Dr. thinks I have a false positive test but I'm freaking out. Help please!

[tallguy23]

Having an insane amount of anxiety and fear right now so I thought I'd reach out.

I've been on PreP for about 2 months now, just started my third month now. No issues as of yet. To be honest, I've had unprotected sex with 4 partners in March (3 who are neg and on PreP and one who is undetectable and I even saw his meds in the house. He was clearly taking them). I've been tested 1-2 times a month this year and always came back negative.

About 2 weeks ago I came down with a nasty flu that I thought was food poisoning at first. Had a fever and chills the first night but then just diarrhea and stomach cramps for the rest of the week. Saw the doctor a week later and she did tests (blood, urine, and stool) and prescribed me antibiotics. I finally felt better after a few days and now feel back to normal.

The doctor calls me in today (week after my first appointment) and said everything was negative except my HIV test came back reactive. They tested the viral load and found nothing. It was undetectable. She consulted with 2 other doctors who all concurred that Truvada wasn't enough to make me undetectable if I were positive. She seemed pretty sure it was a false positive but did a second test today just to be extra cautious. I should get results by Friday. I should also mention she works at a clinic designed for HIV treatment so she knows her stuff.

Needless to say, I'm still freaking out about this. All logical signs and timeframes point to this being a false positive, probably due to me being sick with the flu when the test was taken. Also, the stool test came back negative so we're pretty sure it was a stomach virus and not bacteria.

Just wondering if anyone else has a false positive story or any tips on how to handle this. I'm trying not to think of the worst but it's hard not too. Also feeling very stupid and shameful for having unprotected sex, even with PreP involved.

Would really appreciate any feedback and guidance.

 

[kallipolis]

She seemed pretty sure it was a false positive but did a second test today just to be extra cautious. I should get results by Friday. I should also mention she works at a clinic designed for HIV treatment so she knows her stuff.

Offering words of support, and understanding will change nothing. The rest is a guessing game of no worth to you.

Remain patient, for Friday is close.

 

[KaraBulut]

There are two tests that are done for HIV- the first is a screening test that is designed to err on the side of caution and will occasionally produce false positives. Anyone who has a positive screening test is sent for further testing that is more specific and more accurate (and more expensive). This has been the testing design for a couple of decades, so practitioners who have worked with HIV tests are familiar with false positives on the first test.

It is difficult to say exactly what has happened in your case. The doctor is following the usual protocol. Hopefully this will prove to be a false positive. Please let us know the results after you receive them on Friday.

 

[Benvolio]

Trust your doctors. They think it is false, so it probably is. Try to relax. Being positive is not the end of the world it once was. Many live fairly normal lives with it.

 

[sixthson]

I'm sure these are very anxious days for you. Try not to stress out too much...if that is possible.
Were you under the impression that taking PreP meant you were free to have unprotected sex, especially with so many guys?
I'm just asking, not judging, but will the scare change how you do things?

 

[mbamike]

I have been taking prEP (Truvada) for about 10 months. I don't insist on condoms as I did in the past. So, I bareback a great deal.

I get tested every three months which consist of blood and urine samples along with swabs of my throat and anus. I have always tested negative for both STDs and HIV.

Truvada is very highly effective in preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. So, take your pill everyday and try to relax. False results happens.

 

[Mariatenebre]

Even if you are on Truvada you should still practice safe sex. Because there are other STDs out there and I don't think that it is 100% effective. You should never have sex with an HIV positive person even if they are undetectable and you are on Truvada because again it may reduce the chances but you could still get it. Also just because someone has HIV meds does not mean they are taking them. You would be surprised how many morons actually take "drug holidays" for stupid reasons.

 

[KaraBulut]

Even if you are on Truvada you should still practice safe sex.

Correct- those are the recommendations.

PrEP is not intended to be a replacement for condoms or other same sex practices.

 

[Mariatenebre]

Correct- those are the recommendations.

PrEP is not intended to be a replacement for condoms or other same sex practices.

Yes and it pisses me the fuck off when so many gay men take Truvada and think they can just go raw everywhere. Sometimes I get frustrated by the lack of sexual irresponsibility among gay men. Not to say that heterosexuals are also not irresponsible as well but gay men have that stigma of HIV being a gay disease which is false and homophobes consider it a victory when gays get infected. So that should make gays extra vigilant against getting any STDs just to prove them wrong. I recently saw this video of a guy who got infected and he stated that he knew this would happen all of his life. I am like are you kidding me?! He must have some serious internalized homophobia to think this and I see so many young people of all sexual orientations who just think that if you get HIV that you just take meds and you will be fine which is not true. The meds help prolong your life but there are side effects and also the virus eventually will become immune to the meds. Oh and don't get me started on bugchasers. That makes my blood boil more then anything else.

 

[tallguy23]

Results came back negative, so it was indeed a false positive. I'm very relieved.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

 

[KaraBulut]

Results came back negative, so it was indeed a false positive. I'm very relieved.

That's good news.

I didn't want to add comments about some of the recent research until you had your results for fear of making you unnecessarily worried, but there was a recent documented case of someone on PrEP contracting HIV from unprotected anal sex. The reason that PrEP didn't work was that the strain of HIV that he contracted was a drug-resistant strain, therefore the Truvada was not effective in preventing the virus from entering his T-cells and replicating.

PrEP was originally intended for couples where one person was HIV+ and the other was HIV-. Then it was suggested as a backup for condom use "in case the condom failed". More and more, it's viewed as a way to have unsafe sex "without worry". As you discovered, the "without worry" isn't always so.

HIV isn't our only worry. There's a lot of things that we don't know about communicable diseases, as the recent reports of sexually-transmitted Zika virus have shown. It's always best to assume that any exchange of body fluids is a risky venture, especially if you're doing it with multiple partners. I don't want to scare you or lecture you but since other people read the forums, I did want to reiterate the guidelines that PrEP is not intended to eliminate the need for condoms.

 

[kallipolis]

I don't want to scare you or lecture you but since other people read the forums, I did want to reiterate the guidelines that PrEP is not intended to eliminate the need for condoms.

Noteworthy advice................

 

[palemale]

Results came back negative, so it was indeed a false positive. I'm very relieved.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Congratulations! Now we can be unkind. DON'T BE STUPID. USE CONDOMS! Especially when you know your partner is HIV+, even if undetectable. Back in the day, I lived a totally straight life and had never had sex with men, but lived in lower Manhattan. I easily knew a dozen people who died of AIDS. It was so prevalent, you didn't have to be gay or hang out with lots of gay men to know people getting sick. I knew a married guy who had a bf. He got AIDS. His wife and two youngest children also had it because he had infected his wife before her last two pregnancies. They're all dead. Don't take unnecessary risks.

 

[Telstra]

Trust your doctors. They think it is false, so it probably is. Try to relax. Being positive is not the end of the world it once was. Many live fairly normal lives with it.

Taking medication daily is not a normal life.
Yes please let us know after Friday.

 

[KaraBulut]

Taking medication daily is not a normal life.
Yes please let us know after Friday.

Read post #10.