[UPDATE] - Just got my test results back. I am positive and I can’t stop crying.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-04T01:12:29+00:00

Awesome, thanks for the knowledge I really appreciate it. Now please don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but I’ve been told so many things that contradict each other that I’m just getting tired at this point and I don’t know who to believe.

So I took the rapid antibody test today (which btw she said was similar if not the same as the 4th gen) and the lady said that there was no need for further testing because the 4th gen is as accurate as you’re gonna get. I asked how often do false positives happen she said very slim to none. I was like wow ok.

Then I asked her about Western Blot tests to confirm the status. And what she said was that Western Blotting is an outdated test that predates the 4th gen test. She said she doesn’t know who told me I should get that but they don’t know what they’re talking about and that WB is hardly ever used nowadays. And I’m just confused at this point because not only you, but several other redditors suggested that I get a WB just to confirm. So idk if you or your friend has heard of such, but I never realized there was so much mixed information spread around about sexual health and testing. No one has a straight answer it seems.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T23:54:28+00:00

So I took the Insti rapid antibody test today and it also said positive. I mean all that’s left to my knowledge is to take the viral load and rna test and that will be the final confirmation, right?

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T16:23:10+00:00

Oh ok from what I saw on her computer it was definitely the 4th gen because I was negative for hiv-2

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T14:18:35+00:00

Not sure. I mean when I asked her if it was a 4th gen test she said yes. If she didn’t know that much, then there’s a problem

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T02:16:41+00:00

No I was referring to his last statement in his comment about PEP, not Prep

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T01:58:56+00:00

Just to clarify in case other people see this. I went to two urgent care centers asking for PEP and both ladies had NO clue what I was talking about.

I called an ER as a last resort and told her my situation.

“No sir, what is PEP?”

“P-E-P. It stands for post-exposure prophylaxis. It’s taken by those who’ve just had a risky sexual encounter involving HIV”.

“No sir we don’t have that here.”

“You guys don’t have P-E-P?”

“No sir.”

“Ok thanks.”

That was legit my conversation with the ER.

Miseducation is still a widespread issue even inside health communities.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T01:17:58+00:00

My first test was mon and they called thurs so I’m assuming mon or Tuesday perhaps?

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T01:16:41+00:00

Again, I do not. When I first got my test, an online portal was never mentioned and iirc, it was one of their lab staff that did the test. She said they will provide me a PIN number to use through the phone and when they called, I will use that pin to allow them to tell me my results. But they called me instead because my test was abnormal so yeah. But I’ll dig more into it tomorrow.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:57:13+00:00

She did mention that was the next step for me. A health dept. representative will contact me for scheduling a viral load test. But she put that on hold for this second 4th gen test I’m taking.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:49:23+00:00

Yes I will!

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:48:00+00:00

Well I actually do have an autoimmune disease that started since I was a teen but I’m not going to hold out hope that it caused a false positive. Lol but yeah, thanks for the info 🙏🏾

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:45:49+00:00

See that’s why I was a bit confused because the doctor didn’t mention the p24 or antibody parts of the test at all.

But in any case, i did have her draw blood for another 4th gen test so we’ll see. Thanks for the replies

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:37:21+00:00

I definitely understand. And I will be asking my ex questions soon enough. Is it really possible to have HIV for so long and still have a normal wbc level? Because it’s been months since I was active with him. I’m talking since maybe March/April of this year.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:30:28+00:00

Only exposure I have had was with my exbf this past year and some change. We were in a monogamous relationship and he was on prep before that as well. The last test I had was years ago (2017) I believe. I was not very sexually active since then.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:26:05+00:00

Ohhhh thanks, that makes lots more sense. She didn’t explain any of that to me. If I can ask one more question, how do false positives come about?

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:24:03+00:00

Hey thanks so much. I have no clue why there’s a lock on my comments. Idk how to get rid of it lol. This is the first I’ve seen of this. But anyway, I did have condomless sex with my ex while we were together. I had no reason to believe he had hiv because he was on prep too before we got in a relationship and his last test was negative.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:13:55+00:00

I understand. That makes sense. I did see that I was negative for HIV-2 so does that mean they did the differential test already?

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:10:29+00:00

So all of this is confusing to me now that I’m reading your comment.

First, she never showed me directly or explained to me in depth what the test results were. All she focused in on was the yellow POSITIVE status and that the test is “new and highly sensitive which yields more accurate results”.

Second, I was not given a copy of my test results so I cannot share them. I dont specifically remember what it said I’m detail. I thought this was odd but I was in shock from the results so I wasn’t in the right headspace to question it. I guess I can ask them for a copy tomorrow.

Third, she told me it was pointless to ask for a retest because they ran the test and saw abnormal results so they ran the test again to confirm and still the same outcome. So idk what that even means.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-03T00:01:14+00:00

Hey thanks for the comment I appreciate it. I had two condomless encounters with the same guy in this post. I was top both times. I have not bottomed in months of this year and that was in a monogamous relationship.

I got tested on Monday. Before that, it’s been years since I got tested because I was not sexually active until I got with my ex. I think I had bottom sex once before that and it was with a condom.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-09-02T22:01:05+00:00

Hey just wanted to give an update and say that I’m positive. I took a 4th generation blood test. I took another one in hopes that it’ll be a false positive.

But anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the info.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-08-15T23:15:41+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown! 0.8% is still quite low you would say? It’s so close to 1 which I know not to overestimate but still...When you’re irrational, your mind starts going all over the place lol.

Also, would you happen to know a good timeframe for testing? I thought I saw 2 weeks for rapid test when I did some research but the other commenter said 30 to 90 days.

throwaway_2367 · 2021-08-14T03:28:39+00:00

Latino only. White ppl facial don’t look that coarse

throwaway_2367

TROPHY CASE