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High Risk Exposure
I am a married man who 5 days ago, I got extremely drunk in Downtown Vancouver BC. So drunk I don't remember an hour and a half of the evening. At one point I remember a girl leading me into a hall way where she performed oral sex and then unportected vagina sex with me. I assumed I paid her but don't remember. She obviously was not concerned about practicing safe-sex and very well could have been an IV drug user. I know it has only been 5 days but I feel like my body is fighting something. What can I do? and What should I do???
A related discussion, Test results was started.
Thank you Doctor
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
HIV does not cause such symptoms.
When someone is under a health professional's care, that is the person to ask about symptoms etc related to that problem. Any and all further questions should go to the provider you are seeing. That's all for this thread.
When someone is under a health professional's care, that is the person to ask about symptoms etc related to that problem. Any and all further questions should go to the provider you are seeing. That's all for this thread.
Thanks Dr.,
I did seek a local health care provider for testing and advice. And both gonorrhea and chlamydia were negative. I'm still experiencing minor discomfort/burning(not swelling) in my lymph node areas ( arm pits, inner-thighs 4in. above the knee, inner-bicepts, ect) Could this at all be associated with HIV infection? Beside this lymph node pain, I feel pretty health. I have been told to wait until 6 weeks for further testing. I guess I'm just wondering if you have ever heard of anything like this as a pre-ARS symptom?
Thanks for all your expert advice,
I did seek a local health care provider for testing and advice. And both gonorrhea and chlamydia were negative. I'm still experiencing minor discomfort/burning(not swelling) in my lymph node areas ( arm pits, inner-thighs 4in. above the knee, inner-bicepts, ect) Could this at all be associated with HIV infection? Beside this lymph node pain, I feel pretty health. I have been told to wait until 6 weeks for further testing. I guess I'm just wondering if you have ever heard of anything like this as a pre-ARS symptom?
Thanks for all your expert advice,
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Those symptoms do not hint at herpes.
I think I don't like "I got tested today for all STD's and HIV". That suggests you chose the tests yourself, perhaps from an online source. If so, bad move. Among other things, you probably had a bunch of tests you don't need and spent a lot of unnecessary dollars doing so.
There is no point in trying to figure out whether you are infected online, on this forum or anywhere else. It is a waste of your time and mine. See an STD clinic or other health care provider. Feel free to return after that to report what was found and what advice they gave. Until then there is no point in further discussion. Because I do not like reinforcing use of "comprehensive" STD testing, if you tested without professional advice you are on your own to interpret the results.
I think I don't like "I got tested today for all STD's and HIV". That suggests you chose the tests yourself, perhaps from an online source. If so, bad move. Among other things, you probably had a bunch of tests you don't need and spent a lot of unnecessary dollars doing so.
There is no point in trying to figure out whether you are infected online, on this forum or anywhere else. It is a waste of your time and mine. See an STD clinic or other health care provider. Feel free to return after that to report what was found and what advice they gave. Until then there is no point in further discussion. Because I do not like reinforcing use of "comprehensive" STD testing, if you tested without professional advice you are on your own to interpret the results.
Hello Doctor,
Are you sure that I would not be having any types of symptoms at 6 days after exposure. I am expriencing minor discomfort in lymph node areas( arm pit, inner-thigh 4in. above the knee, inner-bicept, ect). Also having hot cold spells, minor night sweats, diarrea, sore throat. It might be just nerves, but I feel like my body is telling me something. I got tested today for all STD's and HIV and will get tested again at 6 weeks. I'm just really scared that I beat the odds with my one time high risk exposure!
Are you sure that I would not be having any types of symptoms at 6 days after exposure. I am expriencing minor discomfort in lymph node areas( arm pit, inner-thigh 4in. above the knee, inner-bicept, ect). Also having hot cold spells, minor night sweats, diarrea, sore throat. It might be just nerves, but I feel like my body is telling me something. I got tested today for all STD's and HIV and will get tested again at 6 weeks. I'm just really scared that I beat the odds with my one time high risk exposure!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
See my comment about 72 hours. After that time PEP is ineffective in preventing HIV and would only expose you to potential side effects, with no chance for benefit.
Visit your local health dept STD clinic for expert advice. If you're in the Puget Sound region, the Public Health Seattle King Co. STD clinic at Harborview is the place to go.
Visit your local health dept STD clinic for expert advice. If you're in the Puget Sound region, the Public Health Seattle King Co. STD clinic at Harborview is the place to go.
Thanks for your comforting stats. I live in WA, is it too late to start some kind of PEP treatment?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
Vancouver's "Downtown Eastside" (DES) is notorious for high risk for injection drug use, HIV, and STDs. This was a high risk situation with respect to STDs, although the risk for HIV infection is not at high as you might think. Even if your partner had HIV, the statistical chance of transmission during a single episode of unprotected vaginal sex is around 1 in 1000-2000. That's equivalent to having vaginal sex with infected women once a day for 2-5 years and maybe never catching it. Even for STDs, transmission efficiency isn't all that high. For example, less than half of men exposed to women with gonorrhea or chlamydia catch it, and the rate is much lower than that for most other STDs; and your partner isn't necessarily infected with anything. Your feeling that your body is "fighting something" doesn't mean anything to me; that sounds more emotional than physical. In any case, new HIV infections cannot cause symptoms earlier than 10-14 days after exposure.
What to do now? Had you seen someone immediately, you might have been a candidate for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with anti-HIV drugs to lessen the chance of HIV infection. (Specific criteria for PEP vary from place to place, depending on local HIV rates and details of the exposure. I don't know the public health recommendations for heterosexual exposures in the DES area.) But PEP is ineffective beyond 72 hours. Nevertheless, you should see a health care provider in the next couple of days for STD/HIV screening and personal advice. The Vancouver STD clinic would be an excellent choice for expert care. Testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia would be valid now, and you should then follow the clinic's advice about other testing. Most likely they will suggest you return somewhere around weeks later for blood tests for HIV and syphilis; or, depending on their judgment of the risk, perhaps earlier HIV testing by PCR or p24 antigen.
My final advice is to be alert to your likely alcohol problem. It is not normal to get so drunk that memory is lost. Even once is too many times, and happening 2 or more times is usually evidence of alcohol addiction. Please discuss it with your primary health care provider.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
Vancouver's "Downtown Eastside" (DES) is notorious for high risk for injection drug use, HIV, and STDs. This was a high risk situation with respect to STDs, although the risk for HIV infection is not at high as you might think. Even if your partner had HIV, the statistical chance of transmission during a single episode of unprotected vaginal sex is around 1 in 1000-2000. That's equivalent to having vaginal sex with infected women once a day for 2-5 years and maybe never catching it. Even for STDs, transmission efficiency isn't all that high. For example, less than half of men exposed to women with gonorrhea or chlamydia catch it, and the rate is much lower than that for most other STDs; and your partner isn't necessarily infected with anything. Your feeling that your body is "fighting something" doesn't mean anything to me; that sounds more emotional than physical. In any case, new HIV infections cannot cause symptoms earlier than 10-14 days after exposure.
What to do now? Had you seen someone immediately, you might have been a candidate for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with anti-HIV drugs to lessen the chance of HIV infection. (Specific criteria for PEP vary from place to place, depending on local HIV rates and details of the exposure. I don't know the public health recommendations for heterosexual exposures in the DES area.) But PEP is ineffective beyond 72 hours. Nevertheless, you should see a health care provider in the next couple of days for STD/HIV screening and personal advice. The Vancouver STD clinic would be an excellent choice for expert care. Testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia would be valid now, and you should then follow the clinic's advice about other testing. Most likely they will suggest you return somewhere around weeks later for blood tests for HIV and syphilis; or, depending on their judgment of the risk, perhaps earlier HIV testing by PCR or p24 antigen.
My final advice is to be alert to your likely alcohol problem. It is not normal to get so drunk that memory is lost. Even once is too many times, and happening 2 or more times is usually evidence of alcohol addiction. Please discuss it with your primary health care provider.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
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