i know you get loads of ?,s from people who think they have hiv and dont,i hope im one of them. how reliable is an hiv test if your exposure was 15-20 years ago,i had a negative test despite loads of symptoms,including nightly drenching night sweats and slightly swollen lymph nodes,and what looks like the hivdent hairy leukoplakia,i had the test and the doctors said thats it your fine,however i chose not to believe it probably like so many others on here,so they sent me to an infectious disease specialist who checked me over and also said i was ok,he did a immune system check to try to reasure me and my cd4 count was 1423,what would be the chances of that if i really had been living with hiv for 15-20 years,please answer this is my third time of writing with no replys,i just want to move on and i guess i am waiting for you to let me,so many people look up to you on here and i think your answers are great,i really hope to hear from you from a very worried female thankyou

Hello Very Worried Female,

Your exposure was 15-20 years ago. You tested negative and your doctor told you that you are fine. Yet you did not move on. Rather, you went to see an infectious diseases specialist who ran a completely unnecessary CD4 cell count, which turned out to be normal (big surprise there). Did you then move on? Nope! You now have written to me at least three times saying "I just want to move on . . . ." Hmmm . . . well, who knows? Maybe the third time (or this third opinion) will be the charm.

You are definitively and conclusive HIV negative. HIV is not your problem. No way. No how. Move on!

If you remain "very worried," your next move needs to be the psychiatrist's couch, OK?

Dr. Bob