Condom broke with a sex worker - going mad

[GeorgeCH]

Hi there

On Monday evening, I had vaginal sex with a sex worker. About a minute into the intercourse, the condom broke. Prostitution is legal where I live and she assured me she practices safe sex (she wouldn't even perform unprotected oral sex) and that she was clean. In fact, she seemed more preoccupied with whether I came or not (I didn't).

On Wednesday, I went to see a doctor who told me that my odds of having contracted HIV are quite low (his estimate was 1 in 10,000, based on the fact that prostitutes generally practice safe sex and are actually a lower risk group, at least in Western Europe).

Nonetheless, he offered to put me on drugs if that's what I wanted - which he said will further reduce the odds to 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 30,000. I agreed,

On Friday - today - I noticed itchy rash on the top part of my body, which I understand can be an HIV symptom, but can also - from ready - be a side effect of anti-HIV medication.  Based on my research, it seems that HIV symptoms should not appear within 96 hours of exposure?

Please, please, please help - I'm normally a very anxiety-prone person (to the point where I cannot even board a plane without a dose of Xanax). With everything else going on in my life (work, a recent relationship breakup, some major career opportunities), I just don't know how I'm going to handle another 3 months of this!

[Vance2335]

STD questions post in the STD forum

[GeorgeCH]

So, it has now been exactly one week since the possible exposure. I'm taking Trivicay and Truvada every day. Unusual experiences - which I don't want to call symptoms - so far have been as follows:

- Recurring rashes
- Mild nausea (only today)
- Bloodshot eyes with swelling under them (happened for the first time 32 hours after possible exposure, BEFORE I started taking medication - and this is really really freaking me out!).

I got my bloodwork results back from a test taken on Wednesday (that is, around 32 hours after the possible exposure). Abnormalities include:

- Lower than usual leucocyte count (3.2, from a normal range of 4.5 - 11.5)
- Lower than usual lymphocite count (1.49, from a normal range of 1.50 - 4.00)
- Elevated potassium (5.2, from a normal range of 3.5 - 5.1)
- Elevated bilirubine (23, from a normal range of up to 21)

HIV 1-2 AcAg is, of course, negative - but that's useless given how recent the potential exposure has been.

I will seek a doctor in a week and a half to take a kidney and liver test to assess the impact of the medication on my body.

Please, please, tell me that none of the above suggest STI infection. I'm... I'm really terrified... I know my odds are good, but I just can't help myself... I feel like I'm going to die, like I have a death sentence hanging over my head... I just don't know how I'm going to survive the next two months... I feel like collapsing into a heap and crying myself to sleep every night... God, I've never, ever had it this bad... Please, if there's something you can do to reassure me... Please help...

[GeorgeCH]

Thanks a bunch! So, at this point, is it safe to chalk the rash off to it most likely being s combination of Truvada and extreme stress, rather than HIV?

[Vance2335]

28 days after medication is finished

[GeorgeCH]

Thank you for such a prompt reply! Last question - will it make sense to take a DUO test in about 28 days, or would the drugs im taking - Tivicay and Truvada - cause a false positive?

[Vance2335]

HIV symptoms do not appear within 96 hours, it takes 2-4 weeks for them to appear.