More questions

[anotherworrier]

7 weeks ago I had protected sex with a sex worker.  The condom stayed on and intact until it was over.  I had no symptoms other than I felt as if I had to go to the bathroom a lot (which I read here others have the same problem, doesn't mean much, could have been in my head).  Never any discharge, pain, or anything of the sort.  At 4 weeks I had a full STD screening (syphilis, gonorhia, herpes, hiv, clamidhia, and hepititis) which all came back negative.  The hiv was the fancy test that detects it early.  

Needless to say this was not cheap and I am not a well to do person.  I am a hard working 27 year old.  Not happy enough I went do the dr. and got pills for trich. because there is no test available.  Now that I can't find any seemly good reason to suspect that I have something, I don't feel as if I have to go to the bathroom all the time.  The reason I write is that I am engaged and my fiancee seems to have some issues now (in between menstrual spoting).  She has a history of this (adjusting to new birth control pill) but she also had an infection.  That was cured (it was not ruled or suspected an std by her doctor).

Should I be this worried?  I read that it is possible to have infections and test negative and not have symptoms, but again my exposure is deemed "safe"... and I did test negative...

Do you think that I have something and not feel it, know it, or test for it?  Should I test again for something else?  Or should I just move on? I fear my mind is playing tricks on me and I will end up wasting more money.

I'm starting to think I'm just nuts and should move on.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

My response is going to confirm what you already know (intellectually) even if part of you (emotionally) remains concerned.  The exposure you describe was safe sex with almost no risk; you had negative tests (indeed were over-tested, there being no reason to have spent your dollars on the "fancy" HIV tests); and have no smptoms to suggest HIV or any other STD.

On top of all that, in general the likelihood of STD in commercial sex workers is LOWER, not higher, than in the general population of sexually active women of similar age.  Despite what your partner was told by her doctor, if you were to do STD diagnostic studies in 100 women with spotting between periods and in 100 prostitutes, many more of the former than the latter would have gonorrhea, chlamydia, or something else.  I'm not implying that your partner in fact had an STD.  But on the basis of statistical probabilities, that's a more likely source of STD in you than condom-protected sex with a commercial sex workier.

To answer your specific question, no, it is not possible for you to be infected at this time; or, to put it another way, if you are infected with something, you didn't catch it from your contact 7 weeks ago.  It might theoretically happen, but with such low statistical probability that you can and should consider it impossible.

Bottom line:  Relax and stop letting this event bug you.

Best wishes--- HHH, MD

[Imdumb]

You sohould more on.  There is no chnace you have anything.  First off, your sex was proetced, so right there you didn't even need testing.  Lack of symptoms and negative tests prove that you didn't get anything.  Why are you worried about this?  You are letting your guilt comsume you.  You should move on, or otherwise confront your guilt in a way it will be resolved.  STD's are not the problem here.

[anotherworrier]

Thanks for writing back.  May be I am letting my guilt consume me after all.  I hate to worry and know that I shouldn't and be unable to stop it.  I know what I did was wrong and I am paying for my drunk actions now.  I guess what worried me is the infection my fiancee had.  While it was more than likely totally unrelated, it added fuel to my fire.