HIV testing and time of day

[sal_worried]

I’m wondering if the time of day affects your hiv antibody/antigen tests? I was looking at posts here and came across one that said “the index value fluctuates due to many reasons including time of day” and worried me. I had unprotected anal sex and I got tested 2 times after 6 months and 1 year. Both tests were done in the morning or afternoon. And the index values were different but negative. I’m worried because the test was not done at night it might not be accurate. Is this a real thing for hiv tests? Does the time of day affect the index value or cut off values? If I took the test at night would it be positive or very different index value??

[CurfewX]

Time of day does NOT affect whether the test is positive or negative.  The index value is meaningless and will change every time you take a test.  As long as it is not above the positive threshold, you should ignore it.  Also, there is NO reason to be taking multiple tests for an exposure - one test, taken at the correct time, is all that anyone needs.

What was your risk and when did you test?

[sal_worried]

Thank you for answering. I don’t know why the other person I believe his name was “Mike” had written time of day affects index value.  I wrote my exposure and the times I tested in the original post, anal sex and I tested 6 months and one year after.
I also have high cholesterol and I read hiv can cause a high cholesterol, is there any truth to it?

[CurfewX]

Sorry, I missed that part in your original post.  Your tests are conclusive and you do not have HIV.

Yes, the index value might fluctuate for MANY reasons, but as I said, it is meaningless.  It doesn't fluctuate to the point where you would get a negative result if you were HIV-positive.  That's not what happens at ALL.

Any medical issues, including high cholesterol, are not related to HIV since you do not have HIV.  It is time to move on from this event.