Seroreversion

[HarleyAnn]

Hello to everyone...I've been doing some research and I am a bit confused. Would someone with late stage, undiagnosed HIV be a candidate for seroreversion or does this only happen with people who are positive and are being treated with antivirals? I'm just concerned that if I might be positive but have "burnt out" all of my antibodies and possibly will not be detected on a test. Also, recently I had a titers for MMR done and I had no antibodies for the measles etc. Is this a red flag?

[Jeff G]

The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. Most who are infected will test positive by 6 weeks. For various reasons a small number will take longer and that is why we follow the CDC recommendation to test at 3 months for a conclusive negative result.

The only way to know your HIV status is to test at the appropriate time and in the window period posted above .

If your immune system were so damaged by HIV that you could no longer produce antibody's you would be bed ridden with sores all over your body and in agony so you can put this thought to rest , its not happening .

What and when was your risk and when did you last test for HIV ? . I can help you if you give that information .

[HarleyAnn]

I last tested with Oraquick about a week ago...Faint C line. Negative.  Please don't think I'm being paranoid...my last exposure is about 2 and a half years ago with my current fiance. I am in a lesbian monogamous relationship. She has never confirmed her status, however I trust she is negative...I was mostly in male/female relationships my whole life and was very promiscuous in my late teens and twenties. I was married and was faithful for 5 years but I'm not positive on how faithful he was :-( I'm just a mess because of seroREversion, having massive SERIOUS symptoms, depressed as ALL get out and feeling lost.

[Jeff G]

I see . HIV is not your problem, the oraquick test is accurate and reliable and you can rely on the fact that you do not have HIV .

If you are sick you need to see your doctor and find out why but one thing for sure its not is HIV that's making you feel bad . 

[Ann]

HarleyAnn,

If you were experiencing hiv seroREversion, (no longer testing hiv antibody positive despite having hiv), you would not be on your computer writing to us.

You'd be a bag of bones lying in a hospital bed, suffering from several opportunistic infections, totally incontinent (both ways), very likely blind, very likely suffering from some degree of hiv-related dementia, and very close - within days, if not hours - to death. In other words, hiv antibodies will only disappear in the presence of hiv when a person's immune system has completely shut down and death is imminent.

We can safely assume this does not describe you - otherwise, as I said, you would not be on a computer, lap-top, tablet or smart-phone. You'd be lying flat on your back in your own excrement fighting for your breath and life.

Being in a monogamous lesbian relationship, if your other half is unknowingly hiv positive, the only realistic way you'd be at risk for hiv transmission is if you share drug injecting equipment with her. Cunnilingus is NOT a risk for hiv infection and neither is kissing. Neither is sharing sex toys. In an adult, hiv is transmitted through:

Unprotected anal intercourse.

Unprotected vaginal intercourse.

Sharing drug injecting equipment.

And that's it.

If your girlfriend has never tested for hiv before, she'd be wise to do so. Hiv is a manageable illness in the 21st century, but only when it is diagnosed in time and meds can be started before a person gets to the stage of the picture I painted for you above.

As for you, you are conclusively hiv negative. You do not have hiv. If you feel unwell, see a doctor to find out what is actually going on. You have conclusively ruled hiv OUT of the picture.

Ann