Advice/opinions required please!

[Pete_B]

Hi all,

I've been viewing these forums for the past few days and thought I'd ask for some much needed advice. I know there's many, many topics with users asking if they're infected but if anyone could provide their opinions on my situation, it'd be massively appreciated.

Two weeks ago today exactly I met up with an escort I became acquainted with some time ago. She's early 40s, married with two teenage kids and like I say, I've known her for about a year now. Usually whenever I do meet up with her (less than once a month), we just engage in oral but this time I was a bit foolish. Because we've "built up a trust" in her words, we engaged in unprotected intercourse for roughly 15-20 seconds before I came to some form of sense and stopped.

Anyway, 9 days later I started feeling quite unwell with nausea, followed by the chills, a fever, a headache, loss of appetite, diarrhea and tiredness. I had an early night and got a lot of sleep, albeit I got up in the night due to nausea and tried to make myself sick but ultimately wasn't. Anyway my 13 hours sleep seemed to get rid of the fever and chills, and my headache pain had greatly reduced. After a painkiller that morning, the headache seemed to go away completely. I continued to feel a bit tired the following day or two but that has since worn off too and my appetite has pretty much come back to normal and I'm only left with the diarrhea though I've felt fine for the past 3 days.

My question is, does this sound like ARS? Because obviously I googled stuff and got myself into a panic about it as a lot of people seem to do. The two things that are lowering my panic levels are the short lifespan of this illness, and the fact that on the night before I fell ill, I went out for a curry with friends and noticed that the chicken wasn't as well cooked as usual - not that it wasn't inedible. So I'm beginning to reverse my thoughts and think that this is more of a food poisoning than ARS symptoms.

I'm sorry for the long post but I needed to give a bit of detail in order to receive some advice from you good people. What do you think?

Obviously I will be going for a test in a week or two and then a month or so later as well as I realise that is the only true way to find out.

Thankyou in advance,

Pete B

[Jeff G]

Hi Pete . The only way to know if you are HIV positive is to test . Your symptoms are not specific to HIV and that's why we rarely discuss symptoms .

You have had a risk for HIV and now you must test , you can test at 6 weeks past the incident and again at 3 months to confirm the results .

To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.

Don't forget to always get checked for all the other sexually transmitted infections as well, because they are MUCH easier to transmit than hiv. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.

Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!

[Pete_B]

Hi Jeff,

Thankyou for your reply.

I will definitely be getting a full screening at the 6 week mark and then again at 3 months.

Thanks again,

Pete

[Jeff G]

You are welcome Pete . Just remember the condoms next time buddy !

No need to respond , save your post to come back in 3 months and update us on your status .