What does it mean to "be in the very late stages of hiv"? I ask because I have presented symptoms of weight loss, candaisis, constant viruses etc. but tested negative and healthy in the tests.


Is it possible that it may have been a false negative?

Should I freak out now or later

The body of a person without HIV has tons and tons of white blood cells which help fight off infection. If that person contracts HIV, the virus attacks these white blood cells. It takes years, but eventually the virus kills enough white blood cells that the body can't fight off infections anymore. This is when the person starts getting things like fungal infections, Kaposi's sarcoma, etc. This is considered to be the late stages or full-blown AIDS. The person dies due to complications of these infections, usually within two years of showing these kinds of symptoms.

HIV tests are very accurate. They are deliberately made so you have a better chance of getting a false positive than a false negative, although the chances of either are slim. It is unlikely that you tested negative and are actually infected (unless you got tested too soon). If it would make you feel better, you can certainly get another test to be sure. In the meantime, I'd be looking at other reasons why your immune system would be a little depressed, like smoking or whatnot.