POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: Remix on March 30, 2011, 01:37:31 pm
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Hey everyone!
Like everyone else in this forum, I too am worried of having been exposed to HIV. However, my story is somewhat different.
To make a long story short, I picked up a hooker this past Friday night (I don't know why, but I did). I told her I only wanted oral sex so she handed me the condom and I put it on carefully. After about 8 minutes she stood up and said she wanted to have anal sex, but I didn't feel like it so she sat back down in the seat. She then grabbed a pen that was laying around and I don't quite remember what she did with it.
So, after she grabbed it she continued giving me oral sex with the condom on. Then as I was about to climax I asked if I could squirt on her and she agreed so I did, but as I was shifting through the car seat I accidentally stabbed my foot with the same pen.
There was about a 1-2 minute gap between the time she played with the pen and the time it accidentally punctured my skin. Can I be at risk of contracted HIV? I have read through other threads in which Ann states there is no risk with oral sex because saliva has proteins and enzymes that break HIV and also that HIV can't survive outside it's host. What I don't know is how fast the virus dies in the open? Am I at risk? Should I go get tested?
Thanks ahead, any input will be greatly appreciated.
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I guess I should rephrase my question. If she were to have stabbed herself with the pen (i dont remember if she did or didnt im just speculating) and then I accidentally punctured my skin with it 1-2 minutes later. What can be the likelihood of me having contracted HIV considering she is +??
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Zero.. HIV is not transmitted in that manner. Had it been you two were shooting up drugs and sharing works then you would have had a concern .
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Thanks for the quick response.
I know this isn't an STD forum, but would you know if that also applys to Hep C?
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So If my risk is zero then I should have no reason to test myself for HIV other than for peace of mind correct?
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Correct. There was absolutely no risk for HIV transmission in this incident. If you choose to get tested for your peace of mnid you can certainly expect an negative test result. Testing is not necessary but that's up to you.
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Andy (or anyone else moderating the boards), how common is it for people who are in the desperate/worried phase to actually feel the initial symptoms of HIV without having a concrete test result?
My head is beggining to play games with me and I will seek some counseling soon. I just wanted to get an understanding from someone like you guys who oftenly handle cases like mine and the rest of the board.
I hope I don't get flamed for this (I'm not directly posting what I'm feeling) I just want to know.
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Andy, I will definitely get tested. However, I try not to worry and let my thoughts take control, but it is absolutely impossible. I also understand that life continues no matter what, but in the mean time for all of us who are anxiously awaitting the 3 month grace period it is certainly painful to carry on with each days activities without having to be thinking about the possible exposure at hand.
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Doubts, feelings and the presence or the absence of symptoms will never tell you anything accurately about your HIV status. Only an HIV test can give you a reliable answer if you have had a real risk, which I hasten to say you have not.
If you decide to get tested then you need to make a real effort during the waiting period to focus on other matters in your life. Don't bother saying you're too worried to do that because I can tell you that response is not going to fly in here.
So get tested if you must and collect the inevtiable negative result.
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Thanks Andy.
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You're welcome.
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Hey guys I wanted to know if I could be in danger of having Hep C ?
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Hey guys I wanted to know if I could be in danger of having Hep C ?
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Our focus here is strictly on HIV, but I will say that no, I don't see any cause for concern about Hep C in the incident you are reporting.
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Is your last post in regards to HIV or hep C?
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Yes, sorry. I corrected that posting.
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Hey guys I had another question. If I want to test for STDs should I wait for the 13 week period so I can test for HIV as well? Or can I go anytime sooner, if so what time frame would you guys consider? Also if I'm testing for Hep C can I do it at 13 weeks with the HIV test?
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Yes, you can do the whole panel at the same time. 13 weeks is a good time.
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Hey Andy I had one final question that's been troubling me. Earlier in a post you mentioned I was at 0 risk for HIV and that I had no real concern for Hep C is this considering there might have been blood on the pen? I have read that Hep C is passed on through needles but would I be able to get it if the pen had blood?
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Remix,
There is NO WAY you were at risk for hiv, hep C, or any other STD from that pen. The only thing you might get from the pen is an ordinary bacterial infection that you could get in any wound.
Give it up. You have not been at risk for anything sexually from the pen.
You were not at risk for hiv or hep C from the blowjob either.
If you read the Welcome Thread (http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=220.0) before posting like you're supposed to, you will have read the following posting guideline:
Anyone who continues to post excessively, questioning a conclusive negative result or no-risk situation, will be subject to a four week Time Out (a temporary ban from the Forums). If you continue to post excessively after one Time Out, you may be given a second Time Out which will last eight weeks. There is no third Time Out - it is a permanent ban. The purpose of a Time Out is to encourage you to seek the face-to-face help we cannot provide on this forum.
Please consider yourself warned!
Ann
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I have considered myself warned. Sorry Ann.
I was speaking to a friend and was telling him my situation then I found out he had been shooting heroin into his arm and I warned him about the risk of HIV transmission. If he has only shared needles once (according to him) what is his risk percentage wise? (this is of coarse the person that used it before was HIV +) also, do people get infected the first time around or do risks increase?
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I have considered myself warned. Sorry Ann.
I was speaking to a friend and was telling him my situation then I found out he had been shooting heroin into his arm and I warned him about the risk of HIV transmission. If he has only shared needles once (according to him) what is his risk percentage wise? (this is of coarse the person that used it before was HIV +) also, do people get infected the first time around or do risks increase?
Sharing needles is a high risk activity. We do not get into quantifying in terms of percentages. High risk means just that.
And yes, both via sharing needles or through unprotected intercourse, infection can occur the first time. Obviously when someone persists in high risk behavior the likelihood of transmission occuring increases.
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Remix,
Every single time you have unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse or share drug injecting equipment, you are putting yourself at risk for hiv infection. Sharing drug injecting equipment also puts you at a very high risk for hep C infection. There is no way of putting a percentage on these things.
A person may become infected from one single exposure, or they may dodge the bullet for many times. I was with a hiv negative man for a year and a half before I was diagnosed with hiv. We never used condoms, but he remained hiv negative. However, after my diagnosis we started using condoms. Just because he dodged the bullet for eighteen months did not mean he would continue to be lucky. We split up after eight years (nothing to do with hiv) and he remained hiv negative during that entire time. If we hadn't started using condoms, that may not have been the case.
Your friend needs to be tested for both hiv and hep C because of that one time needle sharing. As long as it happened three months or more ago, his results will be conclusive.
And you need to understand that sharing drug injecting equipment is VERY different to being scratched by something someone else has been scratched by. When needles are shared, infected blood is being directly injected into the blood stream. This is not true of being scratched or poked by an object such as a pen. You were not at risk, but your friend was.
Please urge your friend to get tested for both hiv and hep C. If he tells you he doesn't have any symptoms and doesn't think he needs to test, tell him that especially in the case of hep C, many people never have ANY symptoms until they suddenly become very ill - sometimes years and years down the line. GET HIM TO TEST!
Ann
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I sure will Ann - I had another question is the window 3 months also?
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Ann, I appreciate the time you take to answer questions so delicately as well as sharing your personal information.
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So far since last week I've tried to maintain my composure. You've guys reassured me several times that I have 0 risk for HIV, however, this morning when I woke up my left armpit felt pain. So I touched it and I think my lymphnode is swollen. I'm just self diagnosing at this moment which isn't good at all because I'm jumping to conclusions and the precense of or lack of precense of symptoms will not yield what you guys consider an ultimate negative conclusive test result. Also, i know HIV isnt the only thing that causes swollen lymphnodes, but the thing is that i have never had them.'So I'll be headed to the doctor later on today. For the mean time, however, will lymphnodes swell if I keep pressing on them? And, if they do swell do all of them swell? Or only one?
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Please disregard my message. I forgot you guys don't discuss symptoms and I don't want to lose my privileges.
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Good idea to see your doctor.
As you have been told repeatedly, this is not an HIV situation. Period.
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I sure will Ann - I had another question is the window 3 months also?
Yes.
As far as your lymph nodes go, feeling them, pressing on them, or otherwise poking and prodding at them certainly will make them swell and become sore. Leave them alone.
Ann
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Turns out that by the time I arrived at the doctors office it was no longer swollen which is good in a sense it might have been from all the pressing I was doing.
I was also given a HIV test because I hadn't had one in over a year and the Oraquick result tested negative as it should have which helped relieve my tensions because I was at the point that I was fabricating potential ways by which I could have been infected. One other thing that helped relieve me and calm down was that the nurse that helped me out said I could walk in and get tested whenever I felt tense just so I could put my mind at ease.
Lastly, I booked an appointment with a therapist to help me get through this because I really need to calm down and completely realize I was at no particular risk and to help me control these ideas.
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That negative result is no surprise here. But it is always good to get a negative result.
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Hey guys I had another question. Earlier this morning I was in the crapper and I was looking at my legs then I noticed a big reddish lump on my thigh. I then popped it and a puss like substance came out. I immediately freaked out because all along I thought that the hooker had stabbed me with something or at least that was my suspicion after you guys ruled out the fact of transmission through the pen. so I immediately left my house and went to the hookers house to talk to her. After several times that I asked her she finally admitted that she had in fact used a small needle to puncture my skin. Now I'm completely lost and breaking down. All along my intuition was right i don't know what to do. Am I infected ??
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Go see a doctor about your physical problems.
This is still not an HIV situation even if she used a small needle to stick you. That is not the same as an intravenous needle.
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Andy, Whats the difference between a needle and intravenous needle?
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You mean to say that even if the needle had her blood in it and it punctured my skin I'm still not at risk?
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Andy is talking about the difference between the small needles used to prick your finger for a blood test and the hollow-bore needles used to draw blood from a vein.
MtD
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Oh well I was referring to the hollow needles because that's what she used am I at risk? I'm really worried I feel like crying.
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Is there a chance I can pull negative through this? I will press charges on her but this situation really has me on my toes.
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Is there a chance I can pull negative through this? I will press charges on her but this situation really has me on my toes.
Do whatever you want. You're beyond our help.
You have been told endlessly that this is not an HIV situation so of course you will test negative.
In any event you're long overdue for a time out. I'll be referring your latest comments to the Moderators for review.
MtD
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Fella, this is all totally unnecessary drama. Get yourself tested and collect the inevitable negative result.
If you continue to come here with more what ifs and stories, you are quickly going to find yourself getting a Time Out.
This is your last warning.
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Andy, I apologize I don't mean to be a burden to you or any of the other moderators.
All I ask is for a direct answer to the question that I posted earlier. Andy might have answered it by saying I can get tested and receive my undeniable negative result but I'm not sure if that was the direct response. I just wanted to know even if she stabbed me with a hollow needle that had her blood in the leg I should still receive a negative result correct?
I plead that you provide me with an answer. I can assure you that after this you WILL NOT hear any more what if stories.
Thank you guys - and once again I apologize for being a burden to you guys "/ I'm just worried and confused and you guys provide us with lots of relief even though most of us abuse the forum rules.
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Andy, I apologize I don't mean to be a burden to you or any of the other moderators.
All I ask is for a direct answer to the question that I posted earlier. Andy might have answered it by saying I can get tested and receive my undeniable negative result but I'm not sure if that was the direct response. I just wanted to know even if she stabbed me with a hollow needle that had her blood in the leg I should still receive a negative result correct?
I plead that you provide me with an answer. I can assure you that after this you WILL NOT hear any more what if stories.
Thank you guys - and once again I apologize for being a burden to you guys "/ I'm just worried and confused and you guys provide us with lots of relief even though most of us abuse the forum rules.
Do not attempt to dictate terms to us.
We decide how questions should be answered, not you. We have considered your claims and rendered our advice.
Deal with it or be banned. It's that simple.
MtD
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MtD, I did not try to dictate to you or any of the other moderators. I was just trying to link Andys response to my question about the hollow needle. Sorry.
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Remix,
This is moderator number 3 chiming in. Matt, Andy and Ann were kind of enough to take your question seriously and they answered you definitively. You had no risk. You're question has been answered. Move on. If you continue to post you'll be banned.
David
Moderator
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David, Ann, Matty, and Andy
I'd like to apologize to all of you. I will not post until June 26, 2011 when I test myself at the end of the window period and post my results. I trust all of you when you guys say I had no risk. For the mean time I will continue to meet with my therapist and figure out alternative methods to deal with my severe HIV fear that I have been obsessing over because I'm headed down a troubling path with it. I'm even considering taking meds but that hasn't been decided yet.
Once again sorry guys and gals.
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Remix,
You went to this woman's house and repeatedly badgered her until she gave you the answer you wanted to hear. I very much doubt she stabbed you with anything - she probably just wanted you to get out of her face. And she was probably quite pleased to freak you out in retaliation for your harassment.
What you have on your leg is probably an abscess or boil. Those are bacterial infections, not viral. Anyone can get one of those at any time. Go get it seen to by a doctor.
You've been told repeatedly you did NOT have a risk for hiv infection.
I'm giving you that time out you've been repeatedly warned about. Do not attempt to create a new account to get around your time out because if you do, you will be permanently banned.
Ann