[Question #9450] Sick since 1995 help

32 months ago

Sorry to be back so soon. Having hiv symptoms since 1995. Having joint pain stomach issues like diarrhea chest pain. Having thrush on my tongue about 14 years had three different medication nothing helped. I been to gastroenterology for my diarrhea in 2017 he did colonoscopy saying it was ibs. Now in 2022 same issues diarrhea soon as I eat lost 10 pounds did an endoscopy. Stomach was normal inflammatory infiltrate within the lamina propria this was the finding. Still having diarrhea stomach still hurts. My chest hurt been to cardiologist did chest xray ct scan all was good sometimes i feel like am having a heart attack. I have a cold i cant get rid of since 1995. Always have a head cold. Also mouth sores with the white tongue. In 1995 the doctor told me something wrong with my blood but he never tell me what was wrong he told me to go see another doctor. Some how i think it was hiv and he didn't want to tell me i have hiv in 1995. But starting in 2020 i went and did a hiv test it was negative. Since 2020 to now 2022 i have done seven 4th generation laboratory hiv tests from different clinics and laboratory all negative. I did two rna pcr quantitative came back RNA not detected. I did a RNA qualitative pcr also came back RNA not detected. Could I be an elite controller that controls the virus so it can't detect. Could i be positive in 1995 for hiv an now the tests cant detect hiv because I waited too long to get tested from 1995 to 2020, 2021, 2022. Could I be an elite controller. I read that some elite controller was not detected on hiv tests. I also had ten antibodies hiv test from different point of care clinic all negative. Can i have hiv for over 27years with all the symptoms but yet tests negative with over 18 hiv tests. I read that hiv proviral dna is better to detect hiv elite controller. Is the proviral hiv dna test more effective than all these tests i had over three years. Could i be positive in 1995 but these tests now not detecting because the antibodies

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

32 months ago

Greetings again, but I have to say I do not understand why you are back or what you expect to learn that hasn't already been addressed in your two prior discussions with Dr. Hook. I see no questions here that were not covered in detail in those discussions. There are only three possibilities: 1) You did not read Dr. Hook's replies. 2) You did not understand them. Or 3) you didn't believe them. Which is it?

I'm not going to address (again) all the things you ask or the uncertainties you express. For the answers and this forum's advice, go back and read (or re-read) the previous discussions -- and this time, concentrate on every word. My only response is to make two general points, which also repeat what has already been said or implied.

First, the HIV blood tests are among the most accurate diagnostic tests ever developed, for any medical condition; and when done sufficiently long after the last possible exposure or after onset of symptoms, negative results are never wrong, not counting the several weeks delay in positivity after post-exposure prophylaxis if PEP doesn't work. Every individual test you describe was conclusive evidence you do not have HIV -- and you have had multiple tests of various types. In reply to the question in your last line, the HIV genetic tests (RNA, DNA) remain positive for life in every HIV infected person; there are few if any exceptions.

Second, every symptom that can be caused by HIV or the opportunistic diseases that occur with immunodeficiency caused by HIV is much more commonly caused by other conditions. It is never appropriate for someone to conclude s/he has HIV solely on the basis of symptoms, syndromes, X-rays, blood tests, or any other factor other than the HIV tests themselves. Like Dr. Hook, I will not speculate on what IS causing your various symptoms, but the proof is conclusive that it isn't HIV.

Having promised two general points, I'll add a third: Assuming you did read and did understand the replies to date, it is clear you have a psychological problem that should be addressed. It simply is not normal to remain convinced (or even a little bit worried) you have HIV in the face of the repeated, reasoned, science-based opinions and advice you have had, almost certainly from your own doctors as well as on this forum. (It also seems possible that psychological factors are either the direct cause or are enhancing many of the symptoms you describe.) You should seek professional counseling to address this obvious mental health issue. I suggest it from compassion, not criticism.

Let me know if anything isn't clear, but only in direct reply to my comments here. I will not address any repeats of your questions above or the ones asked in your previous forum discussions.

HHH, MD

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32 months ago

So doc is the proviral hiv dna test better to detect HIV elite controller than all those other tests i had. Wht is the difference between the proviral hiv dna and the quantitative or quantitative rna pcr test. Are the antibody differentiation test different from the 4th generation laboratory hiv test. Sorry for all the questions just feeling bad because am spending alot of money yet no doctor can tell me what is wrong with me. I read that some elite controller person was not being detected by antibodies tests. I saw article by a doctor in Singapore that proviral dna is useful to detect hiv elite controller when other tests cant find the virus. Can i have hiv for over 27years an be an elite controller.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

32 months ago

Oh come on. I do not know whether proviral DNA is any better than other tests in detecting elite controllers. As a rough estimate, in Dr. Hook's replies and mine above, we must have mentioned at least 10 reasons which, each by itself, proves you do not have HIV. But at various times, including now, you pick the one that happens to be on your mind at that moment, as if that alone could settle things. Further evidence of the irriationalitty and psychologicval aspects I mentioned. Your citation of a single report by a single physician that seems to support your belief you have HIV, while essentially ignoring thousands of other scientific reports and virtually all HIV/AIDS experts, is another case in point.

All elite controllers are positive on most if not all the tests you have had. Equally important, your entire case in favor of HIV starts with your symptoms, which are irrelevant to elite control. Apparently you do not know (or have chosen to ignore) that elite controllers have no symptoms of HIV!

I would also advise you to stop searching any of these things online. Like many anxious persons, you are being drawn to information that supports your beliefs and anxieties and either overtly or suconsciously suppressing or not concentrating on the countervaling information that also is available.

You're obviously hoping to prove to us and yourself that you have HIV. This probably is part and parcel of the psychological issues to which I have referred. Sorry, but it isn't going to work.

That will have to conclude this thread. Please note the forum policy against repeats of the same questions, especially when anxiety driven. ASHA is not keen on accepting payments when the answers are obvious. Also, in our experience repeated replies tend to prolong anxiety or other concerns -- there's always a "yes but" or "am I the exception" sort of question. Finally, such questions have little educational value for other readers, one of the forum's main goals. This being the third time you have asked the same questions, it must be your last. Additional questions like this from you will be deleted without reply and withour refund of the posting fee. Thank you for your understanding.

I do hope the discussions have helped a little bit in bringing you to accept the truth of the situation; or at least that they lead to professional counseling. Best wishes and good luck.

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