Hi guys
I'm battling to understand how long after exposure the virus can be detected. I was exposed in April 2014 and did HIV tests until December 2015 and all results were negative. In 2016 I did not test because I was not exposed. In March 2017 when I was taking life insurance I tested positive. Remember, the last time I was exposed was in May 2014. I'm now on medication with a CD4 of 188. How is this possible people? Please help
Ask your clinician.
My understanding is that hiv can "hide" in the body for decades possibly.
Do you mean that you didn't have any sexual relations at all during that period.
Usually the tests are conclusive after 6 months, your body should have had some antibodies if you were infected - that's what they test for, not the virus itself so the fact it hides is neither here nor there.
If you shared toothbrushes or razors with someone that could (very low chance) have exposed you as could any sort of needle sharing.
It sounds implausible but if the obvious isn't the cause then maybe something else was...
A clinician should be able to help you timeline everything.
I hope you are well now xxx
A CD4 of 188 is low .
Once infected the CD4 drops at roughly 100 a year . The normal range for a woman is 6 - 800 ( I think , but check it for yourself ) which suggests that you have had the infection for a number of years .
If this is the case it suggests that the original test was wrong/inaccurate .
Medicine is not an exact science as there are many variables . I have not seen any information on the accuracy of HIV tests , but I know that the oral one is not 100% certain .
Hey Griffon,
U said you knew you were infected before it showed up on your test. Was it past 6 months? I just had a six month negative but just read this thread and the anxiety came back! I had 2 4th gen tests at 3 months and six months. Also had hiv 1 rna at 3 months and all negative. I am coming across many who sero convert past six months!!!
That was only a guess - anyone who is sexually active is unlikely to know exactly when they became infected . If you are tested negative over a period of time the chances are that you ARE negative .
Are you currently positive ? I just did a 4th gen and RNA negative at 3 months
Hi Jili
you have an interesting range of comments above... I agree with some of what is said but ...
I have been HIV+ infected since April 2006 with a +test at the end of that year and started meds in September 2008 with CD4s of <250 (they had just changed their guidelines to 350 from 250 to start Meds)... I was a normal male and <250 CD4s after just over 2 years from infection so...
As 247sweet and Chrissuffolk agree the Virus can hide, and the tests themselves are not initially for the Virus per-se, but for the Antibody (same as the body produces antibodies for the flu)... How you may have contracted the virus is something I wouldnt lose sleep over as you now have a fact to work with and it has been long proven that the virus is not an easy catch, so to speak, as it is actually quite sensitive to its environment and doesnt survive well between hosts... I had a bad sore throat, which I thought nothing of at the time but, that was when my body first started to fight the infection and gave me an exact time, with hindsight!..
as Griffon says 188 is now considered lower than they advise to start meds but as I said I was not much above that when I started and I have no problems since then with undetectable VL after 3 months of meds...
I now dont even think about the reason I take the pill... yes it did affect me for a while but apart from being a bit tired prior to the meds you really can just pretty much continue with your life...
Enjoy your life Jili
Hi jili
Hope you doing well now sorry to hear this,did you find out or did they give you a reason for your very late seroconversion.
Hi Jilli
Sorry you are struggling but looking at your other posts you seem to be some what confused and misleading especially in this post where you claim to have been exposed in firstly you say April then May 2014 and not having any exposures again till you tested positive on 17 March 2017 which you mention the date in your newly diagnosed post, also you said you had sex in December 2016 and get tested 4 times a year and your confused as your partner died in 2010, I'm sorry but I'm confused by your story as there are inconsistencies in your tale and this gives worries to others who have concerns regarding testing also you say you are in South Africa but your profile says USA? I'm sorry about your situation but I think you should be honest in the above post and let everyone know you were sexually active and it wasn't something that just happened 3 years after you were exposed either April or May 2014.
Have you had your viral load or CD4 count checked Conrad? Even if you were a rare seronegative case and you had you PCR tests done it would detect the virus even if you weren't producing antibodies. I think anxiety can cause lots of symptoms which can fuel the paranoia of being HIV positive. 3 months is conclusive.
You can't get HIV through saliva or casual contact. I see a lot of worry and fear on forums which fuels anxiety and then symptoms and becomes a visious cycle. HIV is a manageable condition now and I am sure there will be a cure in the not too distant future, just like years ago when TB was a killer, a cure was found for that. It will happen. I think a lot of us get fuelled by fear, guilt, regret and subconsciously it manifests in a physical form. But by stating that you have it you are reenforcing that belief and hey presto you've got the symptoms.
You are a legend Gabby! Absolutely agree with every point you’ve made here, especially that there are very large discrepancies in the statements given.
Chris
hi jili,
would you be able to tell what hiv test you had from 2014 to 2015? and what test did you diagnosed positive?
I'm gonna be blunt here Dr Traff, your daughter got infected within the 1st Week because you were sky-high (a great defining medical diagnoses...lol)
1) Question: How many buckets of saliva did you use exactly?
Sky-high is your head in the clouds is the only sky-high here! As Gabby1979 said there are too many inconsistencies in your story! Gabby you're a legend...lol 🙂
"And my wife and my daughter even didn't know about my encounter"
So another question Traff...
2) What encounter are you referring to exactly?
3) Your encounter of your own self diagnoses of having hiv, through what mode of infection did u become infected?
4) Is your encounter referring to an infidelity/dishonest act with another woman or man, that may have created guilt in the mind?
Please refer to my email;
@totallyconfused.com.ie
Future readers dont be freaked out by this post like me, as Gabby1979 mentioned there is a lot of discrepancies witht this story, and not even to call nobody out on this bc i get the fact this is a seriously scary issue but people who have had risk and conclusively negative tests are going to read this forum and freak out and go on another testing/anxious rampage. So with that being said i have to point out that there is a lie found. In this post jili clearly says she was tested for her exposure in may 2014 until dec 2015 and didnt test at all in 2016 because she had no exposures, but in her post before this about being recently diagnosed, she was asked the question when was the last she had tested before march 2017 and in that post she stated november 16 2016. But in this one a few months later she says she didnt test AT ALL in 2016 because she had no exposures. And it was said that she had a protected encounter in dec 2016 so even tho that may or may not have infected her its not like throughout these hole 3 years shes been celibate. So in conc, there was another risk/exp bc 1 she literallt told a fib said that she hadnt been tested in 2016 because there had been no reason to when in fact she had been tested and when u get tested u obviously have a reason and that reason being a risk. And not only that in that post before she also mentioned how she does routines testing for hiv 4 times a year. Most people who go through testing and had a one time exposure and have promised themselves that would never happen again in life would not be going for routine hiv testing bc theres no point to it if u havent done anything after ur last conclusive test. This person was at an ongoing risk for hiv thats why she has done routine testing this isnt a case of seronegativity. And i think the leaders of this community should make this clear as this post made me freak out and i had to straight go into investigator mode
Wow, this is a scary post.
3 years with negative HIV tests thats very long time. I agree that there would be some inconsistencies with the statement, but what about such low CD4 count? should have took atleast 2 year to reach such low CD4 count; so if her CD4 count in March 2017 is 188 then the exposure can be charted to 2015 or even 2014 making her statement correct.
It has also been established that without humoral response HIV progresses rapidly and can take you to AIDS (ie: CD4<200)within 2 years or even less.
This case can be a rare case of rapid progression without humoral response making HIV antibody tests negative (specially rapid antibody tests). However in this case PCR RNA or DNA test should have been accurate.
Reading Berkshire.. Is anyone out there who wants a companion and not a hook up, why is it so hard to find the loyal old fashioned type! 
I'm not ok!
Unhappy !!! 
Being out there 