CONDOM BROKE AND MY PEP FAILED

[PEPFailure]

Good evening everyone. First, let me start by appreciating what you do here, using your time and resources to serve humanity pro bono. May God continue to give you all the strength to do more. Thanks.

 During a vaginal sex (which lasted for about 4 minutes) with a CSW in Nigeria on June, 20 2019, I had finished and pulled out only to discover that the condom I used had ruptured. The following day (21 June 2019) I went to a clinic and was given one month course of PEP which I started within 23hrs. During the time I was taking the medication I experienced fatigue on 3 different occasions, cluster headache and intermittent nausea. I finished the medication on 20 July 2019 and since then have experienced the following symptoms: cluster headache that cause me pain in my eyeballs, pain that moves around all my joints, pain in my groin, lower back pain, light painful sensation in my armpit and under my jaw, recurrent nausea. 9 days after the course of PEP I developed a very high fever that will come, go, and come back again putting me in a state of feeling extremely hot and then extremely cold again, night sweats, pain in my calf and behind my knees that extends towards my thighs, peripheral neuropathy that causes tingling and numbness in all my limbs, nasal congestion in one of my nostrils that gets worse at night, light sour throat for few days, pain in my eyes and ears, chest pains, body ache and cramps.

This is my test update. 9 weeks post finishing PEP and 13 weeks post exposure, 3rd generation Alere antibody test-negative, but I am still having joint ache that moves around all my joints starting from my ankle joints to my knees, to my elbow joints and waist, and fingers. The pain would come and go and come back in a few days. Occasional body aches, pain in my eyeballs, nasal congestion in one of my nostrils that gets worse at night, few pimple-like  rashes on my shoulders that would appear and go away in a few days and come back again, occasional chest pains. I think the PEP failed me and I am seroconverting. Please what do you think? I have read stories of people that seroconverted 6 months after taking PEP. Do you think I am one of such persons?

[Jim Allen]

Hiya

I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling unwell, although, nothing you mentioned is HIV specific and a lot of it would be totally unrelated to HIV even if you were positive.

See your GP to treat whatever is making you feel unwell and  stop overthinking it. I hope you feel better soon.

Regarding your HIV risk and testing, you have tested 9 weeks post finishing PEP. It's highly unlikely to change however you can test and confirm your negative status at 3 months post finishing PEP and, this result would be conclusive

Best Jim

[PEPFailure]

Thanks Jim for your very prompt response. I plan to test again in October. I will post the update here. I am not afraid of the outcome. I have long conditioned my mind to accept whatever turns out to be the case. The only thing I am concerned about is that if it is HIV let it show on test so that I can start medication on time.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya

Giving you had only a minor risk & PEP I fully expect your results to remain negative when retesting unless you have had ongoing risks. Try to relax and I'll stress that you should consider seeing a doctor about whatever is making you sick before it gets worse.

Best Jim

[PEPFailure]

Thank you Jim for your kind and reassuring words. Please forgive my numerous questions and concerns. Do you think I still stand any chance of getting away from HIV after all these symptoms?

Two weeks after PEP, I came down with a very high fever together with muscle pain, cluster headache, nose congestion, nausea, pain in my calf that extends to my back thighs, neuropathy, night sweats, sore throat, pain in my groins, mouth sores, no visible lymph nodes but pain in the lymph nodes locations like groins, armpits, and under my jaws.

Few of these symptoms went away within 2 weeks, however, the following have continued: Joint pains (moves around all my joints), muscle ache (comes and goes) cluster headaches (pain in my eyeballs), pain in my limbs, fingers and bones, chest pains (comes and goes), mouth sores, sinus infection (feeling of pressure on my nose), frequent sighting and removal of tonsil stones in my tonsils, loss of muscle mass, nasal congestion or blockage in my right nostril (gets worse at nights).

As a result of my strong suspicion, if not conviction that this is HIV, I decided not to go for any other test. I am waiting for my test to turn positive so that I can start treatment at once. I had even gone to the clinic where I received PEP and demanded to be placed on ART, which they declined.

My test update

Negative 10 weeks post exposure and 14 weeks post finishing PEP, 3rd generation Alere antibody test.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

So you have tested negative at 10 weeks post-finishing PEP, 14 weeks post-exposure. You don't need ART and I agree with the clinic, even if you had tested positive there is more to it than just handing over medication. 

Look by all means test again at 3 months post PEP if a definitive result gives you peace of mind but I doubt the result you have is going to change if you do retest unless you have had ongoing exposures.

I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling unwell, I do hope you feel better soon but it's unrelated to HIV from this event.  See your GP to treat whatever is making you feel unwell before it gets worse.

Best Jim

[Jim Allen]

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[Jim Allen]

You had condomless sex.

To confirm your HIV status, you not her, need to test at six weeks post potential exposure with a blood-draw (lab) HIV antibody test. The result at this time will rarely change, and retesting at three months generally isn't needed. I also recommend you get tested for far easier to acquire STIs.

Instead of running around with rapid tests in your pocket testing people before you fuck them as its pointless due to the window period and a few other reasons or asking them useless questions, you instead should have had condoms with you, been using them correctly and considered taking PrEP to prevent HIV!

I am sorry to hear you are sick, I hope you feel better soon. Next time use condoms and consider PrEP. In the meantime test when due and see your healthcare provider about whatever is making you sick.

Now, it's unclear to me if you have a relationship with this woman, but to be safe I'll mention the same thing I always do when someone says they are in a relationship;

If you engage in condomless sex with your partner, you are obviously at risk of acquiring HIV. In relationships, condomless sex is often based on trust or past test results; however, this does not prevent HIV, so if condomless sex does occur, you should consider testing more frequently.

Here's what you need to know to avoid HIV infection:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse correctly and consistently, every time, with no exceptions. Consider talking to your healthcare provider about PrEP as an additional layer of protection against HIV

Keep in mind that some sexual practices which may be described as safe in terms of acquiring HIV might still pose a risk for other easier acquired STI's. So please do get tested at least yearly for STI's including but not limited to HIV, and more frequently if condomless intercourse occurs.

Also, note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms, and the only way of knowing is by testing.

Kind regards

Jim

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