Hello 

I recently spoke to Dr. Hook about my issue and i thank him for the great advice and reassurance he has given me in this time of stress. Unfortunately i still have many concerns and some questions I haven’t asked that have been worrying me. 

In my first question I mentioned that I took a 4th generation CMIA test at 6 weeks (41 days) which came back negative. My only concern is that i didnt get paper proof or an email proving that it was negative. Everyone ive spoken to about this has gotten either one of them and I had to call them to get my result back so I’m worried they didn’t tell me the truth since it was low risk. This was at planned parenthood and lifelabs in Canada. 

Now i may be overthinking this but: 

1) Is it possible that since it was low risk, my situation was brushed off and they just told me it was negative? I didnt get any sort of proof, but i also understand this could be illegal, i’m just wondering is this is a possibility and if its a normal thing to just get told its negative over the phone. 

2)Earlier this month i got a cold sore. I suspected it was due to the cold weather or the severe stress ive endured in the past 2 months. I now have another cold sore in the same exact spot. I never get cold sores this often especially in the same month. Before i got tested in September i had angular cheilitis (which i rarely get) so could cold sores and angular cheilitis be early HIV symptoms? 

3)Are early HIV rashes typically mild or severe? do they last long? Ever since before i got tested my arms have been getting slightly red. It appears in the morning but disappears later on in the day. Ive been getting this every single day for 2 months. 

4)Final Question. When i got a full blood count test last month (before my first HIV test), i was one number under the normal range of having low platelets, i had low potassium, and high MCHC. I took another one this month and everything was back to normal. Could the abnormals in the first test be due to seroconversion since everything is back to normal now? 

I once again apologize for all these questions. I cant tell if i’m over analyzing all of this but there are so many weird symptoms being felt and I can’t seem to rule out HIV. My 10 week results come back tomorrow or the day after so i really hope my first test was accurate and i could move forward from this. 

Thank you 

Welcome back to the Forum.  I'm sorry you felt the need.  I'll try to help you put these concerns behind you:

1.  It is common practice to provide folks with their negative results for HIV testing over the phone.  In fact, many providers worry about sending written notification that might be seen by someone who did not need to.  You could call back to verify your result or even request the results which would require filling out a Release of Information" form.

2.  While particularly severe recurrences of herpes infections, including cold sores is occasionally seen in persons with far advanced HIV, in your case, with your test results, this is coincidence and may reflect the stress and anxiety that you have already acknowledged.  your test results are conclusive and should be believed.

3.  Recurring daily rashes are not a sign of HIV. When persons get the rash associated with recently acquired HIV, they occur within 30 days of exposure and tests are typically positive at the time the rash appears.  The major signs of recently acquired HIV are high fever, severe sore throat and widespread muscle and joint aches

4.  Again, this is not suggestive of HIV

I remain confident that your 10 week test results will show that you were not infected and will prove this to be the case.  It really is not unusual when persons who are concerned as you are tend to scrutinize themselves more closely than they normally do and then notice other incidental problems.  I suspect this is the case for you.  When you get your test results, please believe them and hopefully that will be the evidence which will allow you to move forward.  EWH