Looking to the Future

[anigergutter]

Two nights ago I hit my bottom while on a work road trip and would like some reassurance that all of the "not at risk" behaviours that I have found throughout this board relate to my specific occurrence.. Alcohol was very involved but I remember the specifics. I hooked up with a sex trade worker and we went to my room and undressed. My intent was to receive oral sex only but things moved in a different way. First she performed unprotected oral sex on me for a few minutes and then we moved into vaginal intercourse. I asked her if she had a condom and she did and she put it on me before penetration. We did it in 2 positions "dogie" for 5 or so minutes and then with her on top for a few minutes. She was very wet so the condom stayed on fine. She then got off and went down on me and removed the condom and finished me with unprotected oral sex. She was sucking and licking and using her hand and I assume that some of her very wet vaginal juices were mixed with her saliva. Also I don't know what she did with the condom. I asked and she said she flushed it when she went to the bathroom.
This is the only time I have done anything like this in the 25 years I have been married. I have told my wife and we are working through this but the nagging worry is really getting to me as I am a bit of an obsessive/ compulsive and if I have the potential to become infected we will need to discuss as we work on our future relationship.
I am assuming that I will need to be tested for herpees, gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis and am planning to do them all in Phoenix on a planned trip the first week in September. I am also planning to do the 28day HIV test. I know that I have herpees 1 as I have always struggled with cold sores. Will this timing work and any information to help us sleep at night is appreciated. ie: what risk am I at and what to expect over the next month. Thank You

[Andy Velez]

You can go ahead and test for HIV if you feel you must for peace of mind. However, given what you have described, and specifically that a condom was used for intercourse, you were not at risk for HIV during this recent incident. Condoms provide very effective protection.

You seem intent on testing despite the lack of a risk. An ordinary HIV test will not yield a final reliable result at 28 days. The average time to seroconversion is 22 days. All but the smallest number of those who are going to seroconvert will do so within 4-6 weeks after an exposure to the virus. So 6 weeks would be a sensible testing point if you insist on testing. The CDC recommends testing at 13 weeks after the most recent risky incident. You'll have to decide how much further you want to carry the testing issue.

Other STDs are a different matter and some can be passed along by skin contact. Doing a full panel of STD tests is a good idea.

As far as HIV is concerned I don't see any cause for concern in relation to this incident.

Cheers,
As for others

[anigergutter]

Thank you for repling so fast,it has given me some comfort and I should sleep tonight, maybe even do a bit of work on my deck for the rest of the afternoon instead of fretting. Sure glad I found this board. The test that I was planning is called - Proviral HIV DNA by PCR and the testing agency in Phoenix advertise the 28 days. What do you think about this test?
Thanks

[Andy Velez]

That is a highly sensitive test and 28 days is the recommeded time to take it. You should also know that it was not designed for diagnostic purposes although some use it for that. Because it is so highly sensitive it may result in a false positive, although not a false negative.

A negative at 28 days is the next-best-thing to the gold seal.

When there has been a genuinely risky incident such as intercourse without a condom a negative on this test should always be confirmed by a standard HIV test at 13 weeks.

In your case testing is really more about your peace of mind rather than any real risk. So assuming you receive the negative result at 28 days which I expect, re-testing at 13 weeks is strictly up to you.

Cheers,

[anigergutter]

I was tested (PCR) at Labcorp at 33 days arranged through Advanced Testing Center (internet contact) and was advised by a representative of Advanced over the telephone that the results were negative. First, is this a dependable process that I used and second if it is a dependable process will I need to do any further testing. I would appreciate your advise on this.

Thanks

[RapidRod]

No, PCR testing is not a dependable process. PCR testing is not designed as a diagnostic test.

[Andy Velez]

You seem to have ignored what I said previously. Because you used a condom for intercourse you weren't at risk to begin with for HIV in relation to this incident. They provide very effective protection against HIV.

Because of that it's no surprise that you tested negative on a PCR. However, in general a PCR is not designed for diagnostic purposes. When it is used for the purpose you chose a negative should always be followed up with an ELISA at 13 weeks.

In your case that's strictly up to you because I don't see that you needed to be tested to begin with.

Your move.....