Thank you very much for your help.But,I have a test Colloidal Gold 3rd generation from hospital only ,I didn't have an ELISA test. Is there any difference?
I started experiencing sympoms and wend for the 3rd generation elisa testing at 6 and 9 weeks post-exposure.The doctors said the test result would most likely not change at 12 weeks,but everything depends on the immune response,how quick it is.So my question is: is the person has no bad habits, is not a drug abuser and overall healthy,can he still get a delayed (after 9 weeks ) response?
2) The clinic told me the test I had done (the one I am going mark as the conclusive test) was a Unigold 3rd Generation, 5th generation elisa - would this be an advanced enough test for this to be negative? It is also worth of mention I had the Labcorp DNA PCR test done 20 days outside of exposure. I went the 12 weeks, because Teak and others on this board recommend it.
This is a synonym for ELISA, which is a better known name for the test. MEIA measures the presence of antibodies, which are produced by the immune system in response to HIV infection.
Both the aforementioned tests are valid and in your case, you have taken them at a time frame which can certainly be considered definitive. You don't have HIV.
The quotations below are from the Mayo Clinic website, discussing Lyme testing:
1 -- ELISA can sometimes give a false positive result:
"Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test: The test used most often to detect Lyme disease, ELISA detects antibodies to B. burgdorferi. But because it can sometimes provide false-positive results, it's not used as the sole basis for diagnosis.
The Wblot/ELISA tests rely on your immune system reaction to determine whether you have a positive (+) test or a negative (-) test for Lyme. Sounds solid, but it turns out that the Lyme bacteria can suppress your immune system, with the result that the Wblot/ELISA tests showing negative ('no Lyme infection') could be wrong, and you could indeed have Lyme.
There is a newer test called PCR, short for 'polymerase chain reaction'.
They use the oraquick because for one you get results in 10 to 20 mins and they are reliable results plus they are FDA approved test the elisa test can take 2 to 5 days for the results why sit around with more worries when rapids are just as reliable with quick results
Sorry Dr Hook if I am wrong about this
These have been conducted well over 12 months post risk event. Unprotected with female. I had a false positive repeatedly reactive elisa hiv test followed by a negative ifa and negative naat. I did a oraquick home test and got a negative result a week after the elisa. I waited a month and got tested again using the elisa and got the same repeatedly reactive result but this time with a negative western blot. I did another oraquick home test and that was negative again.
So anyway I had a PCR-test for HIV 1 and 2 THREE weeks after that possible exposure and then again an ELISA-TEST of 4. generation THIRTEEN weeks later. Both test results are negativ. But my doctor is still advising me to let me test again 6 months after the exposure to be sure.
Cant I just be sure of that i m definitely negative? Should i still be worried? Or am i possibly one of these exceptional cases by which the antibodies wont show up, even after 13 weeks?
In sum, if you get a positive Lyme test on a Western blot or ELISA test, it is likely accurate, but if you get a negative test on Western blot or ELISA test, it may be inaccurate: the test say you don't have it, but in reality, you very well could. PCR testing is not affected is this way, and is far more accurate as a result. PCR testing is offered *only* by IGeneX Labs and is considered highly accurate.
An MD's signature is required to have this testing done, just as with W.
Check the test results from IGeneX and see what the test was -- IGeneX may have run an antibody test at your doc's request. If you can't tell from the test results what was done, call IGeneX and ask. If you ask a generic question such as 'I have my test results here, but I can't tell if they were a Western blot/ELISA test or a DNA test', they might tell you. They have to be careful not to give medical advice, tho, and they will draw the line where they think appropriate.
Lyme is also immunosuppressive, meaning it has the ability to suppress the activity of your immune system, and that can also cause the standard Western blot/ELISA tests to show a false negative, because the Lyme bacteria tamp down the normal reaction of your immune system. No immune system reaction, then a negative test result.
There is another test that Lyme specialists often use, called a PCR test, short for polymerase chain reaction (the test is offered by IGeneX Labs).
and if I get a negative on the Western blot without an Elisa am I still negative? Which test all in all are better? Should I go out of my way for an Elisa test? Which one is most accurate, out of all the tests out there?
Don't tell me I don't need another test, I am a hypochondriac and I need one last test for some peace.
Thank you all, I have been living in sheer terror everyday and I want to breathe without worry.
If your test was taken 3 months after the last injection, then the result should be accurate. The ELISA test rarely gives a false negative, and usually if done right after getting an injection of an immunosuppressant such as Decadron.
HIV antibodies develop 3-6 months after exposure, though usually within the first month.
If you're still uneasy, get another test in 3 months.
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