Aa
Please help I'm terrified!
Hello and thank you for running this website,
I am a twenty five year old male, and about one month ago I made the worst choice of my lfe and had sex with a twenty year old sex worker in Vientiane, Laos, I had never been with a prostitute before and never will again. I used a condom but the damn thing broke and there was fluid exchange, since then I haven't had a moments peace. About four days later I got diarrhea and a moderate fever, but the same symptoms were reported by many other travellers around me so it could have been food poisoning or travellers diarrhea. Now, about twenty five days after my encounter I have been feeling lethargic and I have a head ache, but no swollen lymph nodes as far as I can tell. I did notice, however, that I have a nonthrombosed hemmorhoid (sorry for the gritty details) which I'm praying to god is just a result of anxiety. I have beenbstaying up and obsessively reading about acute HIV seroconversion symptoms, AIDS statistics in Laos, female to male transmission rates, I really can't tell if my symptoms are real or hypochondria but I am so scared I can't sleep at night. I know that I need an antibody test, but I am still three weeks away from the end of the window period and the anxiety and fear is making me crazy. Is there anything anybody can say to ease my mind or do I just have to wait and try to let it go inthe mean time? If I turn up HIV positive I think I'm going to have to kill myself. Please help me if you can.
I am a twenty five year old male, and about one month ago I made the worst choice of my lfe and had sex with a twenty year old sex worker in Vientiane, Laos, I had never been with a prostitute before and never will again. I used a condom but the damn thing broke and there was fluid exchange, since then I haven't had a moments peace. About four days later I got diarrhea and a moderate fever, but the same symptoms were reported by many other travellers around me so it could have been food poisoning or travellers diarrhea. Now, about twenty five days after my encounter I have been feeling lethargic and I have a head ache, but no swollen lymph nodes as far as I can tell. I did notice, however, that I have a nonthrombosed hemmorhoid (sorry for the gritty details) which I'm praying to god is just a result of anxiety. I have beenbstaying up and obsessively reading about acute HIV seroconversion symptoms, AIDS statistics in Laos, female to male transmission rates, I really can't tell if my symptoms are real or hypochondria but I am so scared I can't sleep at night. I know that I need an antibody test, but I am still three weeks away from the end of the window period and the anxiety and fear is making me crazy. Is there anything anybody can say to ease my mind or do I just have to wait and try to let it go inthe mean time? If I turn up HIV positive I think I'm going to have to kill myself. Please help me if you can.
"Will 3 months post exposure test be conclusive?
Come on man this isnt a joke, I'm really asking for help here! "
I FIND NO SARCASM IN THIS QUESTION. WHAT I DO FIND, IN YOUR POSTS, IS SOMEONE WHO IS DESPERATE FOR US TO "ASSURE" THEM THAT THEY DONT HAVE HIV. WE CANNOT DO THAT ! ! ! ! !
YOU HAVE BEEN ASSESSED AND GIVEN ADVICE ABOUT TESTING. DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU EXPECT FROM US. THIS IS NOT A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING SERVICE, AND WE CANT BE EXPECTED TO HOLD YOUR HAND UNTIL YOU TEST.
Come on man this isnt a joke, I'm really asking for help here! "
I FIND NO SARCASM IN THIS QUESTION. WHAT I DO FIND, IN YOUR POSTS, IS SOMEONE WHO IS DESPERATE FOR US TO "ASSURE" THEM THAT THEY DONT HAVE HIV. WE CANNOT DO THAT ! ! ! ! !
YOU HAVE BEEN ASSESSED AND GIVEN ADVICE ABOUT TESTING. DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU EXPECT FROM US. THIS IS NOT A PSYCHOLOGICAL COUNSELING SERVICE, AND WE CANT BE EXPECTED TO HOLD YOUR HAND UNTIL YOU TEST.
Sarcasm doesn't translate through text very well. My post to teak was sarcastic because posting the same thing three times is redundant and unhelpful. I hope you guys can help others with more understanding and compasion than you have shown me. Okay bow I'm really done.
I understood that before he posted it the first time. It's common knowledge. I was just trying to find some support and information, forgive me if I sounded agitated but my life is on the line here. I know that is my own fault and I put myself at risk, I think I've been misunderstood, sorry for pissing you off. I'll test when the time comes and I'm done with this forum, it isn't very friendly. Bye.
in THIS post alone...teak has told you...3 TIMES...that a conclusive test is 3 months post exposure. now what part of that did you not understand?
Will 3 months post exposure test be conclusive?
Come on man this isnt a joke, I'm really asking for help here!
Come on man this isnt a joke, I'm really asking for help here!
the number used is 1 in 2000 chances for infection from a one time exposure from someone who is positive.
NOW...you've been given a number. there is nothing else we can do at this point. the only way to know one's status is by testing.
NOW...you've been given a number. there is nothing else we can do at this point. the only way to know one's status is by testing.
Also that study didn't specify whether the prostitutes tested were male or female, so maybe this is pointless but what the heck, it might help calm my nerves if someone can answer.
Thank you, I will be waiting outside for them to open the clinic doors in the morning on day 45. In the meantime, can anybody help me figure out my relative risk, it would be a big help considering the anguish that I'm going through, I'm sure many people here can relate.
If the last study done in 2004 found an average HIV+ prevalence rate of 2.4% in Lao sex workers from six provinces (let's say it's 4% given that it's six years later) and a single act of unprotected insertive penile-vaginal intercourse with a + woman carries a 5 in 10,000 chance of transmission, what are my odds that I have HIV? Would you say I'm likely doomed or do I have a better chance of being struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark? I'm horrible with math otherwise I would figure this out while staying up all night biting my nails. Thank you again.
If the last study done in 2004 found an average HIV+ prevalence rate of 2.4% in Lao sex workers from six provinces (let's say it's 4% given that it's six years later) and a single act of unprotected insertive penile-vaginal intercourse with a + woman carries a 5 in 10,000 chance of transmission, what are my odds that I have HIV? Would you say I'm likely doomed or do I have a better chance of being struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark? I'm horrible with math otherwise I would figure this out while staying up all night biting my nails. Thank you again.
45 Days Elisa is an excellent indication of your status, but you'll need to do three months to be conclusive. Many claim that a 6 to 8 weeks negative will not change, but the current CDC guidelines say 3 months, so that is what you'll hear on this forum.
I went to the Thai red cross hiv research center in chiang mai yesterday and they told me to get an ELISA done at 45 days, would this be, say 70% conclusive? 80% should I just test once a week from here to six months if it makes me feel less insane?
Ps
I only had insertive penile- vaginal sex with her, no anal or oral, and judging by her reaction when the condom failed I would say that she practices safe sex as much as a prostitute can. She screamed, hit me, and ran to the shower to clean herself up.
I only had insertive penile- vaginal sex with her, no anal or oral, and judging by her reaction when the condom failed I would say that she practices safe sex as much as a prostitute can. She screamed, hit me, and ran to the shower to clean herself up.
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