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Author Topic: Negative HIV 4th Generation duo after 36 days, can i move on?  (Read 5390 times)

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Offline Jaybizzer

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Firstly i would like to say what a great forum this is.

I am hetrosexual man and in early 2016 I stupidly had unprotected vaginal sex with a woman of unknown status, this was 3-4 separate occasions over a 2-3 month period. I know, I'm stupid right!

Once i had stopped seeing her i decided i should get tested as its the sensible thing to do. I told her i was going to get tested and she told me she didnt have any STD's and was very offended that i even asked her. She said "if you must know I did an at home STD test for most common STD's (including HIV with oral swab) as it was a sensible thing to do after being with a previous guy from who she had unprotected sex with. She in her own angry words "and of course everything was negative".

Anyway, at 27 days past exposure i decided to get a HIV test (no symptoms at this point). I had a 4th generation HIV-1 and 2 duo ab/ag finger prick test which looks for antibodies and P24 antigen. This was negative, but then i later read you should wait 28 days past exposure so decided just to test again in a weeks time.

so then at 36 days i decided to test for all STD's like gonorrhea, clamidia, hep B, hep C, herpes, syphilis, HIV etc. Again the HIV test was with the same 4th gen, performed by the private STD company based in London. All results were given within 1 hour and everything came back negative. The 2 doctors I saw told me all STD's, including HIV are conclusive 28 days past exposure and the 4th gen test are very, very accurate - 99.89% they told me. Of course they said no test in the medical world is 100% but rest assured i do not have HIV or any other STD.

So, around the 6-7th week after exposure i had a bad cough (suspected chest infection), light fever and night sweats for maybe 2-3 nights, but no rash or any other symptoms associated with ARS. I went to doctors about 2 weeks later and they told me it was likely a chest infection, but i was a little scared as this was in the summer time and I always associated colds/flu/infections with winter.

Then after reading online i see mixed responses saying it can take 90 days (12 weeks) for confirmation of HIV results. Although there seems to be a big debate about this. It seems that the 12 week window period is outdated information based on 3rd gen tests and tests that only look for the antibodies, because tests with the P24 usually show by day 15, which means the duo 4th gen is confirmed negative at 28+ days after exposure.

Am i panicking over nothing as i have had 2x tests with the latest HIV testing technology and both were negative, or should i get another test as its been just over 12 months since i last tested (no sexual encounters since the last test).


Offline Jim Allen

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Re: Negative HIV 4th Generation duo after 36 days, can i move on?
« Reply #1 on: April 21, 2017, 11:09:22 am »
Hi

A 4th gen test is the same as a 3rd gen test just including an antigen test for HIV type 1

So fourth generation tests may shorten the time from exposure to seroconversion a repeat test at 3 months is still recommended to definitively exclude HIV infection.

See HIV antibody response can be detected as early as two weeks even in some people however 99.9% of people will test positive by 13 weeks or 3 months except for those with underling medical conditions such as receiving cancer treatment.  Some doctors may feel after 4 weeks that 90% is good enough to call it conclusive that is up to them, not something i can comment on or would like to gamble with.

So for you 3 months is considered conclusive. In short testing before 3 months can give you a good indication of your HIV status, but test at 3 months after the exposure to be considered HIV negative.

Jim
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Offline Jim Allen

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Re: Negative HIV 4th Generation duo after 36 days, can i move on?
« Reply #2 on: April 21, 2017, 11:12:45 am »
Oh yeah just to add use condoms next time and remember to test at least yearly for STI's including but not limited to HIV.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, every time, no exceptions.

Keep in mind that some sexual practices which may be described as ‘safe’ in terms of HIV transmission might still pose a risk for transmission of other STI's, so please do get fully tested regularly and at least yearly for all STI's including but not limited to HIV and test more frequently if unprotected intercourse occurs

Also note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms and the only way of knowing is by testing.

More information on HIV Basics, PEP, TaSP and Transmission can be found through the links in my signature to our POZ pages, this includes information on HIV Testing

Kind regards

Jim

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Offline Jaybizzer

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Re: Negative HIV 4th Generation duo after 36 days, can i move on?
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2017, 08:34:48 am »
Hi Jim,

Thanks for replying and I thought I would update you and all others reading this post. After your reply about 90 day window period testing I decided it makes sense to test for HIV again. So, today I took a 60 second finger prick rapid test which is now 12 months after my last sexual encounter (unprotected vaginal sex) and it was negative for hiv-1 and hiv-2.

The doctor who did the test said the results are fully, fully, fully conclusive at 12 months and that I can move on now and stop worrying. He re-emphasised that the test I had at 36 days was conclusive but he said he understands that if I was worried then it made sense to test for my own piece of mind.

I have learnt a lot from this mistake and will never let it happen again. I would finally like to say that this forum is fantastic and I appreciate the support you give to everyone here.

Thank you
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 09:06:00 am by Jaybizzer »

Offline Jim Allen

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Re: Negative HIV 4th Generation duo after 36 days, can i move on?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2017, 12:24:43 pm »
Hi

Glad to hear it was a negative result.

I suspected as much but and glad that was the outcome. Like I said some doctors may feel after 4 weeks that 90% is good enough to call it, not something i can comment on or would like to gamble with.

Remember to use condoms and test at least yearly going forward for STI's and HIV

Jim
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 12:36:51 pm by JimDublin »
HIV 101 - Everything you need to know
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HIV Testing
Read about Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) here:
HIV TasP
You can read about HIV prevention here:
HIV prevention
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