6, 8, 12 week HIV negative test - Do I need 13 week

[soscared621]

I had a very regretable event on 6/21/10 I had unprotected vaginal and anal sex with a heterosexual male that is definitely not gay or bisexual and has never used drugs of any type but is very promiscuous with women.

I FELT like I had so many ARS symptoms going on starting right around two weeks after - very loose frequent stools(not liquid tho), lost about 7 pounds probably due to anxiety tho, also had a tender lymph node in groin that dr. said really wasn't enlarged and have one that has come and gone under armpit for about 4 years(has been ultrasound 3x and just say enlarged lymph node) only thing is it has bothered me ALOT more since the unportected sex - the doctor treated me for Gonnorhea and Chlamydia without testing as I called him on a saturday and he knows me very well and did it just as a precautionary measure as I was having BV symptoms - I was on 1gram azithromyacin one time only, doxycycline 100mg 2 times day for 3 weeks and metronidazole 500mg 2 times day for 2 weeks starting on 7/1   Then on 8/4 given large dose of amoxicillan for positive Strept b culture of throat - had this done due to orange coating on tongue - NOT yeast according to lab  

The real concern I have is starting on about July 7th - about two weeks after I noticed an enlarged painful lump right under my jawline - it is about one and a half cm the doctor said and he has been following it since about the third week in July - just came from him and he said he will take it out as it has been there so long however is not even sure that is what is causing my neck discomfort - except when he pushes on it I have significant pain - he is an ENT and said he doesn't feel it is HIV related but clarified that by saying he is not an infectious disease doctor.  He did not even know what the current window periods were.

I tested negative on 8/5, 8/21 & 9/14 - I kept seeing different window periods 6, 8 and 12 weeks - now see 13 weeks is conclusive - do i need to test again??????

[Edward W Hook, MD]

The decline in your platelet count is about as likely to be due to HIV as it is for you to be pregnant with an alien life form due to the encounter you describe.  

You do not have HIV!  Your guilt fueled anxiety however is in danger of negatively impacting your life and interactions with others, if it has not already.  The time has come for me to suggest, in all sincerity, that you seek professional mental health for your malignant anxiety.  

There will be no further answers. the thread is over. EWH

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to our Forum.  You can put your concerns about HIV aside.  Despite your partner's large numbers of sex partners, it is quite unlikely that he has HIV with HIV rates in heterosexual men being less than 1 in 1000.  Further, your 8/21 and 9/14 test results are definitive.  We get many questions about the meaning of HIV test results at different time points.  This is now confused by the availability of a variety of different types of tests.  The traditional and most widely used tests for HIV are tests for antibodies to HIV which are available both as so-called "rapid" or point of care tests which can be done in the clinic and laboratory based antibody tests. For all practical purposes both of these types of test perform comparably and provide accurate information on the presence or absence of HIV infection in virtually everyone at 8 weeks following exposure.  The recommendations for testing at 3 and even 6 months are the result of two factors- data from older tests no longer used (you really do not need to worry about which generation of tests you were tested with, at this time virtually all tests are far more sensitive that they were even 2-3 years ago when the 3 month recommendation was made) and secondly, the fact that some, mostly governmental agencies which have to provide recommendations for virtually everyone without the sort of interactions such as those you get with your doctor or on personalized sites such as this one, feel the cannot "afford" to be wrong and therefore make recommendations and guidelines which leave most people unnecessarily nervous for 4-6 weeks longer than the 6-8 weeks it takes virtually everyone to develop HIV antibodies.  

I hope this comment is helpful to you.  The lump under your jaw is not related to HIV. I suggest you keep working with your ENT to sort this out.

Take care.  EWH

[soscared621]

A related discussion, sorry to bother you again was started.

[soscared621]

Thank you Dr. Hook! Yes my guilt fueled anxiety has gotten the best of me - I do have an appt. already on Monday at 2 for my first visit with Psychiatrist and meeting on tuesday with Psychologist.   I do appreciate you answering the last question.

[soscared621]

Dr Hook thank you so much for your previous time in assessing my situation    I would greatly appreciate it if you could answer one more question please    I had my cbc done on september 9 th and my  rbc hemoglobin hemacrit and iron were low   my platelets were 176, 000      I just had a new cbc done and the rbc hemoglobin  hemacrit and iron are nowe all back up to within ref range I had taken iron supplements gitr the month   my real question is that my platelets fell from 176 000 to 143000 in a month could this be due to hiv infection  even if I tested negative?  Thank you so much for your time  I sincerely appreciate it as this is causing so much anxiety

[soscared621]

Thank you very much Dr. Hook!

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Yes, I understood that hte lump is a swollen lymph node. Lymph nodes can swell due to any of a large number of infections both viral and bacterial, as well as due to allergic reactions, due to autoimmune disorders and due to other problems.  For this reason we encourage clients who are concerned about swollen glands to check with their own health care providers rather than try to diagnose themselves and, if swollen lymph nodes are present, not to worry about them in relationship to HIV because they are such a non-specific problem.  As both your ENT and I have told you, your should not worry that your swollen lymph node is due to HIV.  EWH

[soscared621]

do I need to pay again to ask the clarifying second question

[soscared621]

Sorry Dr but I just want to make sure you know it is not just a lump but definitely a swollen lymph node under chin on neck   he said not sunmandinular or salivary gland  just a one and half cm swollen lymph node that has been there since two weeks after possible exposure    obviously whst I'm getting at is could this along with the other nodes I mentioned have been ars    pretty sure I know what you are going to say but wanna make SURE as that is what is causing me to still question my results.  Thank  you so much   I anxiously await your reply so I cam hopefully sleep tonight

[soscared621]

sorry forgot to say all tests were lab tests HIV 1 & 2 antibody only NOT duo - I anxiously await your reply - thank you so much