Hi Chris & the experts,

As u guys know that my 4.5 test did come out NEGATIVE( by Elisa).....& EVER SINCE i've cooled myself off & have also understood that presence or lack of symptoms aren't the way to evaluate HIV.......it's only the test!!

I've been having loads of symptoms such as gastro-intestinal problems, skin rashes, & most recently blurring of vision, as in the blurring alternates momentarily from eye to eye, checked it up with the eye doc, he says nothing to worry.....
Could this blurring of vision, which is also accentuated by pain & dullness be associated to HIV in any way??? though i really dont have sensitivity to light.

According to another post on this site..Quote:
But then i've started worrying about late seroconversion??? is it possible??
I know that the only people that have a 6-month window are type IV drug / PEP users , people undergoing chemo....etc.

i also heard that the HIV virus can hide in the lymph tissue (like a dorment hepres virus) and release itself anytime, ..therefore rendering the immune-based window period unreliable. Is this true?

I will certainly take the 6 month test to make sure...but i'm concerned!!!

Hello koolman :)
Well it seems like you already answerd most of you're own questions ........
It doesn't matter how severe , what kind of or how many symptoms you may have or don't have it all comes down to the actual test to determine whether or not you are in fact hiv+ or not .
The symptoms you have described narrows you're problems down to ........ Well , just about anything and that's why its so important to talk to you're doctor about it .
It is very rare and freak for some one with a normal immune system to take up to 6 months to test hiv+ but once again I always tell people to get a follow up test at 6 months so they can let it go once and for all and be able to go on with there lives .
Keep in mind that if a person was in their 3 month waiting period and went out and was exposed during it that would start the window period all over again from that point of unprotected sex and also its a good idea to also get checked out for other things because hiv isn't the only std out there .
In good health .........
.......... Lost Spirit ............

Hey Spirit thanx for the reply & sorry i posted the similar question on another thread because i wasn't sure whether the initial thread went thru..

Well i haven't had any sexual intercourse since that incident......it's been 2Elisa tests since then...at 3 months & then post 4 months...i did have a PCR test at about 33 days before the Elisa tests that came out negative..

& what are ur thoughts about HIV hiding in the lymph nodes..is it true???

thanx again!

Cheers!

Koolman!

Guys,

well i've also read that most successful HIV transmissions happen inside the Body......i.e. during unprotected vaginal or ANAL penetration.....is it true.

I was very concerned in my case coz the girls fingers touched the head of the penis & the opening of the urethra.....& there could have been vaginal secretions on her fingers......do u think this act did pose a risk..i was severly intoxicted & i'm ashamed at what i did, but now i can only look forward!!

Please let me know???

" HIDING " do you mean as far as hiv laying dormant in the body for years .
The answer is NO it does not lay dormant in the body for years and then all of a sudden it starts to replicate .
What happens is that it makes (( sleeper copies )) in the nervous system , the brain and also the T-cells that are maturing but active released into the blood .
Hiv hides everwhere but also remember that hiv is also very active in the blood stream it needs to replicate in order to exist .
If you're thinking in terms that a person infected would take years to show a seroconversion or for the virus to show up in there blood after a potential exposure that's a myth .
The fact is that it would/could take years for some one to show SYMPTOMS of hiv infection but by then there beyond actual symptoms there actualy showing all the secondary infections caused by a devistated immune system .
In very rare cases it could take up to 6 months and I stress ( VERY RARE ) to show antibodies but there are also factores that would if anything cause a person to take that long which you already know .
You have tested for hiv 1 and 2 and also had a PCR test done at 33 days and all came back negative so I would certainly think that you're testing for hiv is over .
At 33 days the virus is very high in the blood and it can copy it self up to the millons during the ( ACUTE PHASE ) and I use the term ( ACUTE PHASE ) instead of ( ARS ) because acute means the initial phase of the infection and not every person infected has a seroconversion illness .
You know my friend many many people that JUST KNOW they are infected because they have basicaly every symptom in the book and test at 3 months ( NEGATIVE ) and then again at 6 months (NEGATIVE ) and then there are the people that have no symptoms at all and test positive and can't believe it because they never had any kinds of problems and that's why we say here that symptoms with or without mean nothing at all :nono:
I can read every post in this forum and no matter how severe the symptoms a person may have or how strange they may seem I still wouldn't think anything of them the only way is to have a hiv test done .
With all you're testing you have had I would think its safe to say that you are hiv negative but if you need to test again at 6 months then by all means do so but keep in mind that if you are having problems you need to see an infectous disease specialist and try and find out the real cause of you're ongoing symptoms .
......... Lost Spirit ............

Hi There Spirit,

Yeah well i did test NEGATIVE post 13 weeks & 18 weeks......but i had a question about these PCR tests...

Soon after this exposure..i was really tense...& i was not aware of this website until i got through to it through a reliable search engine.....so what i did is i had a DNA PCR TEST AT 12 DAYS...which was negative.....now at 33 days i went to a different lab.....where for some reason the DNA PCR was not available, but they did seem to have the Qualitative RNA PCR test...which was also NEGATIVE.....I did the test at 33 days as i learnt that the PCR test takes about 28 days post exp to be accurate...but later i was informed that the RNA PCR may not sometimes be accurate...if somebody is on PEP & some other factors......well i am not on any form of PEP, the only thing i did was take some antibiotics for the upper respiratory distress i had....so what could these factors be & could the use of that medication have affected the PCR results...later ofcourse i waited & at 3 months got a NEGATIVE ELISA & 4.5 MONTHS ALSO GOT A NEGATIVE ELISA..

All these tests were done at accredited labs in my country (India).

Please give ur thoughts!!!!

Koolman!

The DNA PCR test can pick up the virus very soon after exposure. It is used here in my state to test rape victims within 24 hours of the rape. As you noted, it is not considered to be fully reliable until 28 days post exposure. I also understand that the DNA test is able to detect a smaller level of virus in the bood than the RNA test. I read that this is the case because the number of reactions they do with a DNA test is more than the RNA test (but son't quote me on this).

I also took two PCR tests (both DNA tests in my case). I had mine at 12 and 18 weeks post possible exposure and both were negative. As to your tests, I think you are in the clear from all that I read online.

Well just to be sure...i got tested a couple days ago..which was five & half months post exposure.......result : NEGATIVE.

Can i be rest assured now...or do i need to think about 6 months & 9 months & all that coz i know that i dun have any problem that could possibly cause late seroconversion!

please repond!

Thanx!

Koolman!