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Author Topic: should i retest?  (Read 12918 times)

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Offline sleeping_awake

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  • Posts: 7
should i retest?
« on: June 14, 2006, 08:32:30 am »
it doesnt make sense. i have tested negative 93 days after possible exposure, but i have a red patch on my tongue, in the center, which really resembles erythematous (sp?) candidiasis. i know geographic tongue, and this is not geog. tongue. it does not migrate. the red denuded area covers up after two weeks and stays that way for a week and then gets denuded again on the same area - in the middle. the other "exposure" i had after that potential one is just really deep kissing w/ my gf who bites my lips causing cuts and sores.

i know 93 days is enough for 3 months and kissing is not really a risk for HIV but it doesnt make sense. i havent had this tongue symptom ever. i was tested w/ a rapid test... serodia or something like that. negative. non-reactive. is this rapid test good? infection from the kissing i had? absurd, right? i wanna rule out HIV but it seems hard w/ this symptom. recently had my CBC and all came back normal.

i know aidsmeds is firm in saying that 3 months is conclusive but what if it's not? i mean, what if people here stay calm after receiving a negative status at 3 months, but end up having HIV anyway coz of the slim chance that they may seroconvert late? and they go on w/ their lives not knowing that they are positive? i dont know, im sorry, i dont mean to be offensive, but it's just mind-boggling, mind-wrecking and heart-slicing to think of these things. there are still those who say that it's 6 months, blah blah blah. ah, i hate the paranoia!

i wanna end it now, i want peace of mind. hope anyone can shed light into my worries.

thanks

Offline jkinatl2

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Re: should i retest?
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2006, 08:38:14 am »
You had no risk.

I am sorry you choose to bring outdayed or inaccurate information here, and challenge us to dispute it. Perhaps someone else can do that research for you. This site, affiliated with Poz.com and Smart+Strong, is not only one of the most knowledgeable around, it is ALSO one of the more conservative of the scientifically quantifiable sites.

I submit that our data is not flawed, but your reasoning is. Most importantly, the reasoning that seems to indicate that you still believe you can get HIV through kissing.

I urge you to discuss this with a counselor. Your needs are way beyond the ability of this forum to assist you, I think.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

Welcome Thread

Offline RapidRod

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Re: should i retest?
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2006, 08:40:24 am »
Unless you are an IV drug user, on chemo or immune suppressed. Then your three month test is conclusive and your signs and symptoms are not related to HIV.

Offline sleeping_awake

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  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2006, 09:19:08 am »
You had no risk.

I am sorry you choose to bring outdayed or inaccurate information here, and challenge us to dispute it. Perhaps someone else can do that research for you. This site, affiliated with Poz.com and Smart+Strong, is not only one of the most knowledgeable around, it is ALSO one of the more conservative of the scientifically quantifiable sites.

I submit that our data is not flawed, but your reasoning is. Most importantly, the reasoning that seems to indicate that you still believe you can get HIV through kissing.

I urge you to discuss this with a counselor. Your needs are way beyond the ability of this forum to assist you, I think.



yeah, i submit too that i am obssessing and letting my mind play nasty tricks on me. im sorry, i didnt mean to challenge anything.. it's just that sometimes people like me get so irrational and playing w/ all the "what if's" in the world because of fear. i've gone from "what if the rapid test i took is not reliable?" to "what if the lab technician missed out on my results?" to other what if's that drive me crazy. coz everyone around me (my friends, the official statement in my country, my friends who are doctors) are saying all sorts of things.

thanks for suggesting it, and i think i need at least someone, if not a counselor, to talk to regarding my fears and also a doctor regarding this tongue thing.

thanks again, and i wish you all the best.

cheers

Offline sleeping_awake

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  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2006, 09:26:03 am »
Unless you are an IV drug user, on chemo or immune suppressed. Then your three month test is conclusive and your signs and symptoms are not related to HIV.

thanks for sharing that. im not an IV drug user, nor on chemo, nor immune suppressed. not even diabetes as my normal CBC count shows (eventhough my grandmother has diabetes).

i will put this to rest.. prolly talk to someone to ease the worry and finally end the paranoia.

cheers to you

Offline avatar51

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  • Posts: 11
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2006, 10:56:40 am »
Im was almost in the same boat as you. tested negative 4.5 months past possible exposure around 4 months i developed some thrush and red spots in my mouth and tongue, my mouth was extremely dry and i was a nervous wreak, so i decided to take a test a week later and it was negativa via oraquick advance. I was questioning the results like you myself saying what if iam a late serconverting and so on.. but really when you think about it you didnt have a risk, your non-risk was confirmed by a conservative 3 month test.  stress/anexity is a terrible thing when its prolonged and it will weaken your body, you dont have hiv just focus on something else its not hiv.

Offline sleeping_awake

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  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2006, 11:06:30 am »
Im was almost in the same boat as you. tested negative 4.5 months past possible exposure around 4 months i developed some thrush and red spots in my mouth and tongue, my mouth was extremely dry and i was a nervous wreak, so i decided to take a test a week later and it was negativa via oraquick advance. I was questioning the results like you myself saying what if iam a late serconverting and so on.. but really when you think about it you didnt have a risk, your non-risk was confirmed by a conservative 3 month test.  stress/anexity is a terrible thing when its prolonged and it will weaken your body, you dont have hiv just focus on something else its not hiv.

im pretty convinced w/ the 3-month conclusive testing, but just a bit in limbo w/ the type of test done. it wasnt ELISA, it was a rapid test. i searched for my test results for this, and it reads "Test Kit Used: Serodia - Particle Agglutination HIV-1/HIV-2 = Non-Reactive". i've read sites and it is a rapid test.

so, that's actually where my concern mostly lies. is this a good test? i've read a post exactly regarding this type of test kit, and people said that ANY test would have picked up antibodies at the 13-week mark.

so now, im just calming myself down, and not thinking of what-if's. of course, re-testing w/ an ELISA is at the back of my mind but im trying to flush out the idea already.

thanks for your reply though. :)

cheers.

Offline scotslassie

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  • Posts: 82
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2006, 11:39:25 am »
In terms of labs making a mistake- They are subject to extreme scrutiny these labs. Any medical labs have to follow very strict procedure. I can imagine if they do anything wrong its a sackable offence.

Basically, they have peoples medical lives in their hnads. If they make a mistake or miss something they will not only be lialbe for a law suit, but also if the person were to die or be ill as aresult then they also will be u for manslaughter- Do you get me?

The lab didnt make a mistake

Offline david25luvit

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  • Posts: 1,409
  • Member since March 2005
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2006, 11:44:44 am »
Take a deep breath....freaking out won't help anything.
No.......I don't think you should.  You so ready to accept the fact that you
might be positive...why can't you accept you're NOT?
In Memory of
Raymond David McRae III
Nov. 25, 1972- Oct. 15, 2004
I miss him terribly..........

Offline sleeping_awake

  • Member
  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2006, 06:43:05 pm »
Take a deep breath....freaking out won't help anything.
No.......I don't think you should.  You so ready to accept the fact that you
might be positive...why can't you accept you're NOT?

thanks. i was really happy weeks after i got the results (possible exposure Feb 11/12, blood extracted May 16, got results May 25) then i started paying attention again to the symptoms and now im freaking out again.

it's really hard to accept when you've got weird symptoms. i read posts of people freaking out even if they've tested 6 or 12 months after an exposure with advanced ELISAs.  i tested on a rapid test at 3 months, and i very much want to believe that. but w/ symptoms, it's really freaking hard. but ill try to make it through. thanks man.

Offline Ann

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  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2006, 04:48:31 am »
sleeping,

Whatever is going on with you physically, it has nothing to do with hiv because you have reliably tested negative. You need to go to your doctor to find out what is going on. It's the only way you'll find out. You can post on the internet all day long and you will not get a diagnosis of your physical ills. For that you must see a doctor face to face.

You are reliably hiv negative.

Ann
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Offline sleeping_awake

  • Member
  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2006, 07:11:25 am »
sleeping,

Whatever is going on with you physically, it has nothing to do with hiv because you have reliably tested negative. You need to go to your doctor to find out what is going on. It's the only way you'll find out. You can post on the internet all day long and you will not get a diagnosis of your physical ills. For that you must see a doctor face to face.

You are reliably hiv negative.

Ann


thanks ann. the mind is a powerful thing that it can convince you otherwise despite proof. hundreds of posters are being told what you told me hundreds of times and i appreciate your patience in reminding everyone.

:) i know it's a red flag for you to do counseling but i think statements like what you said help calm our nerves with reassuring facts.

thanks again and i wish the best for you.

cheers

Offline Andy Velez

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  • Posts: 34,126
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2006, 08:51:04 am »
A PS for you. "It doesn't make sense"?

What doesn't make sense is for you to decide that your mind is a greater authority than the fact of a negative HIV test result. And that a no-risk incident will have given you HIV. That's what doesn't make any sense.

Thoughts and feelings are powerful and ought to be respected, but happily in this instance they do not trump the fact of a negative test result.

Cheers,
Andy Velez

Offline sleeping_awake

  • Member
  • Posts: 7
Re: should i retest?
« Reply #13 on: June 15, 2006, 11:44:14 am »
A PS for you. "It doesn't make sense"?

What doesn't make sense is for you to decide that your mind is a greater authority than the fact of a negative HIV test result. And that a no-risk incident will have given you HIV. That's what doesn't make any sense.

Thoughts and feelings are powerful and ought to be respected, but happily in this instance they do not trump the fact of a negative test result.

Cheers,

thanks andy. just so many what-if's that the mind can point to. i'll point it now to the negative test result :)

just to clarify, the risk incident that got me tested was not the kissing-with-cut-lips-and-mouth-sores incident, but sex with a sex worker 3 months prior to the test. condom was used for intercourse - didnt break as far as i know (checked after using), unprot. receptive oral, and kissing. = but im sure i'll get pounded again saying that i had no risk. :) hehe well, im just clarifying things.

:)

what will definitely tick me off is, if for instance i am diagnosed w/ candidiasis or something and then i tell the doc that i tested negative at 3 months, and he'll tell me "No, the window period is 6 months, you're still not cleared for hiv infection". sucks, coz in my country, it's still 6 months. :P bummer

anyway, cheers. ;)

 


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