So worried and convinced

[jwhe34]

Hi, I had my first sexual encounter 4 months ago and I'm convinced I have contracted HIV. This is how the story goes, I asked the person that I performed oral on ever since the night that it happend and they said that they get checked regularly but I wasn't convinced and all I could do is think nothing but the worst. I'd wake up in the morning, and carry the stress around with me everyday. No other exposures since, got tested at 9 weeks post exposure and just worried that it would come back positive. One week later at 10 weeks post exposure I began developing the symptoms of ARS (I know that symptoms cannot be relied on but it's what is scaring me) , I'm just worried can they begin at this late, and I haven't been better since. I went and got re-tested last week (16 weeks) and then read on that it could take up to 6 months to get anti-bodies. Can someone help me please?

[Jeff G]

You need not worry about the incident you describe because oral sex isn't a risk . You didn't need to test over this no risk incident but for future reference the testing window period is 6 weeks post exposure and again at 3 months . The 6 months recommendation is years out of date .   

 
There have been no fewer than three separate serodiscordant couples studies (where one person is HIV positive, the other negative.) These couples were tracked for three. five and ten years. The couples used condoms for penetrative vaginal and anal sex, but NO BARRIER at all for oral sex. Any kind of oral sex.

These studies yielded NO infections.

ALTHOUGH YOU DO NOT NEED FURTHER HIV TESTING AT THIS TIME, 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 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!

[jwhe34]

Thanks for your reply. I am still a virgin and not having any other sex because of this fear. I visited my doctor 2 weeks ago and asked him and he said that he "bets his career" that it won't change. I'm just worried about the symptoms, I told him everything but he said it was a upper respiratory tract infection, and the rest being related to the stress and anxiety. My last question.. There hasn't been a confirmed study of someone contracting HIV through oral sex? Even if they had a cut in their mouth and not knowing it? I just think that I am one of those few people that takes longer to seroconvert.

[Jeff G]

There have been no fewer than three separate serodiscordant couples studies (where one person is HIV positive, the other negative.) These couples were tracked for three. five and ten years. The couples used condoms for penetrative vaginal and anal sex, but NO BARRIER at all for oral sex. Any kind of oral sex.

These studies yielded NO infections.

You didn't get HIV from oral sex so you can relax and stop torturing yourself over this no risk incident .

Its theoretically possible to contract HIV if you gave a blow job to a man with a high viral load and you had HUGE wounds or meth mouth . You do not need to worry about HIV in your incident or worry that you are late to seroconvert . Late seroconversion happens in people with some autoimmune disorders and incases where your immune system isn't functioning at its best in some chemotherapy situations . In order for your immune system not to produce antibody's for HIV you would be days away from death and bedridden , and that's not the case is it .

Your doctor and now I have told you that you didn't have a risk so its your choice to accept or continue worrying all for nothing . Choose to put this behind you and forget about it .