HEllo Dr. Kull, I realise you are indeed a busy man btu If you coul dplease answer my question it woule truly be much appreciated as I've searched the Web and this website and have found no information concerning my question. I may have been infected with HIV several months ago and have had all of my tests up to and including my 3 month test return with negative results. I am wondering how regular Drug use (POT 4 times a week)and Herpes effect the development of HIV antibodies? I havent been feeling the same, body aches, joint pains, constant herpes irritations (no major outbreaks except for the one during possible seroconversion) and of course the flu like symptoms lasting 3 weeks during the intial possible infection. Would my regular pot smoking effect antibody development/immune system? I apolgise if I have posted this question in the wrong forum but you seemed to be very knowledgeable. Thanks for any help...

PS: Am I in good hands with my negative test results thus far?

Sincerely, Lynn

It is unlikely that sexually transmitted infections or recreational drug use would have any effect on the accuracy of the HIV antibody test. False negatives are almost always caused by testing within the window period or human error (autoimmune conditions, late stage HIV disease, and experimental HIV vaccines can be other causes).

Regular pot/marijuana smoking should not have an effect on the length of time it takes to develop anitbodies to HIV. Smoking pot regularly can have effects on mood, motivation, concentration, and memory, and sometimes serious personality/psychological effects, so it is important to look at your use and its implications in how you feel (both emotionally and physically). If you want to learn more about drug use, visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse's website (http://www.nida.nih.gov).

RMK