viral load without meds and has normal CD4 counts.

I'm going to move this thread into the I Just Tested Poz forum - because you do seem to be hiv positive.

Ann

[jam_borg1987]

Thank you, Ann for the website link!

Yes, I thought about participating in clinical trials. But this website looks like it has not been updated in a while. Is the organization still active?

[Ann]

I'm not sure how active it is these days, but I do know Loreen (aka Zephyr) is still around. You might want to contact her through her Contact Us page.

Even though the website may not have been updated recently, there is still a lot of good, relevant information regarding LTNP there. Good luck - keep us updated as to how you're doing.

Ann

[goodguy001]

hi james my i am going through the same situation as you are. i never had a risk for hiv in any type of way meaning sexual intercourse drugs etc .i was also tested in dec 2011 . i am coming up positive on antibodies. but not on rna pcr test's cd4 counts are in normal range. i dont know what to make of it myself.  did you have any exposure to hiv like unprotected sexual intercourse, blood exposure etc that you know or think could have made you positive? also did your doc do a naat test like the blood banks do to test for hiv . pcr dna are very tricky and can produce false positives and negatives . its very interesting we are both in the same situation. are you in the u.k or u.s.a .im  in the u.s but i have not found anybody to figure out what is going on as of yet.

[jam_borg1987]

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[Ann]

So the only thing unprotected was him inserting himself in me, for a maximum of a few seconds, then took it out. I didnt notice any precum at all.

Even though it was brief, it was a risk. If he had a really high viral load (which is common in someone very newly infected, so it's quite possible he had no idea himself he was poz) then even a small bit of pre-cum (that you may not have noticed) would be infectious. It's unlucky you got infected this way, but there's not much you can do about it now. Sorry you learned the hard way. Many of us here did, so you're not alone.

What counts now is how you deal with being poz going forward. Given your testing history so far, hiv is unlikely to impact your health in any serious way, so while you were unlucky to end up poz after one brief incident, you're very lucky in other regards. Don't let it get you down.

Goodguy,

Did you ever take our advice we gave you in your thread in the Am I Infected forum? From what you've written there, you never had a full-on positive result on your WB. That's one of the reasons your thread was never moved into this forum, unlike James. It doesn't sound like you're actually poz (and so shouldn't really be posting here), but James is.

Again, did you ever follow our advice and have further investigations done? Or perhaps did you have a brief dipping encounter (like James did) that you've neglected to mention? Because while James was unlucky enough to get infected from a slight risk, absolutely NOTHING you reported was even remotely a risk for hiv infection.

Ann

[goodguy001]

hey Ann sorry for the late reply. i never had any brief dipping encounter at all i would not lie about that. all i ever got was handjobs from women i never gave or had any intercourse other than hand to penis contact. Ann i sent you some p.M's messages i don't know if you got them . i did take your advice and now its all a wait see with the docs. in my post i did mention i had a positive antibody and western blot the first western blot had 12 bands the second had 9. as you told me that is very weird because usually you gain bands you don't lose them . i don't  know if this is the case with James how many bands showed on his western blot or if he has that information . but that fact is if you can't find HIV in his RNA or DNA and CD4 are normal then its not HIV . i was told this by Dr Pablo tebas who is currently doing research for  gene of  modifications of CD4's here in the u.s at Penn state  to fight HIV who knows possibly cure it someday.  our cases are very unique and different . but i would hate for it to maybe be he may have something special inside of him be it a antibody or gene that might be one of the keys to curing this horrible virus in some form and doctors are missing it .  Ann s pm me i dint mean to put post where i am not supposed to . i also want to say i respect everyone is this forum that is living with HIV. i would not be posting or making up stories to start something that would be unfair to all here. my situation is truly real and i value your  answers and ideas .

[jam_borg1987]

Ann, Im not sure if you got my message or not, but can you please take this post down? Thank you