Dirty needle stick
I hope I do not annoy anyone with this question because that is not my intention at all. I really am concerned and am seeking advice from knowledgeable people in this forum.
I’m a paramedic working in the Atlanta Georgia area and I had a dirty needle stick on the job back on October 2nd 2020. I was on the ambulance inserting the IV when I went to retract the needle and accidentally poked myself on the finger.
After the call I had to go through my jobs protocol. I went to an Urgent Care and was quickly tested that night. I choose not to take pRep.
A couple days later I received notice that my first test which was the night of exposure came back negative. This was my baseline.
2 weeks after exposure I developed severe vertigo and vomited a few times. I was running a fever as well. I was so positive this was me going through the seroconversion stage. Till this day I still have no idea where the vertigo came from. The room was constantly spinning for 48 hours straight.
My next HIV test was on the follow dates
10-31-20: Non-reactive
01-03-21: Non-reactive
05-26-21: Non-reactive
09-14-21: Non-reactive
Those tests above were all using 4th generation antibody test.
I did a rapid finger prick on 9-20-21 and this came back negative as well.
I even did the Oraquick test on
10-20-21 and this came back negative.
Keep in mind all these tests have been with the 4th generation antibody test expect for the needle prick rapid and Oraquick.
I understand you all are probably thinking dude you need to chill. My main concern is what if all these tests are wrong and I have been missed? I recently even had a WBC count that was slightly low neutrophils taken in the morning but when I got it done the next day in the afternoon, the WBC returned to normal. My concern is my lymphocytes are always borderline normal.
All Hep c tests have been negative as well and I have Hep B antibodies from vaccine.
I really am struggling to believe my results after my symptoms and my white blood cell count. I’m worried it is taken longer for me to show positive. 
, your questions are not annoying at all. It sounds like you're dealing with some alarming symptoms and really worried. While we cannot give specific medical advice, I can give you some information that I hope will ease your mind.
HIV tests taken 6 months after a potential exposure are 99.9 percent accurate. If your HIV tests were taken 6 months post-exposure, you can trust the results. Typically, people may experience an incorrect result if an HIV test is taken within the first 2 months of a possible exposure; this period of time is called the "window period". However, outside window period, false-negative are rare with HIV test. For more information, see here: https://www.aidsmap.com/about-hiv/false-negative-results-hiv-tests
Now, it sounds like you've also been Hep C. Are there doctors you are working with you feel you can trust and are working to help you get to the cause of these symptoms? - Liz (Team Member)
