POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: StupidMe on July 30, 2010, 10:30:06 am
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Hi there,
Well I've a bit of a story spanning 4 years so here goes.
September 2006 I foolishly had drunken sex with an Acrican CSW in Germany. I can't remember how protected the encounter was. It started out as protected oral and there was vaginal sex too but, I can't remember if the condom stayed on or tore or anything. Well 4 weeks after this incident I got bad flu symptoms and was laid up in bed feeling bad for a week. I feared the worst and got tested at 7 weeks at a GUM clinic in the UK. Well I had a 4th gen test that was negative. Then had a 12 week test that was neg. and put HIV thoughts out of my mind.
Now the months after this I started to experience a change in bowel movements and had a camera check me out in there. All seemed fine so the docs suggested Irritable Bowel. Still no HIV concern until I noticed my gums were recessing quite quickly. I also started to get ulcers and sores on my gum line. This really started to worry me as the recession has been agressive and my dentist is at a loss to the cause. I'm now suffering constant pain in my jaw. So within the last 2 years I've started testing for HIV again. I've had now 9 antibody tests (some 4th gen and some 3rd gen rapids) and a taqscreen multiplex nat test within the last two years.
I began to get really concerned when I developed seborrhoic dermatitis last Christmas (diagnosed by my gp).
I'm really worried that I've either acquired a rare strain of HIV or my body has made antibodies that just arn't reacting on the tests.
I'm most concerned for my family. Obviously my wife would be at direct risk if I was positive. But, I'm also concerned for my kids. Especially, since my daughters best friend has oral thrush and seb derm. She's only 9 !! Surely this would be extremly rare in a 9 year old. My kids have shared toothbrushes with us several times, shared earrings with my wife and we caught my daughter shaving her legs once with my wife's razor slicing off the heads of several mosquito bites in the process. Could this whole scenario be possible? If I was indeed positive with some rare strain I could cope with it if I knew my family were okay. Especially my kids.
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Stupid,
Whatever is going on with you has nothing to do with hiv as you have more than conclusively tested hiv negative. There aren't any mysterious strains out there that would go undetected by the tests and you would definitely developed enough antibodies by now to be detected.
Keep working with your doctor to find out what is wrong. It is NOT hiv.
Ann
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Hi Ann,
Thanks for the reply.
I've read in literature that there are people whose immune system 'battles' with the virus yet have no antibodies detectable on test. In addition there's a recent paper that shows even the most recent tests still struggle to detect the group O strain as a result of the greater genetic diversity of this group. And, the tests haven't been evaluated against group N and P so there is uncertainty as to the level if sensitivity of the tests to these strains. Although, people with these strains were discovered because they did test positive on the tests.
These are strains we know about. So I can't understand how my results are conclusive with respect to the symptoms me and my family are experiencing.
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Stupid,
Let's look at your logic here. You're worried because of the symptoms "[you] and your family" are experiencing. You're including children in this. Have you been having unprotected intercourse with these children? Because hiv is NOT transmitted in the household environment. It's not transmitted from sharing earrings or toothbrushes. It's not transmitted from razor blades. If your whole family has this mysterious strain of hiv you're worried about, then you must be having unprotected sex with all of them.
With all those tests you've had, if you had hiv, you'd know it by now. I'm not going to get into a nit-picking contest with you here over some research literature you've read and may have misunderstood. The fact remains that today's tests are very sensitive and you're not going to get twelve false negative results.
There are other illnesses out there besides hiv. You have conclusively tested hiv negative. You do not have hiv.
Ann
edited to correct a mistake - I wrote "twelve false positive results" when I meant "twelve false negative results.
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Stupid,
Let's look at your logic here. You're worried because of the symptoms "[you] and your family" are experiencing. You're including children in this. Have you been having unprotected intercourse with these children?
Come on Ann. That is sick and a highly offensive remark. I would not do anything of the sort with my kids.
Because hiv is NOT transmitted in the household environment. It's not transmitted from sharing earrings or toothbrushes. It's not transmitted from razor blades.
I understand the risk is theoretical so I know I should stop worrying. Maybe counselling would help me as the risk to others drives my worries more then anything. Even with my 12 negatives.
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Rather than seeing Ann's remarks as offensive, you need to see that she is pointing out how ridiculous and unfounded your fears are by citing an extreme example in your situation.
You are HIV negative. Period. End of story. We often find that partners/spouses and the like who have gone straying sometimes have a difficult time accepting their negative status. Guilt is the culprit in those situations. You did what you did, you have scooted by safely and you need to get on with your life. If you find you can't do that, then as you yourself have suggested, some counseling maybe in order.
We've done what we can do for you in this setting. If you continue to return here when there really is no science-based reason to doubt your negative status, you are going to put yourself in position to get a Time Out from the site. HIV is not your problem.
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Come on Ann. That is sick and a highly offensive remark. I would not do anything of the sort with my kids.
Stupid,
Of course I know you wouldn't - as Andy says, I was attempting to point out how illogical you're being with this whole "I got it and so does my whole family" thing. You don't have it and neither do they.
Hiv is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse, mother-to-child transmission, and blood to blood situations such as blood transfusions or needle-sharing.
From what you wrote, it would seem your kids were born before this incident. Not only do I not think you're having sex with them, I also do not think you're transfusing them or sharing needles with them. So there's no way they could have gotten hiv from you.
You had protected intercourse, and twelve negative results over four years. Yes, maybe it is time to see a therapist. Keep working with your doctor as well if you continue to feel unwell.
Ann
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Hi Ann and Andy,
Thanks for your replies.
In addition to the non-transmission routes I was concerned about there was a blood exposure with my son several months ago. The cat scratched me and several blobs of blood popped up from the scratch. My son then ran past me and bumped into me and ended up with blood on his knuckles and on a 5 day old friction burn (about the size of an English penny) he had got there from his boxing lesson (from the gloves). It looked like a finger prints worth of blood. If I was HIV positive is this a transmission risk?
Last but not least. I have had several other symptoms that I didn't mention such as vitiligo and also my finger and toe nails are curving and ridges are appearing in them. Are there any other tests that would complely cover every base possible for HIV?
I promise not to continue with anymore post with respect to my original risk unless any info comes to light.
Thanks
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Stupid,
You have already had all the testing you need. YOU DO NOT HAVE HIV.
The thing with the cat scratch was absolutely not a risk for hiv infection. If hiv were transmitted that easily, everyone and their brother would have it.
YOU DO NOT HAVE HIV!!!
Ann
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Hi Ann,
Thanks for the reply. I'm still struggling to believe my test results because of the pain I'm getting in my jaw and gums and the persistent itchiness of this seb derm. Like any parent I worry about my kids but, the symptoms displayed by my son still concerns me over the blood on burn incident. I'll try my best to move on with some counselling and Dr's advice. I'll let you know how I get on.
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Stupid,
It sounds like you need to see a dentist and a dermatologist. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with hiv - you do not have hiv.
You can worry about your son all you want, but that's not going to change the science of hiv transmission. Hiv is simply NOT transmitted in the way you're worrying about.
Ann
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Hi Ann,
I wasn't too keen on revisiting my original thread but, things are getting worse with respect to my symptoms. Basically, on top of everything I've stated in this thread, I've got suspected peripheral neuropathy. I've been getting pinprick pains in my hands and feet for more than a fortnight now. I've several blood tests to do through my gp. HIV isn't one of them as of yet and to be honest I haven't had any more HIV tests since I last posted here. What do you recon? Can I really be negative with such an array of symptoms but, with negative tests? Should I push for specialist testing in case it is a divergent strain?
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Stupid,
YOU. DO. NOT. HAVE. H. I. V.
There are thousands of other illnesses out there. You have ruled one - hiv - out of the picture. Keep working with your doctor to find out what, if anything, is wrong with you. What ever that may be, it is NOT hiv.
If you read the Welcome Thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0) before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:
Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.
Please consider yourself warned!
Ann
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Hi Ann,
Okay I won't go on about HIV then. I don't fancy a ban. Just to update you, the blood tests I had with my GP were mostly normal but, for vit B12 which is low. So I've been told to go back to the docs in a few
months to repeat it. It explains the neuropathy but, god knows what is causing this as my diet is pretty high in B12. Anyway, I'll post the outcome of all this when I get there.
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The only test that matters when you have a genuine risk for HIV is an HIV-specific test. That doesn't matter right now since you have already conclusively tested negative for HIV. That's a closed question as far as we are concerned.
So you can do whatever tests you want to. Whatever is going on with you physically has nothing to do with HIV. Period.
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Hi Andy,
I know what your saying. I'm not posting to persevate over HIV (this time ;-) ) but, if I find a non-HIV cause for my symptoms I thought it would be worth posting about anyway. It might help someone else in the same boat.
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If you are that concerned about your symptoms then I suggest you go see your doctor. You don't have an HIV concern.