Aa
Out of my mind!
Hi doc,
thanks first of all because this website has been a great comfort to myself and probably countless others.As usual, this may sound similar to other posts but in my mind it is slightly different due to the location circumstances and i am extremely worried and im having difficulty coping at the moment because of this.To the point, i had unprotected vaginal sex with a sex worker in thailand.I was very drunk and didnt wear a condom and had sex for about 1minute early as i came to my senses and left.I have had an hiv test today (nearly 1month after exposure) and really need some advice.Firstly, what are my chances of contracting hiv, i am increasingly worried as she was a prostitute and especially as she was in thailand, asia - a very dodgy location i understand?Did it help me that i only had penetrative sex for about a minute?When i asked my doc, he asked me if id had any symptoms ie.where ive been flat on my back ill / or glandular fever like symptoms.i did actually have this and was tested for glandular fever (negative) but had tonsillitus - does this stack the odds against me further?I also have a slightly inflamed urethra apparently which may be attributed to clamhydia,does this have any effect on hiv for me?Basically doc, im petrified of getting this virus and need my mind put at rest slightly to get me through the week till my results?This may not be possible due to my circumstances.To be honest, i cant think of many other worst case scenarios,i must be quite high up on the probably positive stakes!Basically, am i at massive risk as it was a THAI prostitute (the doc said it was high risk in thailand), did it help i was only goin a minute,how reliable is a near 4weeks test, should i be worried that the doc enquired about those symptoms when i had in fact had them,what are my chances of being negative now but positive after 3months,what are my chances of survival.I know this must sound overdramatic etc but when in this position, its a very real and scary scenario.anyway, i eagerly await youre reply and thankyou in advance for your help.
thanks first of all because this website has been a great comfort to myself and probably countless others.As usual, this may sound similar to other posts but in my mind it is slightly different due to the location circumstances and i am extremely worried and im having difficulty coping at the moment because of this.To the point, i had unprotected vaginal sex with a sex worker in thailand.I was very drunk and didnt wear a condom and had sex for about 1minute early as i came to my senses and left.I have had an hiv test today (nearly 1month after exposure) and really need some advice.Firstly, what are my chances of contracting hiv, i am increasingly worried as she was a prostitute and especially as she was in thailand, asia - a very dodgy location i understand?Did it help me that i only had penetrative sex for about a minute?When i asked my doc, he asked me if id had any symptoms ie.where ive been flat on my back ill / or glandular fever like symptoms.i did actually have this and was tested for glandular fever (negative) but had tonsillitus - does this stack the odds against me further?I also have a slightly inflamed urethra apparently which may be attributed to clamhydia,does this have any effect on hiv for me?Basically doc, im petrified of getting this virus and need my mind put at rest slightly to get me through the week till my results?This may not be possible due to my circumstances.To be honest, i cant think of many other worst case scenarios,i must be quite high up on the probably positive stakes!Basically, am i at massive risk as it was a THAI prostitute (the doc said it was high risk in thailand), did it help i was only goin a minute,how reliable is a near 4weeks test, should i be worried that the doc enquired about those symptoms when i had in fact had them,what are my chances of being negative now but positive after 3months,what are my chances of survival.I know this must sound overdramatic etc but when in this position, its a very real and scary scenario.anyway, i eagerly await youre reply and thankyou in advance for your help.
I am in a very similar situation, awaiting the results of a 6.5 week test after an alcohol fuelled incident (for a few mins tops - i too came to my senses) with a sex worker who has a high risk of having HIV (South African woman in Canary Islands). I was very drunk and although i know that a condom was used, i am not confident that it was used correctly - she put it on me, i wasn't fully erect during the sex, and i have no recollection of removing it afterwards. However i do recall anxiously questioning her HIV status after the act, which makes me think that the condom either broke or slipped off or inside her. She insisted that she does not have HIV. I don't know why i can't remember certain parts of the night, maybe my subconscious mind is punishing me because i know i did a stupid thing, or even protecting my conscious from a traumatic event (realising i wasn't protected). I am petrified of a positive result, as you are.
At the GUM clinic the specialist said that in his experience he has only ever had one patient with a positive result from a one-time hetrosexual vaginal sex act. He also gave a figure of 1/300 chance of this happening if the partner had HIV. The is higher than Dr HHH's estimate but put in to perspective, they are both less than half a percent.
Doctor, i was diagnosed with Chlamydia at the clinic after a swab examination. I was given Doxycycline to take for a week. I would be very grateful if you could answer my following question because it is very unique to my situation and i haven't been able to find an answer anywhere.
Until this exposure i hadn't had sex since i was in a long term relationship in the years 2000-2002. A few months in i had pain while urinating and discharge. I was uneducated about STDs and didn't even think about seeing a doctor. These symptoms seemed to clear but then in mid to late 2001 i went to my doctor complaining of pain and swelling above my one of my testes. I was diagnosed with epidymitis and gave a urine sample and was prescribed an antibiotic. I am not completely sure which type, but after researching antibiotics today, Ciprofloxacin looks very familiar to me. The pain went on for a long time to mid or late 2002, and my doctor sent me for a scan just to make sure nothing serious was there. I was not informed by my doctor that Chlamydia is one of the main causes of epidymitis, nor was i asked about by sexual behaviour or STDs, and i continued to have unprotected sex with my girlfriend throughout this 2 year period. I think i caught Chlamydia from her and was reinfected after antibiotics (if they even cleared it). I understand that men only have symptoms in 50% of cases. I remember having discharge again while i was in pain from the epidymitis.
Is it possible that i could have had Chlamydia for 4 years after the relationship ended, and that is why the test found it now? It sounds far-fetched i know, but i saw the sex worker a few days later and she said that i stopped the sex and removed the condom. Obvioulsy i can't take her word for it, but if it were true then there is no way i could have caught Chlamydia while wearing a condom is there? She may have been lying, but i don't know why she would, apart from fear that i might become violent, but i was very calm (and scared sounding) and she was standing with another female sex worker at the time. I went in to the clinic thinking there was a chance that the protection failed, and even if it did then the odds were still in my favor, but now my head is in a mess. I have had had no pain or discharge since the recent exposure but i did have mild discomfort at the top of my penis when touched for the first few days after (maybe from lubricant etc as you have described in previous threads).
My doctor said that Chlamydia/GNU/GSU do not increase the chance of getting HIV. He said that genital warts, ulcers etc did. Could you elaborate on your view on this for me and the original poster.
I'm sorry about the long post, i have been reading your advise to others for 6 weeks without feeling the need to bring up my situation, but now i feel my questions can only be answered directly. Thanks for this excellent service you provide.
At the GUM clinic the specialist said that in his experience he has only ever had one patient with a positive result from a one-time hetrosexual vaginal sex act. He also gave a figure of 1/300 chance of this happening if the partner had HIV. The is higher than Dr HHH's estimate but put in to perspective, they are both less than half a percent.
Doctor, i was diagnosed with Chlamydia at the clinic after a swab examination. I was given Doxycycline to take for a week. I would be very grateful if you could answer my following question because it is very unique to my situation and i haven't been able to find an answer anywhere.
Until this exposure i hadn't had sex since i was in a long term relationship in the years 2000-2002. A few months in i had pain while urinating and discharge. I was uneducated about STDs and didn't even think about seeing a doctor. These symptoms seemed to clear but then in mid to late 2001 i went to my doctor complaining of pain and swelling above my one of my testes. I was diagnosed with epidymitis and gave a urine sample and was prescribed an antibiotic. I am not completely sure which type, but after researching antibiotics today, Ciprofloxacin looks very familiar to me. The pain went on for a long time to mid or late 2002, and my doctor sent me for a scan just to make sure nothing serious was there. I was not informed by my doctor that Chlamydia is one of the main causes of epidymitis, nor was i asked about by sexual behaviour or STDs, and i continued to have unprotected sex with my girlfriend throughout this 2 year period. I think i caught Chlamydia from her and was reinfected after antibiotics (if they even cleared it). I understand that men only have symptoms in 50% of cases. I remember having discharge again while i was in pain from the epidymitis.
Is it possible that i could have had Chlamydia for 4 years after the relationship ended, and that is why the test found it now? It sounds far-fetched i know, but i saw the sex worker a few days later and she said that i stopped the sex and removed the condom. Obvioulsy i can't take her word for it, but if it were true then there is no way i could have caught Chlamydia while wearing a condom is there? She may have been lying, but i don't know why she would, apart from fear that i might become violent, but i was very calm (and scared sounding) and she was standing with another female sex worker at the time. I went in to the clinic thinking there was a chance that the protection failed, and even if it did then the odds were still in my favor, but now my head is in a mess. I have had had no pain or discharge since the recent exposure but i did have mild discomfort at the top of my penis when touched for the first few days after (maybe from lubricant etc as you have described in previous threads).
My doctor said that Chlamydia/GNU/GSU do not increase the chance of getting HIV. He said that genital warts, ulcers etc did. Could you elaborate on your view on this for me and the original poster.
I'm sorry about the long post, i have been reading your advise to others for 6 weeks without feeling the need to bring up my situation, but now i feel my questions can only be answered directly. Thanks for this excellent service you provide.
Thanks a lot for the advice doc, its calmed me down a little bit to hear your opinions. my healthcre provider actually said it may be clamidia (the inflamed urethra) but those results will come back in a week. When you say that my chances of catching the virus are increased due to the inflammation, do you have any numbers or anything to give me an idea of how much?i.e. does it double my chances, do i have more chance of winning the lottery?Basically im still petrified, sorry to be a nuisance. Also, you didnt mention about the fact that the woman was from thailand, and a prostitute, does this also increase my risk because of being thai?thanks again
jim
jim
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
From an HIV standpoint, your question indeed "sound[s] similar to other posts"; it may be "slightly different", but not enough to change my predictable responses.
To repeat those predicted messages: 1) The risk of catching HIV from any single episode of vaginal sex is low, about 1 chance in 2000 IF your partner was infected, which she probably wasn't. However, your risk probably was somewhat higher (but only somewhat) because of the urethritis (more on that below). 2) Symptoms never are a reliable indicator of new HIV infection in low-risk situations. 3) A negative HIV test 4 weeks after exposure is highly reliable. Not perfect--however, in combination with your symptoms, it is reassuring. If your symptoms were due to HIV, your test would be positive.
The "inflamed urethra" indeed suggests chlamydia, gonorrhea, NGU, or conceivably herpes. You don't describe your symptoms well enough for me to tell which of these might be more likely.
Presumably you have seen a health care provider, whoever did the HIV test. You should have had tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other STDs as well. If you have not been examined, see a provider right away. In the mantime, it sounds like your overall risk of having HIV is very low.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
To repeat those predicted messages: 1) The risk of catching HIV from any single episode of vaginal sex is low, about 1 chance in 2000 IF your partner was infected, which she probably wasn't. However, your risk probably was somewhat higher (but only somewhat) because of the urethritis (more on that below). 2) Symptoms never are a reliable indicator of new HIV infection in low-risk situations. 3) A negative HIV test 4 weeks after exposure is highly reliable. Not perfect--however, in combination with your symptoms, it is reassuring. If your symptoms were due to HIV, your test would be positive.
The "inflamed urethra" indeed suggests chlamydia, gonorrhea, NGU, or conceivably herpes. You don't describe your symptoms well enough for me to tell which of these might be more likely.
Presumably you have seen a health care provider, whoever did the HIV test. You should have had tests for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and other STDs as well. If you have not been examined, see a provider right away. In the mantime, it sounds like your overall risk of having HIV is very low.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
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