POZ Community Forums
HIV Prevention and Testing => Do I Have HIV? => Topic started by: timmers on February 28, 2013, 07:15:10 am
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I had unprotected anal sex as active/inserting partner with another guy 25 days ago. Neither he nor my penis had any visible cuts, open wounds etc.
About two weeks after I had mildly swollen lymph nodes and a sore throat and diarrhoea for 3-4 days. Didn't think anything about it at that time as I'd worked out a lot at the gym and thought I was just exhausted.
Spoke to said guy last week and he was down with severe 'flu' - he was very worried about HIV and got tested three days ago using a 6-week indicative antibody test which came back faintly positive (day 22 post exposure at that time). This was confirmed by another rapid antibody test.
I am very worried now and got tested with the same 6-week antibody test two days ago. This came back clearly negative (day 23 post exposure). Waiting for the results of my antigen test (4-week specific).
I spoke with the guy I slept with who said the only other unsafe exposure was one day before him and I met. Assuming this is correct, how infectious is someone after 24 hours post-exposure?
How reliable (if at all) is the 6-week antibody test given my mild 'symptoms' (ie, if those symptoms where indicative of seroconversion, would the 6-week test show at least a faint reaction)?
Please help. I am so worried.
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Timmers,
The vast majority of people who have actually been infected will seroconvert and test positive by six weeks, with the average time to seroconversion being only 22 days.
A six week negative is highly unlikely to change, but must be confirmed at the three month point.
The earliest you should test again is at six weeks post-risk. Provided that is also negative, I would not expect that to change when you confirm at the three month point. But you MUST confirm at three months.
While a person is at their most infectious in the weeks following initial infection, I'd worry more if his other risk had happened more than 72 hours earlier. The virus wouldn't have had the chance to replicate to high levels in only 24 hours.
You really need to learn from this and start using condoms every time you have sex. As the insertive partner your risk level is lower, but it is not non-existent.
Here's what you need to know in order to avoid hiv infection:
You need to be using condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, every time, no exceptions until such time as you are in a securely monogamous relationship where you have both tested for ALL sexually transmitted infections together.
To agree to have unprotected intercourse is to consent to the possibility of being infected with an STI. Sex without a condom lasts only a matter of minutes, but hiv is forever.
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. 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!
Ann
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Thanks very much for the quick response, Ann. Really appreciate this - and the information re 24 hours post exposure. I can really need anything that calms my nerves right now... :(
To be clear, the 4-week anti-gen test is not helpful/reliable at all?
Thanks again.
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Timmers,
The p24 antigen is only present before antibodies are formed in the first two to three weeks. Once enough antibodies have been formed to trigger either an inconclusive (like your friend's test) or outright positive result, the p24 antigen disappears.
Put it this way - any negative result is a good result, but for a conclusive negative, you must test out to three months. However, six week negative results rarely change.
Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts to hiv testing. Hang in there - you're going to be ok which ever way your test results go. You'll just have to trust me on that.
Ann
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Thanks Ann. The last bit brought me to tears. Not sure if I can manage to wait. And I have no one to talk to about this.
Based on my case - is there much room for hope?
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Timmers,
There's every reason for hope. Your 23 day test was a clear negative, not an indeterminate like you're friend's result. While your 23 day test is by no means conclusive, it bodes well for your future results.
You're just going to have to get busy with other things in your life in the meantime while you wait to test again at six weeks. Again, providing that result is negative, your three month conclusive result will very likely also be negative.
Please remember that as the insertive partner you were at lower risk. I was with an hiv negative man for eighteen months before I was diagnosed. We never used condoms during that time and he remained hiv negative. Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus and mores so from a bottom to a top.
You have every chance of coming out of this hiv negative - but PLEASE learn from this. Next time you may not be so lucky.
Ann