TOPIC: HIV ANTIBODY REACTION AND ELLANSE

I recently had the 4th gen HIV screen. HIV 1 and 2 were negative but the test repeatedly had a reaction to the HIV antibody. Supposedly.

I took the RNA test Friday to confirm any infection and results should be sent Monday.

Looking online, it seems false reactivity from this 4th gen test aren't uncommon. For example, there are plenty of cases involving the test reacting to the blood of pregnant women. Most likely due to the bodies immune system working differently to accompany a fetus. But they don't have HIV. When they take the RNA test it's negative.

The 4th gen test is very sensitive and other types of antibodies can trigger it. I have close to 60cc of Ellanse in me. My body has to react to the foreign substance in a substantial way, building new tissue/collagen. I'm wondering if my body's response to the Ellanse/PCL is triggering the reaction. It could be that my immune system is producing some sort of "antibody" and that is what is triggering the result. Interesting if this is the case. I don't think this has been studied much at all.

Good food for thought: Can you have an antibody for something and not be infected? Is any part of the body's response to PCL and PMMA considered an antibody? Are people with PCL or PMMA in them technically "infected" with a foreign substance?

Something similar is happening to me.

Care to explain, wonka?

HIV testing typically involves a two-step process, starting with a screening test and followed by confirmatory tests if the screening test is positive. The screening test is usually an antibody test, which checks for antibodies to HIV. If the screening test is positive, a follow-up test, such as an antigen/antibody test or a nucleic acid test (NAT), is performed to confirm the presence of the virus. The antigen/antibody test looks for both HIV antibodies and antigens, while the NAT looks for the actual virus in the blood.

False positives on the initial screening test can occur due to factors such as cross-reactivity with other antibodies or improper test administration. However, false positives are very rare on the reflex confirmatory testing because these tests are highly specific and designed to minimize false results. The reflex testing, which includes more specific and sensitive tests, helps to reduce the likelihood of false positives and accurately confirm the presence of HIV.

The likelihood of a false positive HIV test result after PCL or PMMApolymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) filler injection is not well-documented in the available search results. However, it's important to note that false positive HIV test results can occur due to various factors, including technical issues associated with the test and biological causes. Technical issues may involve specimen mix-up, mislabeling, improper handling, and misinterpretation of a visually read rapid test result. Biological causes include participation in an HIV vaccine study, autoimmune disorders, recent flu vaccination, and cross-reactive antibodies that may be present following a blood transfusion or pregnancy

It's important to note that a positive result on the screening test does not confirm HIV infection. Additional tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. Similarly, a negative result does not rule out HIV infection, especially during the "window period" when antibodies and antigens may not be measurable.

If I were in this position I would post this question on the ASHA “ask the experts community”. You will get hunter handsfield, who is an expert in HIV and HIV testing . Secondly, if your exposure was risky, I would have that partner test immediately.

What type of risk did you have? Have you had any vaccines recently? Any other illnesses or autoimmune flares?

My best friend had a positive test after a flu vaccine. It was a false positive but a very long week for him .

Hyperbol wrote: Care to explain, wonka?

So mine is similar but different. I did get Ellanse a few weeks before my second vaccine. So there's that, but sense about a month after Ellanse I have had inflammation nothing serious seems like, but my body is treating it as an infection. I'm having more blood work done. So once it all comes back I will elaborate more. But my wbc have been lower since getting Ellanse (or possibly the covid vaccine although not likely ) it's been almost 2 years of Ellanse and about 1 year and a half of lower wbc. I am fine otherwise. Everyone's body acts differently so take this with s grain of salt.

Did you ever figure out what was going on with this?

Yes. The RNA confirmatory test was negative. No HIV. I'm convinced the 4th Gen test that's part of the ten panel picked up on my bodies response to the Ellanse and gave the false positive. It doesn't mean I'm sick the same way pregnant women who also get false positives from this test aren't sick.

There's a lot of misleading info out there saying that false positives from that test are very "rare" but I think that's bullshit. And I don't understand why I would take that 4th Gen test again before taking the confirmatory test. Why not just take the confirmatory test and not have to deal with the anxiety of thinking maybe I'm positive?

I don't do give or receive anal sex and the partners I go bare with aren't sleeping around. Getting it via the vagina is pretty rare. If I had to guess it's more rare than getting a false positive from the 4th Gen test. Again, I'd rather just take the RNA test next time and not have to go back to the clinic twice. It's so dumb.

All it did was give me anxiety that maybe I was extremely unlucky and the one time the condom broke and I was bare inside this girl for ten seconds caused me to be infected.

Hyperbol wrote: Yes. The RNA confirmatory test was negative. No HIV. I'm convinced the 4th Gen test that's part of the ten panel picked up on my bodies response to the Ellanse and gave the false positive. It doesn't mean I'm sick the same way pregnant women who also get false positives from this test aren't sick.

There's a lot of misleading info out there saying that false positives from that test are very "rare" but I think that's bullshit. And I don't understand why I would take that 4th Gen test again before taking the confirmatory test. Why not just take the confirmatory test and not have to deal with the anxiety of thinking maybe I'm positive?

I don't do give or receive anal sex and the partners I go bare with aren't sleeping around. Getting it via the vagina is pretty rare. If I had to guess it's more rare than getting a false positive from the 4th Gen test. Again, I'd rather just take the RNA test next time and not have to go back to the clinic twice. It's so dumb.

All it did was give me anxiety that maybe I was extremely unlucky and the one time the condom broke and I was bare inside this girl for ten seconds caused me to be infected.

Jesus - talk about anxiety. I’ve been there worried about stds so can’t imagine having an actual positive test! The odds of contracting HIV in the US through vaginal sex is super low so you’re correct that it’s probably statistically more likely to have a false positive hiv test. I guess at the end of the day the outcome was good but I can’t imagine you’ll be looking forward to your next std screening! Scale of 1 to 10 how confident are you the false positive was caused by the Ellanse?