Question
Why was I not infected after first exposure? Will there be a cure?
3 July 2008. Related: All topics, Cure, Newly diagnosed.
Why was I not infected at first, after exposure? Will there be a cure in 7-10years?
I’m 21years old this year. I had a serious girlfriend in 2006. We had sex somewhere around end of Nov 2006. I decided to go for an HIV testing at around May2007 and was tested negative and I was really happy. But at about June-July 2007 we had blood contact and i had prolong fever in October 2007 (about 2weeks fever).
I didn’t think much about it seen i had already taken the test, until when recently when in April 2008 my gf had to renew her pass and had to take an HIV test.
I was so surprised and sad that her HIV test was positive. She is only 21 years old and had bright future. i went for the test again and I also tested positive. I really felt meangingless in life.
I’m was always educated about HIV and was always very careful until I found someone I really love, and now I have HIV!
Answer
Hi
I’m sorry to hear that your and your girlfriend are both HIV-positive. It sounds like you are still in shock and it will take time to come to terms with this.
There are several reasons why your first test was negative:
i) you may not have been infected when you took the test. Being exposed to HIV doesn’t always lead to an infection. You may have just been lucky for several months and then unlucky on one day. Any blood exposure risk is much higher risk than any sexual risk, and this could explain why on this occasion you were infected.
ii) you may have been HIV-positive when you took the first test, but still within the window period when the test doesn’t work – this is usually a period of up to three months after exposure, when your body may not have generated HIV antibodies.
Although I am optimistic that someday HIV could be cured, I think it is unlikely to occur in the next 10 years.
HIV treatment however is effective and can give you a good chance of a long and natural life, until the cure is discovered.
You may not need treatment now, or for several years, but knowing this should help you to still focus on a happy and positive future. It may not feel like this now, but things will get much easier.
You didn’t say where you live, but most countries have networks or HIV-positive organisations where you can speak with people in the same situation, and which can help with other aspects of support. Please let me know if you would like me to try and suggest groups in your country.
These questions may also be helpful:
How long can someone live with HIV?
When will there be a cure for HIV?
Will most people develop resistance to HIV treatment?
Hi Norman,
We no longer answer questions about transmission and testing. This information service is about HIV treatment for people who are HIV positive.
Most questions about transmission and testing have been answered here:
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing.
I had sex with the HIV positive girl but I was not aware .it was only once .she told me after seven days that she is positive .yesterday on the 02 of April I tested negative .it happened on 16 of march.im still traumatised because they told me to test again after six weeks .
Hi Peter,
Please see this link to risk for HIV transmission.
Hi. I was having sex with a prostitute last February 7 2019. But it’s a protected sex. I get paranoid because it’s my first time. How could I likely get be infected? Yet it is being my first time?
Hi Sophy, the nurse just meant that you are HIV positive. I am sorry if this upset you. It is okay to tell the doctor this or to ask for more information.
Positive but my baby test negative.he is 6mnts now,i went for the check up today,and the nurse wrote hiv exposed on the card without any testing.I dont understand what is trying to say.Please help.
It’s almost strange to read older posts about HIV. Being 2012 now, we almost forget those fears in the “mid” stages of HIV research and development. Now, if you’re reading this, we all know that HIV isn’t and won’t be the death of anyone that seeks treatment when required. We all know now that there are certain individuals who are immune to HIV and certain individuals you could say are ‘half-immune’. There are many clinical trials getting stronger in 2012 about the findings of vaccines and cures. This post was only four years ago, I can only wonder what the next four years will have in-store for us all.
In a way, changing the combination that you had before is a good thing, as it sunds a bit too much and to be honest indinavir (Crixivan) is hardly ever used nowadays.
As fo the questions:
1. I am sure there will be a cure for HIV, but it will take more effort and financial resource than the currently invested.
2. The chances of survival with the modern therapy are really good.
3. The virus becomes resistant when people miss doses and are not adherent to the therapy, thus giving the virus the opportunity to develop resistance to the medications
4. As long as one takes the medications appropriately and keeping in mind that newer and better are invented almost on a yearly basis, then the life expectancy of a positive person is almost equal as the one of a negative person.
I am 54 years old and was diagnosed in 1995. I suffered an opportunistic infection (pneumonia), but lived through it (that was in 1996). Since then, my hiv was undetectable until just recently, my doctor decided to do a “genotype” test. He took me off my sustiva, crixivan, and trizivir for one week to do the test. He now has placed me on a brand new regimen. I am a little nervous because I became so used to the old meds but now they’re not working anymore. Will there ever be a cure for hiv? What are our chances of survival? How often can the body become drug resistant? How long can we live with hiv? Can we live until 100 years old?