[Question #10517] Diff 5th/4th gen hiv test
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22 months ago
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Please take pity on me. I know repeated questions aren’t allowed but I keep finding new details. I had a false positive p24 antigen while pregnant. Still struggling w believing it since I had a bisexual boyfriend 7 years ago (he tested neg 4th gen at the time).
No risk factors since then, monogamous for 7 years, have had 4 neg 4th gen tests since any risk factors.
this pregnancy, I had a pos p24 that was proven false pos by reflex QUAL RNA. It just occurred to me that this was the first 5th gen test I have taken.
1) is it possible that the 5th gen test picked up something the 4th gens did not? My ex did a 4th & the 4x tests I had since I got married were 4th gen.
2) can I never test again?
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22 months ago
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Also my ex was not actively bisexual, it was many, many years before we met & we only had unprotected sex twice after his hiv test came back negative
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
22 months ago
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I'm sorry that you are having so much trouble accepting that you do not have HIV despite multiple negative tests with the best tests for HIV that science has to offer. I trust that intellectually you appreciate that this is your OCD and nothing more. As we've discussed before, your exposures were low risk given your ex's test results and your tests prove unequivocally that the isolated P24 antigen test you had was falsely positive. Thus, as you might expect, in reply to your questions:
1) is it possible that the 5th gen test picked up something the 4th gens did not? My ex did a 4th & the 4x tests I had since I got married were 4th gen.
no- your tests are negative other than your falsely positive p24 antigen test
2) can I never test again?
Not sure I answer the question. Yes you can test again. There is a chance that future p24 antigen tests will again be falsely positive, particularly if you are tested with he same type of test that gave a false positive result in the past. Some falsely positive tests are only transiently falsely positive while in some persons false positivity is a continuing process.
Talk with your therapist. Please try to move forward. EWH
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22 months ago
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Thank you. I more mean, is it safe to never get tested again so long as behavior doesn’t change, like is repeat testing indicated?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
22 months ago
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There is certainly no indication for further testing. If you do test, as I explained above, I anticipate the result will be negative although there is a slight chance that you might once again have a falsely positive p24 antigen test. Further PCR tests will certainly be reliable and negative. EWH---
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22 months ago
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If I were to be a person that tests positive falsely, would my 4th gen tests have been positive as well? I don’t understand the difference between the 4th and 5th generation tests but don’t they both test for p24?
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22 months ago
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I suppose that is my fear, that this 5th generation test is accurately picking
Up some weird thing, rare strain or something unusual, missed by the 4th generation because it is more sensitive
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
22 months ago
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You continue to over react. So-called "5th generation" tests for HIV are distinguished by more sensitive tests for the p24 antigen. Their benefit is incremental and impacts only how soon after acquisition of infection the p24 antigen is detected. PCR tests of the sort you have had are more sensitive. Thus for you, there is no reason to expect any different result from testing with a so-called 5th generation test.
As I said before- you need to move on. My sense is that my efforts to help you are only fueling your OCD-driven focus on what has been proven repeatedly to be a falsely positive test. Thus, as this is the 3rd and final response as part of this thread and future questions to us on this topic may be deleted without a response and without return of your posting fee. We do this out of concern for you, nothing more.
I wish you the best with your pregnancy. Work with your therapist. EWH
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22 months ago
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Thank you and I am sorry. This is just a hellish pregnancy. To be clear I did not retest- I’ve only had one RNA test and that was the reflex on the false positive. I think retesting will also fuel my ocd and will not in light of what you have said.