Well I haven't come onto this board in a couple months because all it does is worry me. I had blood drawn at 3 months after exposure for the antibody HIV test, and the result was negative. This was a big sign of relief to me but now that the six month mark is 2 days away, my previous worries are returning a little. I've noticed two small bumps on my abdomen and back that are lighter than my normal skin color and are almost finger-nail size bumps of dry skin. I noticed my boyfriend has gotten a few as well and I was wondering what this could be. I had one on my lower back that was very small and it took awhile to clear up, and then i just noticed one on the side of my stomache the other day after a long day of sunning outside. Possibly a reaction to the sun? Well anyway, I've also noticed that my hair falls out very easily in the shower or when Im brushing it, and it feels a lot thinner on the top than it ever has before. I don't know if this could be a result of my worries and stress, because I developed acid reflux last month which I attributed to my stress at this time in my life. I am only 17 so this is a frightening deal for me! Let me know what you think. Also, if you get blood taken for the anti-body test, will it come up positive if you have aids already? ..Probably a dumb question but it crossed my mind. Thanks, let me know :)

Hey JD, looks like your fears are very much stress related. You said yourself that your fears from before are returning, hence you begin to examine your body. Why are you taking a 6 month test anyways? Your exposure to HIV was obviously negative since your test at 3 months re-insured that. If you are a healty person, with no sign of weak immune system, 3 month test is all you need. I am quite positive that this test in 2 days will remain the same as the 3 month test. But if it is to ease your mind, by all means do it.

I am taking the 6 month test so that I can rest assured that I am okay. It's hard not to worry, and I just want to rule this out so I can target what it is, because it's really affecting my physical and mental health in a negative way. What was kinda strange was that exactely at the 6-month mark, I woke up feeling VERY sick, and the next day developed a fever of 100.1 with a headache..there are just small things that worry me like that and it would be wonderful to have that negative at six months...Can anyone answer my question?????????????????????

no one wants to realize (it seems) that the mind can play some terrible tricks on us. i would say your flu like incident @ 6 moths was just that, a little flu OR your mind showing your stress over your 6 month re-test.

i tell this to people all the time and it seems to really help----

out of the hundreds of millions of people that have unprotected sex (in the US) everyday THATS EVERY DAY. there are only 40,000 new cases of HIV reported each year. 100,000,000+/40,000 do you see the odds here? unless you have a very weak immune system due to another serious illness your 90 day test was conclusive. i understand wanting to get tested again, but the stress that you are putting your body through is reaking havoc on you causing you more stress, and so on and so on......

Stress can definitely do negative things and create serious health problems. I was told i had Grade 2 Acid reflux all a result of my stress. It makes me feel better that you think my 3 month test was conclusive. I will write back and let you all know how I did.

I've noticed two small bumps on my abdomen and back that are lighter than my normal skin color and are almost finger-nail size bumps of dry skin.

Warts. Possibly picked up from skin to skin contact recently? Or, (more likely)you have HPV (the wart virus) in your system already, and stress meant your body temporarily lost its power to keep the HPV under control.

I had one on my lower back that was very small and it took awhile to clear up, and then i just noticed one on the side of my stomache the other day after a long day of sunning outside

Almost all warts are eventually handled by the immune system and disappear. On the other hand, they spread very easily and quickly via skin to skin contact. This means you can easily infect yourself and others in new areas until the warts resolve.

It is assumed that about 80% of people have some strain of HPV. Actually the figure is probably closer to 100%, but we don't hear about those who never develop warts (or never have themselves tested for it). I'd suggest taking immuno-boosting supplements such as vitamin C, echinacea, etc, until your body remembers it already has antibodies which will wipe the suckers out.

But, to the point! You do not need another HIV test. 3 months tells you all you need to know, you are fine. :)