HIV Question

[ad2344]

Hi Doc,

I know you've heard this question numerous times but for a little peace of mind, ii need to ask it myself.  I had unprotected sex with a women (one-night stand) whos status is unknown eventhough she told me she was fine after the incident. I had a HIV test done 40 days (2 days shy of 6 weeks) after the expsure which was negative. Recently I've been getting muscle aches and tingling feelings in my extremeties. Also i noticed a small red bump on the side of my stomach..i picked at it and it bled..that was about it.  I'm extremely nervous, is anything im saying related at all or is it all anxiety?? thank you very much for you time.

[AD2310]

thanks joeworried,

just needed a little peace of mind..this has been one of the toughest times of my life...i appreciate your support

[joeworried]

The doctor has already responded to your follow-on question, i.e., that there is no medical reason for another test but you can do so for your peace of mind.  I'm not sure what type of HIV test you had, but essentially all generations of HIV antibody tests will be positive at 6 weeks if indeed your are HIV positive.  

The New York State Department of Health has a website in which there are 100 questions and answers associated with HIV/AIDS.  The resonse to question 39 states "With the HIV antibody tests used in New York State, virually all people who are infected will test positive within one month of being infected.  Most people will test positive even sooner."

I'm assuming that this response is referring to fourth generation HIV antibody tests.  A third generation test will detect HIV about one week later, and a first generation test will detect HIV about one week later than a third generation test.  Hence, even if you had a first generation test (such as used by Home Access), your result is about as conclusive as you can get at 40 days.  

I'm not sure what else I can add.  You can keep testing as long as you like, but the results will all be negative.

[AD2310]

thank you for the insight doc,


would you recommend further testing? sorry to be so monotnous, im just worried sick...i also never had a fever, sore throat, or swollen glands (i dont think...my doctor examined me before i took the test) just these little red pimples about 2 or 3 on my side and the muscle aches/knee pain. thank you very much for all your insight...it is really appreciated!!!

also i forgot to mention..the encounter has now been roughly 9 weeks ago.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Credit card or not, thread jumping is an absolute no-no on this forum.  I deleted your question.  It shouldn't be too hard to use a friend's credit card and reimburse him or her.  In the meantime, the exact same questions have been asked many, many times and you can find the answers by searching the STD forum threads.  Use search terms "HIV anxiety", "HIV transmission risk", and "HIV symptoms".

HHH, MD

[AD2310]

sure...it was a tiny red bump...resembled a pimple....i picked at it..and it bled...that was it...my encounter now is well over 2 months ago and from what i read before (i think) the symptoms are present within 2-3 weeks after the exposure. also i heard that a 6 week test with todays equipment is extremely reliable...my physician also told me that nothing on my body has anything to do with HIV. I beleive him...just worried...this site has been great though and I was more than happy to donate $10.....thanks everone

[SunnyFlorida1234]

No worries! I would recommend getting tested as soon as possible. It seems that I had the same symptoms at this first poster. Can you describe the bump?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I'm not sure why so many people, like you, feel reassured when they know exactly what I'm going to say.  Is there something in your story that seems unique to you, ie different from so many other similar questions?  In any case, I never tell a particular person that they are or are not infected; just generalizations.  But here goes.

The risk of getting HIV from a single episode of unprotected vaginal sex is very low (around 1 in 1000-2000) even if the partner is infected, and the odds are your partner was not; symptoms rarely are a reliable indicator for or against HIV infection, especially in very low-risk settings like yours; and negative HIV test results 6 weeks after exposure are at least 95% reliable.  The odds someone in your situation would have HIV probably are less than the risk of being hit by lightning, and certainly less than the risk of dying in the next 7 days of an accident or unexpected illness.  Finally, as I have said innumerable times, when a persons suspects his or her symptoms might be due to anxiety, s/he usually is right.

Good luck--  HHH, MD