[Question #437] about HIV test

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104 months ago
hi doctor ,,

i have a relationship with a girl and it was my first time and i do it with condom and and i do oral sex without condom i'm don't now what should i do plz help me and i do the:
1- antibody test after 32 days 
2- rabid test after 44 days 
3- combo after 54 days 

and all its negative 

 but I want to ask is it enough ?? 

and i have pain in my stomach and i feel some pain in my hand 

can you help me plz because i have a lot of bean.

and sometimes I suspect in the lab because the symptoms that i have so help me plz .

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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
104 months ago
Welcome to the forum. Thanks for your question.

My first advice is that you speak with your partner and suggest she also be tested. Since you're worried about HIV, maybe she is as well. She might be reassured that your test is negative and be very willing to be tested to give you the same reassurance. If you had both been tested together, there would have been no need to wait at all.

Second, your sexual exposure had no risk for HIV, even if your partner is infected. Condoms work, and oral sex is extremely low risk, probably zero.

Third, your test results prove you did not catch HIV. The combo test is conclusive any time 4 weeks or more after the last possible exposure, so that test at 54 days proves you did not catch HIV. The other tests were 90-95% reliable as well.

Finally, you do not describe your symptoms. However, that doesn't matter. The HIV tests are among the most reliab le diagnostic tests ever developed, for any medical problem. The results always overrule everything else. No matter how high risk the exposure (yours was no risk) and no matter how typical the symptoms for a new HIV infection, the test results tell the truth.

So all is well. You don't have HIV and do not need any further testing. As I said above, you might speak with your partner about testing as well.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD

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104 months ago
thanks Dr.Hunter for your replay,,
for the girl i don't know her i just meet her in club and it was my first time I do sex , but I afraid from something that is ( it come to my mind that the hospital lab give me a wrong result I don't know why i feel like this ? ,, and i want to ask can the Doctor or anybody hide the test resale from me ? ) 

and for my  symptoms: ( I have pain in my stomach and i feel like something Squeezes my wrist , I don't know it can be Joints pain or Pain in the nerves of the hand .

and the name of my test is : HIV Ag/Ab Combo 
is it certain after 54 days 


sorry Doctor but I'm so scared 

thanes for your help.
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
104 months ago
Thanks for the clarifications. I understood "have a relationship" to mean the woman was your girlfriend.

But this information doesn't change my opinion or advice. See my comment above about the "combo" test. That's what you had. Your negative result proves you did not catch HIV. And your symptoms are at all like those in people with new HIV infections. They have nothing to do with your sexual exposure. See a doctor if they continue to bother you. Do not have any more HIV tests.

I also think you are anxious because this was your first sexual experience. But you really should not make any big deal out of it. You were smart to use a condom, and you should always do that until you are in a committed, mutually monogamous relationship. But until then, you can't go through life with this sort of reaction every time you have sex with a new partner! Anyway, do not confuse your anxieties about having sex the first time with STD/HIV risks from it. They aren't the same.

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104 months ago
Thanks Dr Hunter,,

sorry but I don't  understand this sentence ( And your symptoms are at all like those in people with new HIV infections ) you mean like or NOT like ??

and one more question please, 

can the doctor or the lab in the hospital hide the test result from me or change the result outcome ??    

also I'm afraid because when I ask my doctor if I must to do the HIV test agine he side that you must do it again because in some cases it will turn to positive  
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H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
104 months ago
Correct -- your symptoms are NOT at all like those in people with new HIV. Sorry for the error!

Why in heaven's name would a doctor or hosptial hide or change the result of a patient's test? For what reason?? No doctor or lab would do that; and in most places it would be not only unethical, but illegal.

Many doctors do not understand that the newer tests, like the kind you had, are conclusive after 4 weeks. If your doctor recommends later testing, either he does not understand the test or he is just being extra careful.

That completes the two follow-up questions and replies permitted with each new question, and so ends this thread. Please do not post a new thread with the same questions; repetative anxiety-driven questions are not permitted. If you remain nervous, re-read the discussion above. If you still remain fearful, professional counseling might be something to consider. I suggest it from compassion, not criticism. Your fears are not normal after such an exposure or after the reasoned, science-based reassurance you have had.

Best wishes to you.


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