POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: StupidWorried2013 on July 01, 2013, 10:05:08 am
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Hey everyone
33 white uncircumstised male.
3 days ago I had sex with a bar girl in the Philippines. I was protected until we changed position and I felt the condom break. I removed my penis and the head was exposed. Since then I have been terrified I might have caught HIV.
The girl didn't know her status and the disease is not prevelant ( due to education I suspect).
Since then I have felt pains in my groin, neck and armpits. My ears feel blocked and it hurts when I move my jaw. Never felt this before. I am concerned this could be the first symptoms. My glands don't feel swollen but tender and I don't know if it is in my head due to the stress.
Please help, I am so scared.
Thanks
J
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Hi 2013 , Although its rare for the insertive partner to test positive after a condom break its considered a low risk situation .
I would not expect you to test positive over this incident but its probably a good time for your sexual health checkup . Since you will need to test over this incident you might as well get a STD panel done and get checked out for other sexually transmitted nasty's .
You can test 6 weeks past any possible exposure and again at 3 months to confirm the results . Its no use discussing symptoms because they are not specific to HIV and the only way to know your status is to test . Keep your fingers out of your lymph nodes , poking at them will make them sore and swell .
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. Some of the other STIs can be present with no obvious symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to test.
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, and you will avoid hiv infection. It really is that simple!
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Hi Jeff
Thanks for the reply.
I assume when you state low risk, you are assuming she had the disease?
What are my next steps? I don't think I can wait 6 weeks...
The feelings in my lymph nodes must mean I am fighting something? I use condoms without fail, it just so happened to tear when I was with a sex worker ( again something I never do).
What are the stats on this - my situation? Does anyone know?
Thanks again.
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We always assume the other partner is infected with HIV when we do assessments .
There are no shortcuts to testing and if you want an accurate result you can rely upon you must wait 6 weeks post exposure to test and then again at 3 months .
I haven't seen a person test positive for a condom break but I can not give percentages on the risk . I expect you will test negative over this and you should too . As for symptoms , your symptoms fit many more conditions other than HIV so don't try to guess whats making you feel bad .
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Hi everyone
Just back from the doctor today and got tested for everything under the sun it seems like! Full sti check up.
I appreciate it has only been 3 weeks since my exposure but I needed to do something as it has been eating away at me. Feeling very down and depressed and trying to relate every symptom to hiv. Although I feel like my lymph nodes are sore all over my body, the doctor checked them and said they were not swollen. I assume they would be if it was a symptom?
My results come out in 2 days and while I realize that I will need to get another at 6 weeks then 3 months, will this test tell me anything, or at least give me some reassurance? I got a ag/ab test and read at this stage of exposure it is 75% accurate?
Any comments welcome... Very scary period if my life and would welcome a friendly voice as I have not spoken to anyone about this...
Thanks.
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Stupid,
Any negative result is a good one - but yours only tells you that you were hiv negative six weeks prior to the test being done. As you have been told, there are no short cuts to hiv testing.
The tests for other STIs will be conclusive with the exception of syphilis, which shares a three month window for a conclusive negative result.
I do not expect you to test positive as the insertive partner following a condom break, but you must test at the appropriate time to be certain.
Make sure you read through the condom and lube links in my signature line so you can avoid breakage in future.
Ann