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- Apr 5, 2016
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- 1,661
Ok so a family member of mine recently went to the hospital after losing 20kg in about a month and a half. He was extremely fatigued, thirsty all the time and urinating a lot. He had a blood sugar of 495 and was extremely dehydrated. They promptly diagnosed him with diabetes type 1 and began him on insulin. His blood sugar has started to stabilise and he feels a lot better. Unfortunately this has all happened while we are on vacation and it has not been the best quality hospital in the world. They've forgotten to give him insulin, given him insulin at the wrong time, forgetting that it was supposed to be taken out of the fridge to warm up before hand and the food they have given him has been the worst possible stuff to get his blood sugar down. About 1800 calories a day of bland crap as well as a bunch of starch.
They gave him a full blood work which he just got the results for and have told him his white blood cell count is very low and that they gave him a test for HIV and it came back positive. He has told us categorically that he has not ever used intravenous drugs nor had any unsafe sex etc (he is not gay) with anyone, he has taken other recreational drugs in the past but in no way is a heavy or habitual user. He never gets sick with cold or flu and has not experienced any cold or flu symptoms in years. They have said they need to send off his blood for confirmation but that will take two weeks. He does not know what kind of test they gave him but given the fact we are in Europe I would imagine it is similar to tests in the US. From what I have read initially the ELSA test is notoriously inaccurate and that many other diseases can cause a low white cell count and be mistaken for HIV.
He has for many years had a very poor diet full of PUFA and junk, excessive drinking and poor sleeping habits, which I think caused the low white blood cell count. I'm sure that he has high cortisol and estrogen as a result of this. Outside of that though his life is relatively stress free, no intense job or ridiculous hours.
He doesn't think the test can possibly be correct but understandably a bit shaken (as am I). Would very much appreciate some guidance in this regard as this is a subject I am not very well versed in.
What else could cause a low white blood cell count?
How common are false positives for HIV testing?
Could the rapid weight loss/diabetes/current treatment cause the low white blood cells?
What is the typical firs test done for HIV?
Many thanks.
They gave him a full blood work which he just got the results for and have told him his white blood cell count is very low and that they gave him a test for HIV and it came back positive. He has told us categorically that he has not ever used intravenous drugs nor had any unsafe sex etc (he is not gay) with anyone, he has taken other recreational drugs in the past but in no way is a heavy or habitual user. He never gets sick with cold or flu and has not experienced any cold or flu symptoms in years. They have said they need to send off his blood for confirmation but that will take two weeks. He does not know what kind of test they gave him but given the fact we are in Europe I would imagine it is similar to tests in the US. From what I have read initially the ELSA test is notoriously inaccurate and that many other diseases can cause a low white cell count and be mistaken for HIV.
He has for many years had a very poor diet full of PUFA and junk, excessive drinking and poor sleeping habits, which I think caused the low white blood cell count. I'm sure that he has high cortisol and estrogen as a result of this. Outside of that though his life is relatively stress free, no intense job or ridiculous hours.
He doesn't think the test can possibly be correct but understandably a bit shaken (as am I). Would very much appreciate some guidance in this regard as this is a subject I am not very well versed in.
What else could cause a low white blood cell count?
How common are false positives for HIV testing?
Could the rapid weight loss/diabetes/current treatment cause the low white blood cells?
What is the typical firs test done for HIV?
Many thanks.