Ongoing symptoms affect sero conversion time ??

[StealthVirus]

Hi,

Can having an active illness delay seroconversion time for HIV?  I am concerned due to ongoing symptoms.  I developed UTI type symptoms 5 days after an encounter with a CSW (unprotected oral + protected vaginal), a red non itchy dry rash on my private parts ~ 3 weeks later, amongst other symptoms in between such as sporadic night sweats, muscle tremors, fatigue, nausea, etc. 

I was tested (blood/urine) and all was negative.  The abx did seem to help with urinary tract symptoms, but I still have rash, fatigue, low grade fever, headaches (mild), occasional urinary discomfort.  I tried all kinds of creams on the rash with no help, and none of the docs have taken anything more than a look at it and a shrug. 

I am very worried about several things, and my 90 day window has not yet closed.  I negative for HIV 1 via RNA PCR at 40 days post exposure and neg. via elisa blood test for HIV 1/2 ~56 days post exposure.  Since then I took rapid oral test for HIV 1/2, tester showed me and she said the strip read negative but I did not see any control line.  Tested neg. for Syphillis at 28 days post exposure.

I am worried about being virally infected due to the persistent symptoms.  Can anyone comment on how an underlying illness could affect sero conversion time frame, or if there are any tests I should consider repeating or discussing with my Dr.? 

Thank you

[jkinatl2]

Well, to start with, you didn't have a risk. You wore a condom for penetrative sex. THAT is all you need to do to protect yourself from HIV.

I know, ridiculously easy, right?

Secondly, even if you had a legitimate risk (and you did not) none of the things you mention would impact the accuracy of a HIV test.

If you feel you need to retest at 90 days, purely for peace of mind, by all means do that.

But I reiterate: You did NOT have a risk for HIV. No way, no how.

[StealthVirus]

 I did not keep my tip covered while I received oral and was told I had "moderate" risk by a worker at a local STD clinic, but she could not advise on delayed sero conversion or co infection. 

I did some reading about dendritic cells since and with ongoing symptoms I am still concerned and will retest, but appreciate the response.

[jkinatl2]

I did not keep my tip covered while I received oral and was told I had "moderate" risk by a worker at a local STD clinic, but she could not advise on delayed sero conversion or co infection. 

I did some reading about dendritic cells since and with ongoing symptoms I am still concerned and will retest, but appreciate the response.

Receiving oral sex, or getting a blowjob, is NOT a ricky act. In the thirty years of the pandemic, not a single case of transmission has even been implicated through receiving a blowjob. Whomever told you otherwise is sadly and deeply mistaken.

Saliva not only does NOT contain infectious fluids, but it contains over a DOZEN different elements that neutralize HIV and make it impossible to infect.

In the last twenty years, there have been no fewer than three distinct long term studies done of serodiscordant couples (where one is positive and the other is negative) who, while agreeing to use a condom for penetrative anal and vaginal sex, declined to use ANY protection for ANY type of oral sex.

In the three studies, that ranged from three to ten years in length, not a SINGLE person seroconverted due to oral sex. Not one.

Yes, they had WIDELY differing viral loads. Some were on meds, some not. Reasonable variables were all accounted for.

You will not make history as being the first person to have gotten HIV from a blowjob. Not in this reality.

[StealthVirus]

Regarding my initial question about delayed ab conversion I still have concerns and ran across the following informative post on thebody.com:

http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/Hepatitis/Q225334.html

Dr. Lynn Taylor indicated if someone had new hepatitis C infection and HIV that they would probably test Hep C + within 12 weeks, but it could delay there ab serum conversion time for many months even a year in a small % of ppl. 

Dr. Taylor said "For people with HIV infection who may have a new hepatitis C infection, if the hepatitis C antibody is negative, the best next test is the HCV RNA. This means checking in the blood for the hepatitis C virus itself. This should be checked at least 2 times, over time, a period of weeks, because the level can fluctuate, go very high and to non-detectable levels, with a new hepatitis C infection.    Remember your doctor knows best. If your HCV RNA remains negative, talk with your doctor about checking you for other explanations for your symptoms."

It was interesting this Dr. recommended repeating RNA tests for HEP C due to level fluctuations in the blood, do you think this would also apply to HIV RNA tests during
recent or acute infection?   Is that why RNA is not used for HIV diagnostic perhaps. 

I was worried after reading CDC website regarding oral sex & if I was not feeling ill then I would not be as concerned, but thanks for the reassurance.  I should accept I had no risk for HIV, but I became ill after my encounter and have not completely recovered.  Some symptoms are continuing and others have popped up.  I don't know what it is but I know it is not my imagination. 
 
I am now focusing on HEPatitis  and HPV amd HTLV.  I read on CDC that HEP and HPV viruses are much easier to transmit than HIV, but I find it very frustrating that there are not any blood tests for HPV and also what I read about Hep C ab not showing up for 6 months or more.   Also worried about myco plasma or urea plasmas, but it seems like they are not even tested for here in the states unless you have myco. pneumonia. 

Docs do not want to order certain diagnostic tests unless I tell them I just came back from a jungle!   I think partly due to the insurance companies micro managing MDs as they do not like paying out for tests.  People who need more repeat testing or special testing done suffer when the original tests are not turning up much.

My dr. just wants me to keep taking pills, so I went online and compared websites where you can order your own tests.  It is expensive compared to pay out of pocket, but for me the peace of mind will be worth it.  I hope they all come back negative but I will go into my primaries if I have to repeat or any turn up anything.   I found tests to address my concerns, and based on the overall hassle and embarrassment of asking for repeated STD tests in person for me this alternative works, especially when all of my Dr. seem to be limited by the ins. co. somehow.

As far as everything else I am still trying to make sense of it all.  One doc tells me there is no bacteria, then gives me a abx.  Another doc  tells me my rash is not fungal, then gives me anti fungal cream.  3rd doc says they don't know what I have but that it is probably not contagious to any of my sex partners, yet orders no tests.  I live in an area with high Syphillis infections, and no docs I saw would test me for it, leaving me to fend for my own tests out of pocket and/or walking into a clinic.  Another doc tells me my rash was "normal" but how do they know this if they do not know what I normally looked like before the infernal rash appeared? 

I am glad that getting a blowjob is not a risky act for getting HIV but it seems to be a risky one for getting other things, some which are non specific and quite overwhelming to deal with, especially if you dont improve and all of the docs you see just want to give you more Rx without trying to figure out what it is.

[Ann]

Stealth,

Getting a blowjob isn't a risk for hepatitis C either. It's rare in the extreme for hep C to be transmitted during any sort of sex, aside from fisting. Certainly NOT blowjobs - either way.

The only people who might experience a somewhat delayed seroconversion are those people on chemotherapy for cancer, on antirejection drugs following organ transplant, or those who have been injecting street drugs, every day, for years. In fact it's that last group ("recreational" drug injectors) where the only cases of hcv delaying hiv seroconversion have been seen. Even these three groups will normally seroconvert and test positive by three months.

It sounds to me like you got a coincidental bug (ordinary bug) around the same time you got a blowjob that you think was "dirty" or whatever, just because it was from a sex worker. Feelings of guilt and shame can do a number on your body. Just sayin'.

Whatever is going on with you has nothing to do with a virus for which you have not been at risk. You do not have hiv.

Ann