I had unproteceted sex in December and January (same person). I just had a HIV test done in July. It came back

negative. How likely is it that I DO NOT have HIV? Do I need to wait longer?

Hey,listen.I used to do HIV testing and it can come up within 6 weeks of exposure.It does NOT lie dormant or undetectable for a long period of time.
There is also a rapid HIV test now in the US market available at some public health places like Planned Parenthood.
The best thing to do with a new partner, for future reference, is go and get tested together before you have monogamous sex without a condom, and don't have condom-less sex with IV drug users.
You are HIV negative,from those instances anyway.

i belive its 6 months to be sure (after you've had sex)

I am sure you are neg. It may takes 6 months for it to show up and if you were tested 6 months later, you're fine :)

It can take years for HIV to show up in your system. I would get tested every six months. If you had doubts about the person you slept with enough to have to get an HIV test done, then what made you sleep with him unprotected twice!?! Please be careful. It is not worth throwing your life away.

if the test came back neg, then chances are you prob are neg. but to be on the safe side, you should still use protection. from what i heard, the hiv virus can show up several years later. ask your dr. maby things have changed now. maby the tests show everything. i wish you the best of luck. but chances are you are fine.

Most HIV tests are antibody tests that measure the antibodies your body makes against HIV. It can take some time for the immune system to produce enough antibodies for the antibody test to detect and this time period can vary from person to person. This time period is commonly referred to as the 鈥渨indow period鈥? Most people will develop detectable antibodies within 2 to 8 weeks (the average is 25 days). Even so, there is a chance that some individuals will take longer to develop detectable antibodies. Therefore, if the initial negative HIV test was conducted within the first 3 months after possible exposure, repeat testing should be considered >3 months after the exposure occurred to account for the possibility of a false-negative result. Ninety seven percent will develop antibodies in the first 3 months following the time of their infection. In very rare cases, it can take up to 6 months to develop antibodies to HIV.

Another type of test is an RNA test, which detects the HIV virus directly. The time between HIV infection and RNA detection is 9-11 days. These tests, which are more costly and used less often than antibody tests, are used in some parts of the United States.

In my experience, the testers have told me that 3 months after exposure yields a 95% accurate test result, and at 6 months, the result is 99.9% accurate.

You should go get tested every 6 months, and I would advise you do always wear condoms. If not, you are at a pretty high risk of catching other types of STD's. I have even gone so far as to tell people that if they have a new partner, they should both go down and get tested together just to make sure they are both clean. Herpes seems to be the biggest STD scare at the moment, so be careful and practice safe sex as much as you can. Even safe oral sex too. Best of luck man!

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is difficult to pass from person to person. It is not very infectious and is almost impossible to get through normal social interaction.

For more info visit
www.thehivaids.com

you are conclusively neg.

You do not have HIV. The window period is 3 months, your test was done after 6 months, so you do not have HIV. Congratulations, but I hope this is a lesson for you and a mistake you will never repeat again. Take proper care of yourself in future.