ORAL--Please hear me out!!!

[Ghostr1der]

As I explained before my exposure was aprox. 1 minute of unprotected insertive oral with a sex worker. The only visible fluid I noticed was saliva, however, I don't if she possibly had any sores in her mouth or bleeding gums.

Before I did this I had the belief of NO risk from AIDSMEDS.com
However, after about 9 days the different symptoms started and I will list below and you can see they fit into the 2-4 week period exactly.

8-9 days later- urethra discomfort, some muscle aches(groin,legs), and 1 swollen gland in groin(confirmed by Doctor)

Day 21- Sore throat, muscle aches, gland still persist.

Day 30- Occasional blood on toilet paper and bowel changes, pain and irritation (redness) around anus.

Day 45- Tingling in feet and hands on and off- usually when sitting for a while or laying down, lost @15lbs so far.

Day 59- Negative EIA (Not sure which generation)

Present time-- Groin gland, urethra tip discomfort, and frequent HSV2 outbreaks along with something else that looks similar but has like a dimple in the middle on penis (usually last @ 1 week)

At the time of possible exposure I had a healing herpes outbreak (not open- had small scab- barely seen) Maybe this makes a difference.
Please give any opinions you may have.

[Ghostr1der]

And that 6 week suggestion goes with a 4th gen test, which i tried to find out but i seriously doubt it was, i think it was a standard elisa.

[monkeyflower]

Jesus. Next you'll be saying you got a hangnail, and YOU DON'T KNOW WHY.

[mike_no]

No, the problem that you're talking about has nothing to do with HIV and yes, indeed there's a confusion with the testing time here however it's amongst the people here not the doc, he simply believes in 6 week result

[Ghostr1der]

I know you guys say no risk or too low to worry about but another problem I didnt mention before, I would like comment on if possible.

Since aprox. 20 days after my exposure I started with anal problems including pain/discomfort around anus, itching, and light blood on tissue paper.

It did get better somewhat but comes back off and on, and for the past couple of weeks it has just felt like I have been sweating in that area but I now realize that it has actually been a discharge that has been making me feel that way and upon looking at my briefs you can see there was obvious discharge.

I searched a few places and found out that these symptoms are usually caused by an std and hiv was one of them,

I saw a gastro doc and quick evaluation was anal fissure from unknown cause.

Two question: Is this in any way related to hiv as far as anyone knows and if so how common?

Would this show that fast (20 days) after incident?

Thanks again-- And I see we have more than myself here doubting the 8 week safety and reliability of an Elisa including the Doc.  ?????????????????

[Teak]

Ghost, don't lump all exposures into one basket. Blowjobs don't fall into that basket. What I talked about are REAL risks, unprotected anal and vaginal sex, sharing works with other people. Those are the REAL risks. Blowjobs are not a risk..doesn't matter what kind of spin you want to put on it.

[Ghostr1der]

So if I take it as low risk for safety sake, I should be in pretty good shape with my neg test right?

I saw a respone given to dobber today i think by reassurance and they talked about persistent swollen glands, annd that is what I'm referring to since I have one and have had for over 100 days now.

That doesnt seem right and something must be wrong, wouldnt you say?

[Xhost]

Ghost,

If something is happening in your body, no one here can tell you what may be wrong. But, they can tell you, based on what you've related about the incident that has you so worried, is that whatever is going on, it isn't due to HIV. Thus, you should stop relating your "symptoms", whatever they may be, to HIV. The "risk" you described isn't a risk. As such, you did not catch HIV from it, you could not have caught HIV from it. It simply doesn't happen this way.

Now, if you are worried about something, by all means, take yourself to a doctor and get it checked out. But, whatever is causing you distress, it isn't HIV.

[peekawho]

This whole thread is surreal.  The original poster is fine, his wife is fine, amen and pass the gravy.

YOU DIDN'T GET HIV FROM A BLOWJOB.  Go worry about world peace, or something else that deserves some worrying about.  

The answers to each of your questions is contained in the responses from everyone who replied to you.  Not that any of it matters, BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GET HIV FROM A BLOWJOB.

[Teak]

Are you still talking about your blowjob you received?

[Ghostr1der]

Yes this is still about the bj.

I just don't understand why everyone says no risk other than the studies that were done. Even the Doc on here says low risk, too low to worry about, but still it is low.

Are you saying I should go on that advice and accept my 8 1/2 neg or test out to 3 months since it is still considered a minimal risk.

You guys are the ones doing the numbers, and as Teak said it only takes once so I guess I'm supposed to just hope I'm not that one?

[Ghostr1der]

As I said before I took my 8 1/2 week test as good and in the mean tie have been having sex with my wife again because I thought I was good to go. Maybe this explains the symptoms, it sure sounds like I tested too early.

Hopefully this wasn't a terrible misconception.

[Ghostr1der]

What happened to everyone saying 6-8 weeks is done deal with testing? Now its about what kind of risk? So there could be people out there who thought or were given info from here to stop testing because that is the way you guys figured it and may really be pos since they didnt test to 3 months.

Which is it?

[Xhost]

Yes, all of what Joan said, and more. Try to keep a few things in mind:

*Not one case, out of millions, has ever been documented to have been caused by *receiving* a blow job. Know how many blow jobs are given around the world every day? And what subset of said blowjobs, do you think, are being performed, unprotected, by someone with HIV? My guess: quite a few. Yet, as far as I can tell, not one of the recipients has ever contracted HIV as a result. Food for thought.

*The "risk" associated with being on the receiving end of a blow job is theoretical. Meaning, it could happen, though we've never seen it happen. Now, the fact that it hasn't happened should tell us something, shouldn't it? Like: sure, it could happen, and a meteor could fall on your head as you leave your house tomorrow. Theoretically, it's possible, but are you not gonna leave your house tomorrow because it *could* happen? No? Me either.

[Ghostr1der]

As I said what is the difference?

A risk is a risk right?

[Joan123]

Dear Ghostr1der,
There is a big debate here about HIV window period. The doctor here Dr. HHH who is a HIV expert believes that a 6 weeks test is sufficient for low risk exposures. You are going to find others that suggests 3 months out there. Anyways, if you want to find more information about this, just go back and read the doctor-patient threads and this support forum, too. My personal opinion is that you are fine, Dr. says that "Nobody ever turned out to have HIV with a negative antibody test (with current, modern tests) 8 weeks after exposure." A yes, I am  sure that the test you took was a current, modern test. Hope this helps.

[Ghostr1der]

I just saw your second post.

Don't you think a risk is a risk?

Why would a person that did anal take longer than a person that gave a bj?

It is a difference in risk greatly but why should only one test longer based on that? Sounds like it's about the odds only. I can't accept that way due to the fact that I can't make sense of it at it is stated.

[Ghostr1der]

Thanks for the link. Why is it that we still use a 3 month guide everywhere for the most part? How much of that is really being conservative?
Did you have any opinions on what test they would use and when?

[Joan123]

For someone with a low risk exposure, he always suggests a simple antibody test at 6 weeks, sometimes even at 4. Your test was done at 8 weeks, and as he said at this point generation does not matter.

[Joan123]

This is what DR. HHH said to a guy who was worried about tests generations: "Don't worry about "generation" of tests. The difference between early and more recently developed tests is whether they are positive early, e.g. 2-3 weeks. Once beyond 4-6 weeks, all currently available tests are just as good."

You can look here: http://www.medhelp.org/forums/HIV/messages/711.html

[Ghostr1der]

When you say outdated does that mean 1,2 geneation tests? I think Dr HHH refers to the 4th gen. with the P24 when it is accurate at 6 weeks.

Do you think a place like that, website looks pretty credible, would use 1&2 also depending on what is requested by PA or do they use one specific test.

What I'm trying to say is if they have say all generations would they use 2nd one time anf 4th another depending on what is requested?

Thanks alot for the help.

[Joan123]

After 6 weeks of your exposure, according to Dr. HHH the generation of the tests do not matter. Besides, I doubt very, very much that Texas would use any outdated tests.

[Ghostr1der]

I know you guys are all saying no risk, but dr H says too close to zero to worry about. That is definately not the same.

So I could be putting my wife at risk right now because of this.

As I explained I tested negative at 59 days, and the inforegarding test generation I have been trying to get would really make a difference to me.

I called  the Center for Disease Detection in San Antonio, Texas where my test was sent to be analyzed. (cddmedical.com) They look like a pretty up to date place but it doesn't state which they use.

When I talked to an associate, I asked what kind of test they use specificly which generation and he told me all it is a serum test and that is it. He hadn't heard of any generation before.

Does that make sense to anyone, or does anyone know of how I can find ot exactly which it is. I went on State of Texas Dept of Health and there was nothing there either. As I said I was tested in PA, and they couldn't answer my questions in the testing site either.

[Joan123]

Yeas, a risk is a risk, but there are different types of risk. Your case for example is considered low risk. Dr. HHH explains really well this question that was asked many times:

"Assume a low risk exposure, like a typical heterosexual exposure with a partner of unknown (but probably negative) HIV status. Say the odds someone acquired HIV were 1 chance in 100,000. Now assume a test is 95% accurate at 4 weeks and 99.9% accurate at 3 months. After a negative test at 4 weeks, the odds the person has HIV (despite the test result) is 0.00001 x 0.05 = 0.0000005. That's 5 in 10 million, or once chance in 2 million. That's so low to be considered zero. (It's 75 time LESS than the lifetime chance of someone living in the US being killed by a lightning strike!)

Now assume a very high risk exposure, like a gay man who has unprotected anal sex with a known-infected partner (or being raped by an infected man). The odds of infection might be 1%, i.e. 1 in 100. Test negative at 4 weeks. The odds the person has HIV despite the negative test are 0.01 x 0.05 - 0.0005. That's 1 chance in 2000. Pretty low, and the test result is reassuring. But not nearly reassuring enough; most people will not accept a 1 in 2000 risk of being infected an not knowing it. Therefore, that person needs another test at 3 months. At that time, a negative test result translates into 0.01 x 0.001 = 0.00001, 1 chance in 100,000.

Same test, but the difference in circumstances leads to different levels of reassurance. The bottom line is that the higher the risk, the more important it is to carry out testing to a later time, such as 8 weeks or even 3 months. The lower the risk, the less it matters to wait that long."

[Ghostr1der]

Thanks alot, I think my biggest problem with the symptoms that are unexplained is the fear of sex with my wife.

But as you are saying I should be good to go since I had the full STD panel including the HIV neg at 8 1/2 weeks and she has been my only partner other than this exposure right?

Sorry about the run on.