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Author Topic: HIV / HCV risk -- very confused with the situation  (Read 2650 times)

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Offline demiurg

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HIV / HCV risk -- very confused with the situation
« on: January 10, 2014, 03:32:42 pm »
Hi to all of you,

I have a question regarding hiv and hcv as I had a possible exposure in September. I am a healthy male in mid 20ies. On 5th of september I had an anal insertive-receptive intercourse with another man of unknown hiv status.

Symptoms:
Approximately month and a half later I developed symptoms of chlamydia.
Few days before that I had 2-3 episodes of intense muscle pain in my legs and I literally had to stop walking/cycling and sit on a bech to rest my muscles.
After taking care of chlamydia with antibiotics I developed involuntary muscle contractions which persist even today. They seem to appear mostly in the evening, legs are affected the most. They are mild, painless, but irritating. I am not sure if it is because of stress and worry about infection, or an underlying medical condition.
Around week 10 -I developed white tongue which persists till today. I am sure it is not thrush as it is not from the sides, it looks more like some kind of oral-lichen. Pic here: http://imgur.com/4Z3H9hA . It doesn't even go away with brushing, it just becomes less white for a while.
I had one episode of night sweats. Also mild, I just woke up in the middle of the night and I was a bit wet. I also remember having a nightmare upon waking up.
During NYE I went out with friends and there was alcohol and some amphetamines involved. During the night and morning I experienced prolonged sharp pain in my spleen and liver area. Went to the ER because I was sure my spleen had ruptured. Since they saw I am not dying they let me go. During the same night, 2 watery blisters appeared on both of my middle fingers. Also one slightly different appeared on upper side of my pinky, but it may have appeared difference because of the skin. They have passed since then.
Aso after NYE I seem to have gotten few new moles on my body, which sounds unbelievable but true, even two next to my left eyes. I was sure they weren't here before. They are tiny brown dots. I seem to have quite few of them on my back and torso.
Currently, I feel okay amid this constant fear of infection.

Now to the tests:
On week 8 I went to do a physical examination and doctor told me I had elevated liver enzymes. ALT 200, AST 161. After the test I was also prescribed with antibiotics for Chlamydia (azithromycin & ciprofloxacin) which cured chlamydial infection. Immediately after my physical I went to the care centre and tested negative for HIV and HCV using Orasure swab tests. This was week 8.
On week 9 I came back to my clinic to do numerous tests to find out causes of elevated liver enzymes. Anti-HCV, HBsAg, Anti-HBs, CMV, EBV, VZV, electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, feritin, ceruloplasmin, copper in serum, alfa-1-antitripsin, ANA, ANCA, LKM, AMHA, TSH, T3, T4.They were all normal/non reactive, anti-HBS was positive, but HBsAg negative. EBV VCA Igg and EBNA Igg were positive. Ceruloplasmin was slightly lower at 0.18 g/L (ref: 0.22-0,40).
On week 11 I went to the anonymous care centre and tested negative for HCV ag-ab, HIV ag-ab, HBsAg. This were blood tests.
On 14 week mark I went to the clinic once again and tested negative for HCV ag-ab and HIV ag-ab (to obtain post week-13 results:)
Few days ago on week 18 - I repeated my liver enzymes and they were all within their normal ranges. Only ALP slightly lower then recommended. Doctor said this is nothing serious.


So to the conclusion. I have a history of alcohol and coce/amphetamine use. Not daily, but few times a year while partying. I have never injected any drugs. I believe not to be immunocompromised as I am usually never sick, fever, flu etc. I am just extremely puzzled about my situation. I fear that my tests might not be conclusive, even though all references are pointing out to HIV being conclusive, and HCV, well.... liver seems normal now. I am slightly confused about everything. What I know for sure is to get tested both for HIV and HepC at least twice during the course of next 3 months:). If anybody could shed some light on the situation I'd be extremely thankful. If you would like me to share some of the test results I'd be happy to. Also, if you indicate I should do some specific tests regarding other diseases please tell so.

Thank you very much in advance :)
« Last Edit: January 10, 2014, 03:57:45 pm by demiurg »

Offline Jeff G

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Re: HIV / HCV risk -- very confused with the situation
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2014, 04:05:40 pm »
You are conclusively HIV negative so you really need to go back to the doctor and find out why you are sick, its not HIV .

I used to be a hard core drug user so I am not making judgments but I suffered some of the symptoms you describe as well and once I stopped the drugs and alcohol I felt much better . If its in your power to party in moderation it will be in your best interest to do so, if its beyond your control then I'm sure you know what the answer is so I wont bug you about it .   

I would go to the doctor in the mean time and find out why you are sick .

Anyone who is sexually active should be having a full sexual health care check-up, including but not limited to hiv testing, at least once a year and more often if unprotected intercourse occurs.

If you aren't already having regular, routine check-ups, now is the time to start. As long as you make sure condoms are being used for intercourse, you can fully expect your routine hiv tests to return with negative results.

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 STDs 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!
HIV 101 - Basics
HIV 101
You can read more about Transmission and Risks here:
HIV Transmission and Risks
You can read more about Testing here:
HIV Testing
You can read more about Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) here:
HIV TasP
You can read more about HIV prevention here:
HIV prevention
You can read more about PEP and PrEP here
PEP and PrEP

Offline demiurg

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Re: HIV / HCV risk -- very confused with the situation
« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2014, 04:43:49 pm »
Dear Jeff,

Thanks for your prompt reply and supporting the fact that I am conclusively HIV negative. I wasn't even sure why I let myself engage in this kind of activity without protection, since I am usually very careful and always use condoms. It was unfortunate enough for me to have contracted chlamydia from this one encounter. I will definitely start doing routine HIV checks!

The problem is, that I don't really feel sick. It's only random strange symptoms that come and go. For example if I'm having a fulfilled day with friends and family I don't get muscle contractions, which indicates they might be anxiety or stress related. Because unfortunately most of the time I'm alone most of the time I just browse the web and research STDs. Blood tests are all normal now. I did the ultrasound, blood pressure, the heart thing test is normal. I had an urology exam, all normal. I just have no more tests to run, just to wait for 6 months mark to rule out HepC, even though majority of people test positive within 6-7 weeks.

Spleen and general rib-cage pain + blisters on my hands really freaked me out so I don't believe I will be taking any drugs or alcohol anytime soon. Even though I have experience with party drugs, I'd never categorise myself as a hard-core drug user. I mostly did it e.g. 1 night every quarter. The problem is that, as unrelated all the symptoms might be, they seem too coincidental not to be caused by my unfortunate sexual encounter. I've drank before, but never had these kind of consequences. What kind of particular symptoms did you suffer from, were they drug related or? I'd be really interested to find out.


Thanks again for support, I will probably save my 3rd answer to follow-up with my results, because I will probably do another hiv test at 4 or 5 months. Just to relieve myself from anxiety even though I am confident in my negative results. It's obviously just a part of human nature, I've seen TONS of posts of random people being "unconfident" with their 3-month results, and well, I partially feel like them, even though the people I trust more are doctors, HIV experts and professionals. But the irrational/emotional side always prevails. :)


Thank you!

Offline Jeff G

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Re: HIV / HCV risk -- very confused with the situation
« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2014, 05:00:58 pm »
You have ruled HIV out . You tested way beyond the 12 weeks required so there is no doubt HIV is not the problem .

Its been almost 14 years since I abused drugs but I do remember that when I came down I felt as if I were dying . Amphetamines are notorious for causing cramps in muscles and even more so the days following a binge . I probably should not have even brought it up . The main point is you do not have HIV .

Use condoms and get your regular checkups . I'm wishing you the best.
HIV 101 - Basics
HIV 101
You can read more about Transmission and Risks here:
HIV Transmission and Risks
You can read more about Testing here:
HIV Testing
You can read more about Treatment-as-Prevention (TasP) here:
HIV TasP
You can read more about HIV prevention here:
HIV prevention
You can read more about PEP and PrEP here
PEP and PrEP

 


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