8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Hi all. I was hoping to get a little peace of mind in the middle of an HIV scare. I am a young adult, healthy gay male. In early January, I briefly engaged in unprotected insertive anal sex with a mutual friend. I asked him if he was clean, to which he confidently said yes. After no more than 30 seconds of penetration, I stopped because I was not comfortable with the situation. There was no sign of blood and I did not ejaculate inside of him.
Still nervous over my lack of judgement, I went and had a full HIV/STI blood test exactly 2 months to the day of my exposure. Two days later, all my results came back negative. Feeling relieved, I moved on until 7 days later when my friend contacted me and told me that he had just been tested and was found to be HIV positive.
I called my doctor, as well as a friend who is a doctor, and both have reassured me that the 8 week test results are quite conclusive. However, I am following their advice of getting my 12 week test in a couple of weeks to be 100% sure. With that said, and given the circumstances of my encounter, can I be confident of my 8 week negative HIV result will be the same in week 12, despite the high risk exposure?
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Quote:
Originally Posted by AEP2186
With that said, and given the circumstances of my encounter, can I be confident of my 8 week negative HIV result will be the same in week 12, despite the high risk exposure?
yes,your doctors are correct with thier assesment.
it would be highly unlikely for your results to change.
keep busy and before you know it
you will find out that you are ok.
good luck
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
At 8 weeks with modern tests, its 99% acurate. 12 weeks 99.89% acurate. So you can see, the chances of this changing are remote. Also 4 HIV experts ( i know of ) will state your result is conclsive period, as they have never seen a 6 week negative test positive, let alone 8 weeks.
Now for a telling off. Always and mean always use a condom for sex. It dose not matter what they say, which im sure you have now learnt. Condoms really are the only way to protect against HIV and STD's. If use them you will never have to worry again.
So all in all, im 99% sure your fine, but test at 12 weeks to be conclusive and put this behind you ( no pun intended )
I hope that helps
Regards
Apollo
__________________
“Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.”
"Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent".
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Let me try to shed some light on the situation that you are in. There are effectively two window periods here in the United States (and other industrialized countries) a "doctors" window period and the "FDA" window period. The "doctors" window period is based on observations of HIV test performance in the field, which have demonstrated that almost everybody who is infected will test positive 6-8 weeks after exposure, never later than 8 weeks. The "FDA" window period is based on the data submitted to get the tests approved and the official labeling for the tests, which were approved to yield a conclusive test result 3 months or later after exposure. The CDC also goes by this 3 month window period. So, while your doctor likely considers you negative, he is probably just dotting his i's so to speak by having you test out to what is prescribed by the labeling for the tests. At this point, you can expect your 12 week test to be negative.
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Thanks for all the feedback so far. I just wanted to give an update; for the past 2 days I've been running a high fever (100-103F), headache, congested sinuses and cough; could these be symptoms of ARS? I know my 8 week test was negative, and healthy people will usually seroconvert by week 4, but I guess I can't help but be worried. Is this ARS or a bad cold?
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
You said it your self. Ars mostly happens up to 4 weeks, in a few cases 6 weeks but after 6 weeks, highly unlikley unless you have been taking antiviral mefication like PEP or have No imunine system. So i would certainly say you have the virus, the common cold type. To back that up, your nice 8 week negative HIV test result.
__________________
“Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.”
"Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent".
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Quote:
Originally Posted by AEP2186
Still nervous over my lack of judgement, I went and had a full HIV/STI blood test exactly 2 months to the day of my exposure. Two days later, all my results came back negative.
Feeling relieved, I moved on until 7 days later when my friend contacted me and told me that he had just been tested and was found to be HIV positive. To start with, from what you have described and also from what i have learned after being here i would say Risk from ONE time Unprotected exposure either vaginal or anal is 1-1000 times. To prove that you got your results.
About your Partner turning positive. Most likely he must have got another exposure after you had with him. But even if he didn't even then your odds are high with your 8 weeks -ve results. As most of the experts telling you who are much more experienced in this forum that 8 weeks negative is very very High assurance that you are Ok. I called my doctor, as well as a friend who is a doctor, and both have reassured me that the 8 week test results are quite conclusive. Correct but you can re-test at 13 weeks to put a Seal to the orDEAL.
However, I am following their advice of getting my 12 week test in a couple of weeks to be 100% sure. That's it
With that said, and given the circumstances of my encounter, can I be confident of my 8 week negative HIV result will be the same in week 12, despite the high risk exposure? That's Right
Thanks in advance for the help and support!
Thats all from me mate!! I know you will be Ok... so good Luck for your Final Test..
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Quote:
Originally Posted by AEP2186
Thanks for all the feedback so far. I just wanted to give an update; for the past 2 days I've been running a high fever (100-103F), headache, congested sinuses and cough; could these be symptoms of ARS? I know my 8 week test was negative, and healthy people will usually seroconvert by week 4, but I guess I can't help but be worried. Is this ARS or a bad cold?
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Quote:
Originally Posted by AEP2186
Thanks for all the feedback so far. I just wanted to give an update; for the past 2 days I've been running a high fever (100-103F), headache, congested sinuses and cough; could these be symptoms of ARS? I know my 8 week test was negative, and healthy people will usually seroconvert by week 4, but I guess I can't help but be worried. Is this ARS or a bad cold?
Hi there,
It is extremely unlikely to ARS at eight weeks. Given your eight week test I would like to give you some advice. Please try not to put every single thing that happens to you down to HIV, people really do get common colds, people do get headaches and coughs. When you are not looking these things tend to pass us by unnoticed, and we never give them a second thought. But when you are worried the smallest of things suddenly become massive issues that can be used to confirm our fears. Please stop examining yourself, please stop trying to second guess the outcome of a confirmation test. HIV cannot be self diagnosed; it cannot be diagnosed via Google. It is only ever diagnosed one way, an HIV test. Yours at eight weeks is extremely unlikely to change at 12 weeks. In the mean time please, stop looking at web sites that list symptoms of HIV. The lists you see are not check lists and the amount or lack of symptoms you may or may not have will absolutely no bearing on the outcome of your final test. This is extremely unlikely to be anything other than negative.
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Hi all. Just wanted to touch base. I went to the doctor on Friday for my virus symptoms, which turned out to be strep throat. I also had a 10 week HIV blood test while I was there. It came back negative yesterday. Now that I've tested negative at 8 and 10 weeks after exposure, can I consider this conclusive or should I go again at 12 weeks? Thanks!
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Well if you had HIV then your tests would have confirmed it. The CDC still state 12 weeks, but the reality is your HIV negaive, and that just good news.
__________________
“Morality is only moral when it is voluntary.”
"Being defeated is only a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent".
Re: 8 Week Negative HIV Accuracy After High Risk Exposure
Just to add up which other experts have already told you.
The average time to seroconversion is 22 days.
All but the very smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure to the HIV virus.
Despite the aspects of your symptoms experience, and with that series of negative test results, it is likely you are going to continue to test negative at 13 weeks.
I personally do expect that based on your previous test results you will test negative again when you re-test.
Otherwise you can forget about it and move on..
