When I was 18

[jessicaxyz]

When i was 18 i lost my virginity to a 23 yr old guy whom i recently found out was in prison for 3 years prior.  It was not anything like a one night stand in fact I met and spent time with his family like any normal relationship. We dated for about a month or so before he convinced me to have sex with him.  He told me that he had no stds because he had been tested recently.  I did not ask him this, he volunteered this information.  We broke up not long after but we did have sex twice with no condoms but he did not ejaculate inside of me.  after we broke up i did not think anything of this situation until just recently i started taking birth control pills and began having night sweats.  not crazy soaking wet ones i just get extremely hot at night and sweat a little bit, but i am fine if i do not cover myself or i sleep with nothing on and just a sheet.  I have read that side effects of some BCP's cause this but as i was researching night sweats it mentioned hiv.  I am 23 now I dont really know what to think of this situation.  Is it true that half of the people with hiv develop AIDs within ten years? what about the other half?  What about symptoms 5--7 years for most? what does most mean?  

[jessicaxyz]

thank you, sir.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, no change.  EWH

[jessicaxyz]

one last thing i am sorry.  would the fact that i was a virgin play any part in raising my risk.
i dont remember bleeding or anything like that , but it hurt.

[jessicaxyz]

thankyou.  for your quick response.  Just for clarification i was not attributing my symptoms to ars because i am having these symptoms 7 years post possible exposure, but your comments do put my mind at ease.

[jessicaxyz]

I am sorry i wish i was still 23 i will be 25 in a month he was 23.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

For starters, lets discuss your partner and his risk.  If he had been in prison, it was likely that he was tested in prison and thus it is reasonable to presume that he did not have HIV if he said so - most people tell the truth and, as you point out, he sounds like a pretty reasonable guy and volunteered this information.  

Second, in the low probability situation that he had HIV, could he have given it to you- again, unlikely.  Each time you had sex with him, IF HE WAS INFECTED (unlikely), your odds of getting HIV are less than 1 in 1000 per exposure, thus the odds here are in your favor as well.

Finally, as for your symptoms.  Do not attribute them to possible HIV.  I suspect you have missed our repeated statements on this site that the symptoms of the ARS are TOTALLY non-specific and when people experience "ARS symptoms" they are much more likely to have something else, usually some other, more typical virus infection.  When this has been studied in the US, less than 1% of persons seeking medical care for "ARS symptoms" are found to have HIV, the remainder having symptoms due to other processes.  In addition, it is also important to realize that many person who acquire HIV do not experience the ARS.  For a person to try to judge their HIV risk based on "ARS symptoms" is a waste of time.

So, my advice to you is as follows:
1.  Dont worry.  The odds are very much in your favor.
2.  Why not get an HIV test. This not becasue of any great risk on your part but just because you qualify for periodic STD "screening (testing in the absence of symptoms) because you have had multiple partners over a period of less than a year.  As a matter of personal protection, we recommend annual testing for anyone who has had two or more sex partners in the past year (we consider this to be health maintenance- we also recommend you get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked regularly).
3.  If your symptoms bother you (as opposed to raising retrospective concerns), discuss them with your health care provider to find out what might be causing them (because it is not HIV).

Hope this helps.  EWH