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Author Topic: Have I contracted HIV?  (Read 3985 times)

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Offline Henk1222

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  • Posts: 3
Have I contracted HIV?
« on: March 20, 2013, 09:13:26 am »
Hello everyone,

Sorry for the long write-up.

Here is my ENCOUNTER: I am male, met a female escort of Russian origin on March 9, I fingered her briefly, like 30 seconds. She then performed UNPROTECTED oral on me for about five minutes till I achieved erection. I had no cuts on my penis. I also did not notice if she had a cut in her mouth. Of course she spat on my penis and the saliva did not appear to contain blood. I then wore a condom and had protected vaginal sex with her for about 2 minutes. While having protected vaginal sex with her, I also passed my tongue over her nipples briefly, like 30 seconds. I pulled out because I was losing erection. She then masturbated me till I came inside the condom. (Apparently, there was NO CONDOM FAILURE). She then removed the condom. She subsequently gave me a hand job so I could get erection again, but I could not get an erection, bringing the encounter to an end. HERE IS WHAT I DON’T UNDERSTAND: when I was about to put on the condom to have vaginal sex, she took the condom from me, put it in her mouth briefly, removed it from her mouth and then fix it on my penis with her hand. I don’t know the rationale behind this. DOES ANYONE KNOW THE REASON BEHIND THIS? Was she trying to infect me? I am sorry to ask this but I cannot trace the source of all the symptoms I am having now.
 
SICKNESS: The following day, I noticed a mild sore throat, and fever. I also experienced nausea (I felt like vomitting, but never vomitted yet). I also in the first two days following the act I felt some slight burning sensation at the tip of my penis. Four days after the encounter, in the night, I woke up to find that I had slight night sweat, restricted to my back. I slept with my face upwards. For 3 or 4 days after the act, I also had some sticky mucous on my tongue (and also on my lips) which went away after brushing. I went to contact my GP on the third day after the encounter and he ordered some tests. Although he indicated that conclusive tests for HIV could normally only be taken at the 3-month mark following exposure, he said we could still do an HIV alongside other STDS. All these tests came back negative.
 
But I now have one pimple on my neck, looks like MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM. I have had some rash also at my back, which tend to itch at times. In between my toes are sticky, as if they are going to develop into athlete’s foot. The heels of my foot have turned a bit white and cracky. When I wake up each morning, I look at my tongue and it appears white. The white goes after brushing. I have had a jabbing periodic pain on the left side of my neck close to the ear for two days, and it’s gone now. I don’t know if it was about my lymph node. The lymph nodes are not swollen anyway. I have also had a muscle ache briefly. Then also some tingling sensation on my legs for some time, especially when I am anxious. In fact, the encounter was my first in 1.5 years. I am in a monogamous relationship for about 6 years, and have never gone outside of the relationship to have sex. I will return in one week (i.e. 3 weeks after the encounter) to do a retest for the STDs, and will also do a retest after 6 weeks and 3 months after the act for the HIV. I am now freaking out because I thought I have come face to face with death. When I look back, I regret so much the act with the escort- it was a moment of temporary madness. It should never happen again. It was my first time. Should my HIV test return positive, that will be the end of my world.... The results of my first tests (3 days post exposure) do not mean much but at least they show I have been clean prior to the encounter. I have been so stupid! This singular encounter has disorganized my life. I cannot do anything right now except to be surfing the internet for one HIV symptom or the other. The anxiety is also killing me. Anxiety-filled waiting period of 3 months! If the test comes back negative, I will have a renewed life, a fresh start! How will I communicate an HIV positive status to my longtime girlfriend and family? And how can I defend my poor judgment?
I contacted the escort and was informed that the last time she tested was feb 14, and was negative. But she could be carrying a new infection (after the feb 14 test) without knowing, or it could even be that she was in the window period when she took the feb 14 test.

QUESTIONS: What are the odds of contracting HIV? I am deeply depressed. Do you think my symptoms could be due to something else, maybe ANXIETY and not necessarily primary HIV infection? Just a flu? I need urgent answers. The symptoms are even making me freak the more. Do I have HIV? What a world! Please give me some answers….I would be glad for your views

Offline RapidRod

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  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2013, 09:19:47 am »
You never had an exposure.

Offline Jeff G

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  • Posts: 17,064
  • How am I doing Beren ?
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2013, 10:29:52 am »
Rod is correct , you never had a risk for HIV . The symptoms you mention are not HIV specific symptoms . HIV is diagnosed by testing not by discussing symptoms , how ever that's not even pertinent because you DO NOT need to test because you didn't have a risk .
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 Henk1222

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  • Posts: 3
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2013, 12:20:51 pm »
Thanks for your reply, Jeff and Rod. They are very reassurring. I am grateful.
But just for purposes of education:
1. Why would someone put condom inside his/her mouth before putting it on himself or the partner? Is it a common practice? Any special reason?

2. While I want to believe I have not contracted HIV, I am wondering what the symptoms I am experiencing are for. Mere coincidence? Are they related to some other STD?

I am ashamed of myself for exercising a poor judgment leading to all these anxiety and stress I am going through. I wish three month will be tomorrow so that I can get tested finally. It's not easy.

Offline RapidRod

  • Member
  • Posts: 15,288
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2013, 12:23:18 pm »
Is it a common practice, yes it's nothing new. If you are concerned about your symptoms see your doctor they are unrelated to HIV.

Offline Henk1222

  • Member
  • Posts: 3
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2013, 09:16:31 am »
Thanks everyone.

I chanced upon this info on the net about oral sex and HIV transmission, that both giving and receiving oral sex have been implicated in the transmission. What are your views about this? See the link below:  http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/menshealth/facts/infectionoralsex.htm

I pray that I have not been infected after a singular encounter, and the first of such encounters I have had. It would shatter my world!

Thanks for all your support.

Offline Jeff G

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 17,064
  • How am I doing Beren ?
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #6 on: March 21, 2013, 09:31:41 am »
Hi Henk . We are not responsible for information put out by other websites and we stand behind the advice you were given here by our moderators . 

I have been HIV positive for 30 years and my motivation to be here on this site is to give accurate information so that others can avoid HIV .
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 jkinatl2

  • Member
  • Posts: 6,007
  • Doo. Dah. Dipp-ity.
Re: Have I contracted HIV?
« Reply #7 on: March 21, 2013, 05:38:39 pm »
Let me add that the link you reference provides absolutely zero footnotes, and sounds very much like the people running the site are either using obsolete and disproven science, or making it up as they go along.

Here, we not only cite our sources, we provide links to the scientific data if a person wishes to wade through the stuff.

The qualification we use at AIDSMEDS is based on three distinct and separate studies conducted over the course of two decades with serodiscordant couples. We do not rely on anecdotal evidence insofar as HIV transmission is concerned, especially not now, where the current state of the scientific and epidemiological art is as advanced as it is. With more people living longer and healthier lives, a large enough collection of serodiscordant couples has finally emerged to create blind studies where HIV transmission routes can be studied with scientific quantification.

Here are some of the  scientific findings.


No incident HIV infections among MSM who practice exclusively oral sex.
Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. WePpC2072)??Balls JE, Evans JL, Dilley J, Osmond D, Shiboski S, Shiboski C, Klausner J, McFarland W, Greenspan D, Page-Shafer K?University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Oral transmission of HIV, reality or fiction? An update
J Campo1, MA Perea1, J del Romero2, J Cano1, V Hernando2, A Bascones1
Oral Diseases (2006) 12, 219–228

AIDS:  Volume 16(17)  22 November 2002  pp 2350-2352
Risk of HIV infection attributable to oral sex among men who have sex with men and in the population of men who have sex with men

Page-Shafer, Kimberlya,b; Shiboski, Caroline Hb; Osmond, Dennis Hc; Dilley, Jamesd; McFarland, Willie; Shiboski, Steve Cc; Klausner, Jeffrey De; Balls, Joycea; Greenspan, Deborahb; Greenspan

Page-Shafer K, Veugelers PJ, Moss AR, Strathdee S, Kaldor JM, van Griensven GJ. Sexual risk behavior and risk factors for HIV-1 seroconversion in homosexual men participating in the Tricontinental Seroconverter Study, 1982-1994 [published erratum appears in Am J Epidemiol 1997 15 Dec; 146(12):1076]. Am J Epidemiol 1997, 146:531-542.

Studies which show the fallacy of relying on anecdotal evidence as opposed to carefully controlled study insofar as HIV transmission risk is concerned:

Jenicek M. "Clinical Case Reporting" in Evidence-Based Medicine. Oxford: Butterworth–Heinemann; 1999:117

Saltzman SP, Stoddard AM, McCusker J, Moon MW, Mayer KH. Reliability of self-reported sexual behavior risk factors for HIV infection in homosexual men. Public Health Rep. 1987 102(6):692–697.Nov–Dec;

Catania JA, Gibson DR, Chitwood DD, Coates TJ. Methodological problems in AIDS behavioral research: influences on measurement error and participation bias in studies of sexual behavior. Psychol Bull. 1990 Nov;108(3):339–362.

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

-Kimberly Page-Shafer, PhD, MPH

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