I thought it only takes 3 months to get a accurate HIV test...well then why - HIV Prevention Message Board

Kis86 · 10-16-2007, 10:14 AM

ok well I thought it takes 3 months to make sure a HIV test is accurate in that it tells you you have HIV negative or positive.....Well I got a HIV tests done twice in two different places about 2 days apart and they both came back negative and these tests was taken about 3 months after having my last unprotected sex....so are they accurate enough or should I go again in another 3 months? I'm concerned and worried again...it's because I read this article...is this true it really takes 6 months for a test to be accurate?

below is quote from someone else concerned on another website...she says 6 months..I thought it was 3...

"Ok, about 2 years ago I had unprotected sex with someone whom Im not sure did or didnt have HIV/AIDS. I know from research that it is possible to have HIV for up to 6 months before you can get an "accurate" test, otherwise any time sooner it is likely to have a "false negative" result. So about exactly a year and 1/2 later I started freaking out about some symptoms I had been having. Which were headaches, itchy skin, fatigue and muscle aches. So after getting depressed and making myself more sick my bf took me to get an STD and HIV test. All results came back negative. Now I KNOW after a year and a 1/2 that there should be no possible way to have a false negative. So I stopped worrying and my symptoms had seemed to go away (from relief I asume) , Now after that a friend whom always seems sick had used my chapstick, so 6 months later (present time) here I am again worried that my chance of having HIV are back. I have read all possibly ways to contract HIV and i know its only .."

smar · 10-16-2007, 10:58 AM

Kis, obviously you haven't been listening to anything we've told you. I'm 100% sure that the tests that we use today are incredibly accurate just weeks after possible exposure. I called the CDC to find this out back when I thought that I might have been infected. The tests will be highly accurate within just weeks. The internet is full of information, and a lot of the stuff about HIV is just not true. This person may have "heard" that her tests weren't accurate, but trust me, they are. I was told by the CDC themselves that they are accurate.

Your tests were negative. End of story. If you aren't going to listen to what you've been told 20 times, then your only other option is to get counseling. Sorry if I sound ticked, I'm not, but I feel like I've told you this over and over. I don't know how else to drive the point home.

Good luck

Kis86 · 10-16-2007, 05:37 PM

aight thank you but there is a lot of websites on the internet that say sometimes you need to wait another 3 months after the 3 months you got tested meaning 6 months after last unprotected sex.....and one website said that after 3 months of unprotected sex is the test results 97% accurate...meaning in some casses you gotta get tested in 6 months is a better choice....but when I went to the STD clinic the lady that did my HIV test where I get the results in 10 minutes told me it would be 3 months after last unprotected sex while my primary doctor said it could be from 3 months to 1 year...who is more correct? I got tested by both of them and both results came back negative and they both was done within two days of each other and done about 3 months after my last unprotected sex...so any help on htis would be appreciated...thanks

smar · 10-16-2007, 10:53 PM

I don't know, nor do I care what other websites say. Simply because it is on a website does not mean it's correct. My information is coming from the CDC itself. If you don't believe me, then I suggest that you call them as they will have all the answers. Perhaps if you won't listen to me, you'll listen to them since they are a division of the government. You are negative, you don't have it. If you are still worried, in 3 months, get tested again. But you aren't, I've been telling you that, smiteler has been telling you that, and TWO HIV tests confirmed you to be negative. The only thing you can do now is get counseling. This really is all the help anyone can give you here.

smiteler · 10-18-2007, 11:02 PM

what those sites fail to tell you is that the only people that they recommend to get tested at 6 months after exposure are people who are transplant patients and or cancer pateints that are on heavy and certian drugs that can squew a test,if you don't fit that criteria,then you have nothing to worry about.they are not telling you the complete story.
you should be fine.
good luck