please help

[donnst]

please help I am extremely worried about my hiv status and am in need of some encouragement to get tested.

3 years ago I had an encounter with a man who was of unknown HIV status. During this encounter we engaged in mutual masterbation and he rubbed his penis around my vagina and it "slipped" in briefly.  At the time I refused to have sex with this man as he would not use a condom and I did not want to put myself at risk of any STDs.  He did not ejaculate however there may have been some precum.  The next day my glands swole up slightly and approximately 2 weeks later I had a herpes attack. 

worried I went for a check up and was cleared of all other stds and tested negative for HIV at just over 9 weeks (65 days).  Approximately 4 weeks later around the 13 week mark I was on holidays and developed mouth ulcers and had a prickly heat type rash.  On returning from holidays I had a couple of night sweats.  At the time I was worried however I percieved there to be low risk and therefore did not retest. 

over the last 3 years on and off I have had mild nightsweats however they were never drenching and put them down to stress/just natural overheating. 

Recently I met a new partner with whom I have used condoms as we both agreed that we should be checked over before relying on the pill as a form of contraception.

I am now extremely worried however as 2 weeks ago the condom broke completely and I am unsure how long we had unprotected sex for.  5 days after this encounter my partner had a mild fever and blocked nose.  After 2 days the nose cleared however the fever continued and his glands swole slightly along with a sore throat.  I recently had tonsilitis and a cold so assumed he was fighting this off however 10 days after the unprotected episode he developed a large ulcer on his tonsil.  I am now extremely worried that this is seroconversion.

What was the risk for my exposure?  what are the chances that I could test positive after a negative test at 9 weeks?  would night sweats occur continuously from intial infection?

In relation to my partner, does this sound like seroconversion? would it happen so soon?  could ulceration of the mouth as a result of seroconversion come after the fever or do the symptoms typically come togheter?

I have an appointment for a test in 2 weeks time however I am extremely anxious and dreading the week wait for results.  please help!

d

[Andy Velez]

Donn, you've mixed two separate situations together here but they can both be addressed in the same manner. The bottom line is that you have to get tested. By the CDC's standards, to get an absolutely reliable response you need to be tested at 13 weeks after the most recent unprotected incident.

The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. Within 4-6 weeks all but the very smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will have done so. Given your negative result from that earlier experience I would expect if you had re-tested then you would have collected another negative. As for the recent one, from what you're describing I would again expect you to test negative, but that's only a guess and HIV is never something to guess about. If you decide to test after 9 weeks and get a negative result that would be very encouraing, but I would still urge you to re-test at 13 weeks and remove any doubts about the issue.

I can also say that there is absolutely nothing about either the timing or the substance of your symptoms to suggest HIV. But then you also need to know that neither the presence nor the absence of symptoms is ever the way to know accurately about your HIV status.

Discuss your symptoms with your doctor. They could have many, many non-HIV-related causes.

For future reference you need to keep in mind that everytime you have intercourse your partner must be wearing a latex condom. No exceptions no matter what you think you know about his history or how great he looks or how much you like him. A condom is a must.

Good luck with your test results. I do expect you will come through this ok.

Cheers,     

[donnst]

thank-you for your good advice.  I have an apointment to get tested again in just over a week and am a bit more confident about things now!

just as an aside what percentage of people serconvert after around 9 weeks? sorry to be a pain but these things are very worrying. and what do you percieve my risk to have been from the initial instance?  I know my current partner was HIV- at least before meeting me as he has only had one previous partner who tested negative for HIV during pregnancy.

Many thanks.  You can be assured that I will not pester you wtih these questions again and will hopefully be reporting a good test result in a few weeks time.

D

[Andy Velez]

D, let's not get into the % thing.

When I say all but the very smallest number will seroconvert after more th an 4-6 weeks I mean just that. If you're going to drive yourself nutz about this then go ahead and get tested. Assuming you get a negative result then you should still re-test at 13 weeks.

Get busy with other areas of your life and waiting can pass much more easily than you imagine.

Cheers,