Am I 100% infected?

[jaypates87]

Hello,
 
I have a few questions regarding HIV transmission, as I am currently in my window period and am really quite scared.
 
I am a 24 year old, bi guy from London. 11 days ago I had anal sex with another (random) guy. Most of it was protected but I was really stupid and had insertive sex unprotected for less than a minute (30 - 40 seconds). We used lots of lube and I didnt really notice any blood. Previous to this i was STI free and had no sores or cuts on my penis.
 
The guy said he was HIV negative and that he tested 3 weeks beofre the encounter (could just say it because i wanted to hear it). But I am really worried.
 
I went to try and get some PEP from a GUM clinic the next day but they did not give it to me (because I was the insertive partner, it was relatively brief and I couldnt be sure that the guy was HIV pos/neg). The doc said I shouldnt worry and it is unlikely to catch anything in that scenario.
 
Now I am really scared, I can't really deal with all the stress, especially waiting the window period to test.
 
What is the likelyhood that if the guy was POZ that I would contract it? So far I havent had any symptoms apart from the anxiety - which is killing me.
 
Is it common for people to become HIV+ from an encounter like this?

[Andy Velez]

HIV is a fragile virus. It is significantly more difficult to transmit it to the insertive partner than to the receptive partner. You had a single and brief insertive risk. My expectation is that you will test negative at 3 months, which is when a negative result is conclusive.

But you need to learn from this experience. Lower risk is not the same as no risk. You can have anal intercourse with anyone you want to as long as the insertive partner is always wearing a condom. No exceptions, no excuses. Condoms are a must.

At the end of the days the odds are you will come out of this ok.

Keep us posted.

[jaypates87]

Thank you for your response Andy - it has relieved me a bit

i will go for a test but will try not to worry too much about it

do you know much about duo - p24 tests - they are the norm here in the Uk

would a test at 3 weeks (21 days after incident)  with the duo be of any use?

Jay

[Andy Velez]

Of course any negative result is a happy thing, but the earliest you should test is at 6 weeks.

If as we hope (and expect) you test negative at 6 weeks, then that will strongly point to the likelihood of testing negative again at 3 months. The average time to seroconversion is 22 days and all but the smallest number who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure.

Cheers.