hi dr. my name is craig , i had unprotected sex twoand a half months ago. shortly thereafter developed thrush. a few weeks later my physician run some blood tests one of which was hiv. that test came back as doubtfully reactive and the lab wanted to re test in three weeks. going out of my mind the dr, decided to get a western blot done staight away. i got results back six days later (negative). i still havent been settled in my mind so dr sent for another western blot test (which took another three days) , this time the rsult came back as indeterminate western blot. i am sick with worry. they took another set of blood to test for something else (not sure what). please dr., could you advise on this situatuon as im going insane with worry. thank you kindly

Hi Craig,

Unprotected sex does place you at risk for STDs, including HIV. Unfortunately, your doctor seems to be causing increased confusion (not to mention increased anxiety) by improperly ordering HIV screening tests. The appropriate test would be an HIV-antibody test at the three-month mark with a confirmatory Western Blot only if the preliminary test was positive. Your initial test was "doubtfully reactive" (whatever the hell that means) and the follow-up Western Blot (WB) was negative. That would indicate you are HIV negative. A positive ELISA (EIA or rapid test) with a negative confirmatory WB is considered to be a "negative HIV screening test." Sending off another isolated Western Blot was not warranted. The indeterminate result is a false-positive/indeterminate result. Ultimately, you'll get this all sorted out with your follow-up testing. However, I can advise you now that based on the testing performed to date you are HIV negate. Had your HIV tests been ordered more appropriately, you wouldn't be "going insane" now.

Dr. Bob