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10 weeks HIV test negative-- Still Symptoms. Too freaked out and worried!
Hello Dr,
I did a stupid and most biggest mistake in my life and had a less than 5 min exposure with a woman of unknown status. Risk is unprotected vaginal sex on time less than 5 mins. I did not even ejaculate. When I asked her about her status few days later, she said is clean and she is a honest woman who dont expose any one to anything. I was still paranoid and got the tests done at 2 weeks for all STD's including HIV and came back negative. Exactly after 72 days, ie 10.2 weeks, I had a test from Kaiser and came back negative. Between this time, I had common flu a few weeks ago and lasted for 3 days. Even after the 10 weeks negative results , I am still freaked out and getting too paranoid. I cant concentrate on any thing and my working ebility is reducing day by day with this mental thinking. I feel tender pain in the neck under the chin and pain in the throat for the last two days. Today , my chest just beside the armpit started paining and I am worried about Lymph node enlargement. I have a small flu like symptoms in my throat. This is freaking me out. I am trying to calm down my self from saying that it may be because of the tetanus vaccine shot I took a two days ago. But still the thought of exposure is not letting me calm down.
Please let me know how reliable is the HIV antibody test is at 10.2weeks? Is this pain in my neck/throat and chest is something to worry about? What generation are the tests from Kaiser and how reliable they are at 10. 2 weeks. I am planning to take my test again in 2 weeks but I just want some mental peace. Is there a chance of antibody production after 10 weeks? I am soo worried and freaked out. This is a biggest mistake and I am going to change my life style after this if I am alright. This is going to open a new chapter in my life . I am a healthy male with good immune system. I dont get sick easily and dont have any history of drug or alcohol abuse and any organ transplant or Cancer.
Please Help me
I did a stupid and most biggest mistake in my life and had a less than 5 min exposure with a woman of unknown status. Risk is unprotected vaginal sex on time less than 5 mins. I did not even ejaculate. When I asked her about her status few days later, she said is clean and she is a honest woman who dont expose any one to anything. I was still paranoid and got the tests done at 2 weeks for all STD's including HIV and came back negative. Exactly after 72 days, ie 10.2 weeks, I had a test from Kaiser and came back negative. Between this time, I had common flu a few weeks ago and lasted for 3 days. Even after the 10 weeks negative results , I am still freaked out and getting too paranoid. I cant concentrate on any thing and my working ebility is reducing day by day with this mental thinking. I feel tender pain in the neck under the chin and pain in the throat for the last two days. Today , my chest just beside the armpit started paining and I am worried about Lymph node enlargement. I have a small flu like symptoms in my throat. This is freaking me out. I am trying to calm down my self from saying that it may be because of the tetanus vaccine shot I took a two days ago. But still the thought of exposure is not letting me calm down.
Please let me know how reliable is the HIV antibody test is at 10.2weeks? Is this pain in my neck/throat and chest is something to worry about? What generation are the tests from Kaiser and how reliable they are at 10. 2 weeks. I am planning to take my test again in 2 weeks but I just want some mental peace. Is there a chance of antibody production after 10 weeks? I am soo worried and freaked out. This is a biggest mistake and I am going to change my life style after this if I am alright. This is going to open a new chapter in my life . I am a healthy male with good immune system. I dont get sick easily and dont have any history of drug or alcohol abuse and any organ transplant or Cancer.
Please Help me
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
First reaction, to the title you chose, before reading even the first line of the actual question: The standard HIV diagnostic tests in routine use are virtually 100% accurate by 10 weeks. You did not catch HIV. I'm pretty sure that no matter what I read as I go through your question, you can go forward with no worries that you have HIV and do not need any further tests. What details you tell me about the exposure, your symptoms, or anything else are not likely to make any difference. There simply are no exceptions that test results always overrule such factors.
Now I have read the rest. Guess what?
You describe very low risk exposure (just scan any 10 threads at random about heterosexual exposures to learn why), and your symptoms are not particularly suggestive of HIV (you can also easily find at least 50 threads on this point within the last 1-2 weeks). To your specific questions:
"...how reliable is the HIV antibody test is at 10.2weeks?" Close to 100%. See http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/1704700
"Is this pain in my neck/throat and chest is something to worry about?" No. HIV wouldn't cause such symptoms; and the test result overrules symptoms anyway.
"What generation are the tests from Kaiser and how reliable they are at 10. 2 weeks?" It doesn't matter. The difference in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen tests is in their early reliability, e.g. at 2-6 weeks. At 10 weeks they are equivalent.
"Is there a chance of antibody production after 10 weeks?" No. Perhaps a very small theoretical chance a later test would be positive -- but my 25+ years in the HIV testing business, I have never seen such a case.
I hope these comments have helped settle your fears. You need not worry, and can safely continue (or resume) unprotected sex with any regular partner you may have.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
First reaction, to the title you chose, before reading even the first line of the actual question: The standard HIV diagnostic tests in routine use are virtually 100% accurate by 10 weeks. You did not catch HIV. I'm pretty sure that no matter what I read as I go through your question, you can go forward with no worries that you have HIV and do not need any further tests. What details you tell me about the exposure, your symptoms, or anything else are not likely to make any difference. There simply are no exceptions that test results always overrule such factors.
Now I have read the rest. Guess what?
You describe very low risk exposure (just scan any 10 threads at random about heterosexual exposures to learn why), and your symptoms are not particularly suggestive of HIV (you can also easily find at least 50 threads on this point within the last 1-2 weeks). To your specific questions:
"...how reliable is the HIV antibody test is at 10.2weeks?" Close to 100%. See http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/1704700
"Is this pain in my neck/throat and chest is something to worry about?" No. HIV wouldn't cause such symptoms; and the test result overrules symptoms anyway.
"What generation are the tests from Kaiser and how reliable they are at 10. 2 weeks?" It doesn't matter. The difference in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen tests is in their early reliability, e.g. at 2-6 weeks. At 10 weeks they are equivalent.
"Is there a chance of antibody production after 10 weeks?" No. Perhaps a very small theoretical chance a later test would be positive -- but my 25+ years in the HIV testing business, I have never seen such a case.
I hope these comments have helped settle your fears. You need not worry, and can safely continue (or resume) unprotected sex with any regular partner you may have.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Thanks once again for your quick response Dr. I have been experiencing pain in the pack potion of the neck for the few days and am thinking this may be another symptom related. But after your response, I am not thinking about it any more. It may be a pain due to stress and over thinking.
Thanks once again
Thanks once again
A related discussion, HIV TEST 15 WEEKS AFTER was started.
A related discussion, Are my test results conclusive was started.
A related discussion, Please advice was started.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You aren't going to get a different answer by repeatedly asking the same questions with slightly different wording. Once more will result in immediate deletion of the entire thread.
Hello Dr,
Sorry to bother you but I promise this is my last message. I completely admit and accept my results. But I some how have pain in the neck, under the chin, also my shoulder muscles and back cervical part at neck hurts. I feel like my lymph nodes in the parts of body are hurting a little and also I feel muscle paining once in a while. My neck pain at the back cervical region and the shoulder pain is the most concerning me. Please let me know if any one of this is related to symptoms of HIV. Just asking. once for all please tell me the symptoms of the HIV. This is my last POST. Thanks and may god bless you
Sorry to bother you but I promise this is my last message. I completely admit and accept my results. But I some how have pain in the neck, under the chin, also my shoulder muscles and back cervical part at neck hurts. I feel like my lymph nodes in the parts of body are hurting a little and also I feel muscle paining once in a while. My neck pain at the back cervical region and the shoulder pain is the most concerning me. Please let me know if any one of this is related to symptoms of HIV. Just asking. once for all please tell me the symptoms of the HIV. This is my last POST. Thanks and may god bless you
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for the thanks. Glad to have helped.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Basically the same kind of test with a minor difference in chemistry: EIA = enzyme immunoassay and ELISA = enzyme Linked immunosorbent assay.
Dr.HHH,
Tanks a lot again for your reply. I am relieved a lot after reading everything and am I feeling much better. Thanks a lot to you and this forum. You are doing a great help to people like me.
Finally can I know difference between EIA and ELISA?
This is my last post.
Thank you
Tanks a lot again for your reply. I am relieved a lot after reading everything and am I feeling much better. Thanks a lot to you and this forum. You are doing a great help to people like me.
Finally can I know difference between EIA and ELISA?
This is my last post.
Thank you
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
These additional comments do not change my opinion or advice. Once you have read and fully absorb my reply above and the information in the linked thread, you will also understand that your test result proves you were not infected during the exposure 10 weeks previously.
So mellow out, stop worrying, and resist any more thoughts you may have about it. All is well.
So mellow out, stop worrying, and resist any more thoughts you may have about it. All is well.
Dr.HHH,
Thanks for the wonderful reply. I feel a lot of relief after reading your reply. I have a few small doubts. My flu like symptoms are still prevalent in my throat and I can see small pimple like rashes on my body. Also, I occasionally have a small sharp pain in the back muscles and the back of the neck. I also occasionally have head aches. I had acid reflexes in the past and recently, a week ago had a really bad chest pain due to that, and I am now on medication for that. I had a few ulcers on my tongue in last week and I see a little white layer forming on my tongue. When I read HIV forums, all this symptoms show relation to HIV. Each and every thing is freaking me out even after reading your previous replies in various posts regarding the test results. Do you think any of these symptoms are coherent with HIV irrespective of results or any other STD. I got tested for all STD's after 12 days of exposure and I came back negative. By the way, the tests I got from Kaiser are EIA tests through blood. Are these same as ELISA or the tests you mentioned?
Please dont mind my Repeated questions. I just wanna be sure.
Thanks a lot for your reply once again and thanks for the forum too.
Thanks for the wonderful reply. I feel a lot of relief after reading your reply. I have a few small doubts. My flu like symptoms are still prevalent in my throat and I can see small pimple like rashes on my body. Also, I occasionally have a small sharp pain in the back muscles and the back of the neck. I also occasionally have head aches. I had acid reflexes in the past and recently, a week ago had a really bad chest pain due to that, and I am now on medication for that. I had a few ulcers on my tongue in last week and I see a little white layer forming on my tongue. When I read HIV forums, all this symptoms show relation to HIV. Each and every thing is freaking me out even after reading your previous replies in various posts regarding the test results. Do you think any of these symptoms are coherent with HIV irrespective of results or any other STD. I got tested for all STD's after 12 days of exposure and I came back negative. By the way, the tests I got from Kaiser are EIA tests through blood. Are these same as ELISA or the tests you mentioned?
Please dont mind my Repeated questions. I just wanna be sure.
Thanks a lot for your reply once again and thanks for the forum too.
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