Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
April 02, 2024, 06:02:14 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
  • Total Members: 37617
  • Latest: NChio
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772997
  • Total Topics: 66312
  • Online Today: 225
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 1
Guests: 162
Total: 163

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Welcome to Do I Have HIV?

Welcome to the "Do I Have HIV?" POZ forum.

This special section of the POZ forum is for individuals who have concerns about whether or not they are HIV positive. Individuals are permitted to post up to three questions or responses in this forum.

Ongoing participation in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum (posting more than three questions or responses) requires a paid subscription, with secure payments made via PayPal.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There is no charge to read threads in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the other POZ forums. In addition, the POZ Basics "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "HIV Testing" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Do I Have HIV?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Do I Have HIV?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author Topic: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy  (Read 3163 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline timmers

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 3
Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« on: February 28, 2013, 07:15:10 am »
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.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2013, 07:51:19 am »
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
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline timmers

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 3
Re: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2013, 07:58:43 am »
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.

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2013, 08:19:13 am »
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
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Offline timmers

  • Standard
  • Member
  • Posts: 3
Re: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2013, 08:48:55 am »
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?

Offline Ann

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 28,134
  • It just is, OK?
    • Num is sum qui mentiar tibi?
Re: Unprotected anal sex with very recently infected guy
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2013, 09:12:46 am »
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
Condoms are a girl's best friend

Condom and Lube Info  

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.