Accuracy of Hiv 1&2 test if you have advanced stage Aids?

[Blueeyedgurl35]

Hi i was hoping you could answer a question for me I became sick 10 months ago with fatigue,diarreha,nausea,sore throat,and rashes. I went to my doctor who just sent me home to ride it out well the symptoms just keep getting worse and worse so i ended up in and out of emergency but because my routine bloodwork was within normal range everytime they just send me home. Now the symptoms have got to the point of affecting my whole life i have fatigue,fevers,night sweats,diarreaha,nausea,rashes,receding gums,white stuff on tongue,brown spots that are different shapes,sizes and colors on my arms,legs,face,back and chest,red dots appearing all over body,rapid weight loss,loosing muscle mass,yeast infections,memory loss,hair loss,headaches and blurred vision. I never thought about HIV until i started getting sicker and symptoms just kept getting worse. We were never educated on HIV growing up so I never thought about getting tested. I had a high risk exposure 9 years ago to someone who was into drugs. I didn't know he used drugs until after I slept with him as I wasn't into that life style and didn't know what to look for so when I found out I ended it with him but like I said was unaware of HIV. I just recently got an hiv test done which was negative but i am so ill with all these symptoms affecting me that i'm worried that my immune system is so comprimised now that the test wouldn't be able to detect antibodys. I really hope that you can help me as I' am only 36 and scared and don't know what to do. I even have copies of my bloodwork which the doctor told me were normal range and some stuff on there are below or above normal range. So my question is would the HIV test still detect antibodys even if a person was at end stage.Thank-You for taking the time to read my story and answering my question.

[Jeff G]

Hi Blue , if you haven't engaged in unprotected vaginal or anal sex within 3 months of you HIV test then you are reliably HIV negative .

You fear that your immune is so damaged that a HIV test wouldn't detect the virus is not possible . If your immune system were that damaged you would be bed ridden and days or hours from death , not working on a computer .

You do not need to test over this incident , however , anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!









 

[Blueeyedgurl35]

Thank you for replying I am really ill with all those symptoms which keep progressing and getting worse everyday thats why i am worried that the test was wrong. I just find it strange that i have all these symptoms which are not normal and nothing is being found. I have been suffering with this for 9 months now friends and family can even see the difference in me my whole body is deteriorating from this. One nurse on our nurses hotline out here i talked to through this asked me if i had a risk to hiv/aids when i told her my symptoms she said thats what it sounds like to her so of course that scared me more. Is there another test that i could do that would put my mind at ease. Sorry if im bothering you im just really scared and dont want to feel like this anymore.

[jkinatl2]

Thank you for replying I am really ill with all those symptoms which keep progressing and getting worse everyday thats why i am worried that the test was wrong. I just find it strange that i have all these symptoms which are not normal and nothing is being found. I have been suffering with this for 9 months now friends and family can even see the difference in me my whole body is deteriorating from this. One nurse on our nurses hotline out here i talked to through this asked me if i had a risk to hiv/aids when i told her my symptoms she said thats what it sounds like to her so of course that scared me more. Is there another test that i could do that would put my mind at ease. Sorry if im bothering you im just really scared and dont want to feel like this anymore.

Normally, I would suggest an STD panel including and HIV test for peace of mind - but you've gone that route, and it doesn't seem to help.

Please know that the symptoms of acute infection go away - they do not longer for months. They aren't even caused by HIV itself, but rather by your body's initial response to that virus - including producing antibodies.

It's really frustrating to hear nurses talk symptoms to people and casually throw HIV out as though it were possible to diagnose A) over the phone and B) by symptoms. It's unprofessional, not at all helpful, and promotes the ridiculous notion that HIV has unique symptoms - it does not.

I certainly hope you can work - in person - with a doctor to find out what's wrong with you. It absolutely CANNOT be HIV.

If blood testing and the like continue to prove unproductive, you might want to consider seeing a counselor trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in order to find tools to redirect irrational thoughts about HIV. You would not be the first - or the thousandth - person to enter these forums with a host of symptoms, convinced s/he has HIV, only to find that the symptoms dis sappear when they finally come to terms with their negative status. Never underestimate the power of the mind.

Which is not to diminish the pain you are going through, and if something physical really IS wrong, then you are wasting valuable time in chasing one pathogen that cannot be the culprit.

I am sorry you are scared. I wish we could do more to ease your anxiety. All we have are the facts about HIV.