question for MarkAids - HIV Prevention Message Board

FatAndDepressed · 08-04-2002, 12:58 PM

mark, hi. i just read a post of yours and thought if you didn't mind i'd ask you a question. my mom had an hiv test done a few weeks ago, her very first test came back positive, since then she has had 3 more. we are waiting for the last test results now, but this is my question. she was scheduled for surgery, so she had to get bloodwork done. she just had some done about 4 months ago and came back free of any disease, and ok on everything else. anyway when she went in for more bloodwork she came up positive for hiv. that lab used the same vial of blood and did a western blot test.... which came up negative. at this same time my mom and her boyfriend went to the health department and got tested, when the results came in they were both negative. the doctor just took more blood from my mom for another hiv test, its called PCR (or something like that). what is the best test for her to take, and what is the difference in the tests they are giving her? i noticed you said your viral load has been undetectable since 1998.... how did you find out you were hiv+? and what is a viral load? i apologize for all the questions, i just don't know who to ask, or where to go to ask. i hope everything is going good for you, and take care of yourself. God bless!

08-04-2002, 04:55 PM

Hi,
If I'm correct there are at least 3 different tests for finding HIV antibodies. You might ask her doctor how strongly the test that showed her positive was. It is possible to get a false positive on one test, but if the others all show negative then it probably was a mix up at the lab or else the vial of blood sat somewhere to long before they could test it which caused a false reading. I had a viral load test that sat at an airport a couple of summers ago in the heat and the test came back showing a viral load of 600,000. I retook the test and it was undetectable. So mistakes can and do happen. Also, it is possible for the virus to be hiding in the bone marrow which can make it hard to find (this usually is with a recent exposure to the virus). Her doctor should have recommended her to test again in 6 months. Did they ask your mom when they did the blood work 4 months ago if they could test her for HIV? When blood work is done they will tell you that they are doing a complete blood test, but they have to have the persons permission to do an HIV test. Many people get confused by this and think that they've been tested for HIV when they have not.
Don't panic though, wait and see how the rest of the tests show up and get your mom to test again in 6 months just for some peace of mind. If she is in a high risk for exposure she should get tested every year as well.

The Viral Load test gives a quite accurate showing of how much active virus is in a persons blood. However, the amount of virus in the lymph nodes and brain (places where it can hide) can be much higher but not active in the blood. It is still under control in this case but you can still infect someone and you can still get sick if you stop your HIV medications or the virus becomes resistant to the medication.
I found out I was HIV+ in 1997 because I had been fighting Sinusitis all summer and treatment wasn't working. So the doctor asked me to have an HIV test. I did and it was positive (all 3 tests which they did at the same time) the test was positive without question they told me. When I had my first viral load test it was 200,000 so there was alot of virus in my body and that explains why they were so certain of me being positive, because they would have found high numbers of HIV antibodies in those 3 tests since my virus was so active. At the time I found out I was positive I had full blown AIDS. I didn't know that until a couple of weeks later when the viral load test came back. And my sinusitis wasn't just sinusitis but PCP so I was hospitalized for 8 days and then went through a month of chemo treatments to cure the PCP. I had my testing done though the local health dept., so I wouldn't have to pay for the tests.
It can take 10 or more years to develop AIDS. My doctor told me it takes at least five years in the worst case to develop AIDS in her opinion. During those years most people don't have any clue that they are HIV+ (that's why testing is important). Most folks don't get sick till they have full blown AIDS. You do get a mild flu like symptoms a few weeks to months after you get infected, but I like many didn't think anything of it. Of course, for me that happened in 1984, after that I wasn't sick except for colds till 1997. In 1984, everyone thought if you got AIDS it was fast and you didn't recover from any illnesses you developed and that you died quickly. It took a number of years for that to be found out. In 1984 HIV was a new term it had been called HTLV and there wasn't a true test for the antibodies. What they tested for was Hep., B antibodies because alot of people with Hep., B also would get and develop AIDS. This is why so many false tests were done back then. They figured it was a virus but they hadn't found the virus at that time.

I hope this answers your questions if not feel free to ask me more.

Mark

FatAndDepressed · 08-08-2002, 12:55 PM

thank you so much for replying to me. sorry it took me so long to write back, i have been very busy. when she had her tests done 4 months ago they did ask to test her for hiv and she said yes. her results came back negative, but at this same time her boyfriend and her broke up and he started sleeping with other women. so far on this test they have given her 3, we are waiting on the 3rd ones results now. we're really not sure what to expect. i will call my mom and ask her if she knows the names of the tests they have given her, then i'll get back on and let you know. my kids just got in from school, but saturday things should be calmed down enough for me to get on and have time to type. thank you again so much for helping me and i will write more in a few days. take care of yourself, and God bless!

[This message has been edited by FatAndDepressed (edited 08-21-2002).]

08-08-2002, 04:53 PM

It sounds like your mom will be negative. But again, get her to test again in 6 months - simply for peace of mind. If she continues to see this guy or has relations with any other men 'unprotected', she should get the test every year.
Look forward to hear the result of the last test but I think there's a very good chance that it will be negative.

FatAndDepressed · 08-21-2002, 02:20 PM

sorry its been a while, things have been pretty hectic. my mom has been having one hiv test after another. the last one, western blot came back indeterminate. they explained to us to be positive there has to be 3 lines, hers had 2. they are doing a rna pcr test right now, we will have the results by friday. we are very confused, so far she has had 1 elisa come back positive, and 1 western blot come back indeterminate, but the other 4 tests she has had were all negative. we have no clue what is going on, and its really messing with our heads. we're not getting a definate yes, but we're not getting a definate no either. its like the tests are contradicting themselves. her first test, one vial of blood was used, 2 different tests were done with that 1 vial. the elisa was positive and the western blot was negative. 2nd test, i believe 1 vial of blood again, elisa and western blot were both negative, 3rd test same as the 2nd, 4th test 1 vial of blood, 2 different tests, but this time the elisa was negative, and the western blot was indeterminate.... now they have decided to do the rna pcr test (or is it dna pcr). anyway this is all confusing. i told my mom about this board and she's wanted to come on here, so i told her how to. her nick name is scared-n-confused. she could better explain whats been going on. her topic is negative, positive....positive, negative. i appreciate you taking the time and helping me. i hope everything is going great for you. i'll talk to you soon, and take care. God bless!

[This message has been edited by FatAndDepressed (edited 08-22-2002).]