I F*CKED UP

[Trip22]

Hello,

I am a 21 year old male who has been in a relationship for about 4 years, I truly love and care for my girlfriend alot.  I did a horrible thing about 3 weeks ago, I had a sexual encounter with a old friend who I know is known to sleep with multiple partners.  It started off with protection, and we took it out so she could perform oral sex on me.  Like a fucking idiot I went back to penetrating for about 3 minutes without the condom, and pulled out for ejaculation. 

I know this is flu/pneumonia weather, but I have been feeling outrageous body aches, a dry cough and panick attacks.  Now I believe alot of my panick attacks is due to me being scared that I have been affected with the HIV disease.  I have been out of my mind and feeling burning sensations with in the side of my neck, I went and had a HIV test 3 days ago and tested negative.  I got the idea to get the test from the female I had the encounter with when I expressed my fears about the short amount of time we had unprotedted sex.  She told me about the clinic and how she had been previously tested about 3 weeks ago and she tested negative.  So i went to the clinic got tested, and tested negative.  But some of the symptoms of body aches, confusion, dry cough, lack of vision at times got worse, so yesterday I went to the doctor and got diagnosed with walking pneumonia.  Now this scares me even worse, knowing that this is one of the things that can happen to you, within HIV infection.

Should I be worried or is my flu/nerves getting the best of me.

[Ann]

Trip,

Symptoms or even the lack of symptoms means nothing where hiv is concerned. Only the appropriate test at the appropriate time - three months - will reliably inform you of your hiv status.

Walking pneumonia has nothing to do with hiv. Some people may get PCP pneumonia in later stages of hiv infection, but not at the beginning.

You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, including with your girlfriend, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL STIs together. To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with a sexually transmitted infection.

Have a look through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can use condoms with confidence.

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.

Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus and more so from a woman to a man. The odds are in your favour of testing negative but any time you have unprotected intercourse you expose yourself to risk and need to test.

Ann

[Trip22]

I really hope the odds of testing negative are in my favour, but can I ask you.  Did I put myself at high risk level with my activity or no.

[Andy Velez]

Unprotected intercourse is a risk for HIV transmission. So you do need to get tested since you had intercourse, however briefly, without a condom on.

Having said that I will add that HIV is not an easy virus to transmit. It is significantly harder to accomplish from female to male. So from this single incident the odds are in your favor against transmission having occured IF she is even HIV+.

But you do need to learn from this experience. Hopefully you will test negative at 13 weeks. Low risk is not the same as no risk so you need to remember that everytime you have intercourse without a condom you are putting your life at risk. It's as real as that.

Good luck with your test. Odds are you will come out of it ok.

Cheers,