dear joggen,
thank god i found this website early or i would have gone crazy with anxiety with what i am going through right now.
Just a brief background, basically, i had an episode of unprotected receptive anal sex with a man whose status is hiv negative as of January 2013. I am also an hiv negative man as Of jan 2013. The encounter was very brief but i understand that it is not in the duration of the exposure that matters when contracting hiv.
It happened April 7, and today is the 8th day since it happened. Let me tell you quickly about the encounter, we met 10:54pm, did a few oral and then unprotected anal for about 3-5 mins. When i realized that we didnt have condom i asked him to pull out and he did. There was no exchange of body fluids. He did not cum inside me nor did he have fresh precum at the time he pulled out. By 11:08pm, i was already washing myself with soap and water. After that incident, we met up again, this time nonsexual and he assured me that he was negative.
Since that incident,i havent stopped obsessing about it. After that incident i went to the nearest health center and asked for the post exposure pills to which they refused to give me saying that post exposure pills are only given to high risk exposure and occupational exposure like those in the hospitals. I told them that i was wiling to pay for it but they still refused. They gave me an initial assessment saying that what i had was a low risk encounter and in layman's terms, its just like having a penis up my ***. But i didnt believe them because i felt that they were just telling me these things because they didnt want me to have the pills. I am thinking of filing a complaint to them to our department of health.
Since I couldnt get the post exposure pills,i decided to start my search online and it is never ending until now. Because of this growing anxiety and ocd in me, i decided to make a log of allthe things that happened after.
Day 1- I wasnt able to sleep the night after it happened so I decided to rush to a health center and got myself tested. Iam due for a retest anyway after my Jan 2013 test. After 2 hours, i got the results, its negative. I told the counselor about the recent encounter and he told me that i should wait for 2 weeks before getting tested again. But 2 weeks is too soon for an antibody test so he referred me to another counselor who is more knowledgeable in other tests.
Day 2- i decided to quit my job because i am not able to function properly. I was just obsessing about what happened the entire day, wasting my time on the internet, looking for hope. So i quit my job.
Day 3- i was feeling fine but my 72 hours for the post exposure pills is up so i was freaking out again.
Day 4- i started to have an allergic rhinitis attack but it would go away on its own. I read about the symptoms of hiv and it wasnt listed there.
Day 5-6- I managed to survive the day without letting myself drown in fear and anxiety.
Day 7- this is the day that all my fears and worries started to resurface again. I got sick with a low grade fever and started having muscle ache all over my body, a pain in my back, stiff neck. No sore throat, no rash, no swollen glands, no diarrhea, no nausea. I consulted with a doctor friend and told me that its okay to drink flu meds for it so i did. I was just resting the entire day but being more anxious and obssessed than ever. I immediately called the health center nearby and asked if i should be alarmed with the symptoms that i am experiencing and they said no. That i should take the meds and just observe my body in the next coming days.
Day 8- which is today,no more fever, i woke up feeling better and less tired and exhausted. There is still that slight fatigue i feel but it is limited to my stomach/abdominal area. I stopped drinking the flu meds because i dont want to go over it but i will drink again tonight just to be sure. I am back to my normal routine. And that includes spending the entire day online looking for answers and finding someone to help me give a real assessment of my risk with the given exposure.
As of today, I have plotted a clear cut plan of how i will get tested:
Day 10- I requested for an HIV RNA test from my doctor but she is still deciding on whether or not it is a wise decision as it will just be a waste of money if i decide to get the hiv duo combi test at day 14. Although this limits the window period but its very expensive.
Day 14 or 17- I will get an HiV duo combo test at the health center. They advised this to me because i kept bugging them about it. And because the 3 month window period is too long for my life.
Day 21- I plan to get another test. Maybe an antibody test or elisa test.
Day 28- i will get another hiv duo combo test for the confirmatory test.
Having said all of this, here are my questions (please forgive me for having so many)
1. Based on the exposure i described, can someone give me a personal risk assessment? Please? I really need to be enlightened in this area. It might help me calm my nerves.
Also, if the guy claims to be hiv negative at the time of the exposure, what are the odds of contracting hiv? He is a nurse that and he says that hiv testing is part of their company policy and that he is negative.
2. Do you think that i maybe developing a case of ocd and severe anxiety? Should i seek for medical help as well?
3. With the given rundown of events, would you associate the flu that i had on Day 7, possible ars symptoms. Am i overreacting to all of this? How soon does the ars symptoms appear? Am i imagining symptoms? Could this be of another viral infection? How long do ars symptoms appear? What specific symptoms or changes in my body should i be worried about that is directly related to hiv?
4. Given the course of action that i have planned for myself, can someone suggest a better action testing plan? Is the duo test 14/17tj day accurate? Will there be hope? Should i still pursue the hiv rna pcr test? What other tests are available that limits the window period to the shortest time possible?
I hope someone would be kind enough to answer my questions. I know its a long read but i hope there will be a kind soul who would be willing to share the information to help me go on with life.
PLEASE HELP ME.