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Author Topic: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?  (Read 2736 times)

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Offline incrediblyscared

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Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« on: June 25, 2012, 12:35:18 pm »
Hi, I appreciate any help I can get. I had a possible exposure in mid November 2011. I got tested at the 5 week mark, (end of December), and again around April 10th. Both were negative. I had so much anxiety over this, and was SURE the test would come back positive. It didn't.

My doctor assured me that the April test was absolutely conclusive and I could be sure I was HIV negative. But I also hear often that only 97 percent of people will test + within 3 months, and that it's only 99+ percent after the 6 month mark. April was just over 4.5 months.

How many cases are there of people who don't show antibodies until the 6 month mark? I do have herpes type 2 (which I believe I got from the Nov incident, broke out and was diagnosed early dec).. would that somehow make it take longer to seroconvert?

Thank you for reading this.

Offline RapidRod

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Re: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2012, 12:41:02 pm »
You are conclusively negative and you don't belong in the 3% category.

Offline Ann

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Re: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2012, 12:42:32 pm »
Scared,

You are indeed conclusively hiv negative. You do not have hiv.

The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six WEEKS, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days. A six week negative is highly unlikely to change, but must be confirmed at the three month point.

Testing positive after three months (with no additional risks) is exceedingly rare. The only people who might take longer are those on chemotherapy for cancer, on anti-rejection drugs following organ transplant or have been injecting street drugs, every day, for years. Even these people will normally test positive by three months, if not six weeks.

Unless you had unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, you probably didn't have a risk anyway.

Whatever your risk (or non-risk) one thing is certain.

You do NOT have hiv!

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline incrediblyscared

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Re: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2012, 12:56:31 pm »
Quote
The only people who might take longer are those on chemotherapy for cancer, on anti-rejection drugs following organ transplant or have been injecting street drugs, every day, for years. Even these people will normally test positive by three months, if not six weeks.


Thank you for the responses. :) None of this ^^ applies to me, so that's reassuring. I didn't know what part (if any) having HSV had in test results, so that was a concern. No, it was not unprotected, but one of the condoms broke, and we did other things where his semen came into contact with me (stupid, I know.. what's the point of using condoms if you're gonna be stupid outside of actual intercourse  :o ) so that's what had me worried.

Thanks again. :)

Offline Ann

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    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2012, 01:06:54 pm »
scared,

Herpes will have absolutely no effect on your hiv testing.

Unless his semen was ejaculated inside your anus or vagina, it doesn't matter where on your body his semen went. Hiv cannot infect you through your skin.

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

Make sure you read through the condom and lube links in my signature line. A correctly used condom rarely breaks.

Ann
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline incrediblyscared

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
Re: Is the 3 month window ALWAYS correct?
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2012, 01:28:26 pm »
Thank you, Ann. I read the condom link. I thought I knew how to use one correctly, (and for the most part do) but there were things in there I didn't realize. Good to know, thanks!

 


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