A little worried, but should I be?

[ZyloTShelton]

Hey yall,

so my partner has been hiv positive for over a decade and was never on any treatment the whole time.
eventually did start on meds just to be safe, and the doctors were surprised that
in well over a decade, he remained very low viral load (talking  early 7000 range)
took to meds extremely well and became very quickly undetectable.
(despite this it was odd he had pretty low cd4 even though the hiv doctor said wasnt a big deal. i believe cd4 was up and probably normal range in last test)

we did this because we wanted the u=u thing to be able to have sex without worry.
and so we did twice after a call saying his last test was undetectable.

not long after i noticed very mild symptoms that were flu like
and been lasting for months.
whats odd is even before our 2 times unprotected sex (i was bottom without condom)
i had stronger flu like symptoms that lasted some time i never found out what it was.

i want to get an hiv test but bloodwork takes months now on appointment even, and the one hiv testing facility puts me on hold indefinitely whenever i call. (blaming it on covid)

im a little worried as i have no idea why i have this very very mild on and off sore thoat (not noticable much of the time) and these wierd achy flu like symptoms like im fighting something in my system. now i kinda regret having unprotected sex though they say undetectable means you cant transmit it to a partner.

as he was undetectable, and the biggest elite controller his hiv doc ever saw, am i worrying over nothing??
i want to tell my doctor about my symptoms but im worried they will be like
"covid! covid!" and put me thru hell and refuse all medical tests/treatment.
im not in usa btw. ive had a covid test but over a week and no contact from test.

but imagine being newly positive AND coming down with this covid virus at the same time without knowing the first??
id be screwed then, yeah?

so im not sure what to do.

[Jim Allen]

Hiya,

Glad to hear your partner started treatment, VL of 7000 is 7000 too much. With treatment it will allow the immune system to focus on better things and reduce some of the damage done, suppress the virus and help prevent permanent damage.

Regarding your HIV risks, sexually once your partner has been UD for 6+ months with treatment and keeps taking the treatment transmission isn't possible. It's unclear what the situation is from your post or if you had any exposures previously, the only way to know your HIV status is by testing.

COVID19 and HIV, firstly you have tested for COVID and unless you have very low CD4 counts like under 200, it's not a bigger concern than for anyone else as part of the low-risk group.

Here's what you need to know in order to avoid HIV infection:
Use condoms for anal or vaginal intercourse, correctly and consistently, every time, no exceptions. Consider starting PrEP as an additional layer of HIV protection going forward

Keep in mind that some sexual practices which may be described as safe in terms of HIV transmission might still pose a risk for acquiring far easier to transmit STI's, so please do get fully tested regularly and at least yearly for all STI's including but not limited to HIV and test more frequently if unprotected intercourse occurs

Also note that it is possible to have an STI and show no signs or symptoms and the only way of knowing is by testing.

Kind regards

Jim

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