Am I infected?

[peterg532]

Dear Doctors,

I was in a massage spa 9 weeks ago. I got a VIP massage from the girl who was lying on my body and massaging me. There were two moments during this massage when my penis got between her legs by accident. She moved down and my penis touched her area between legs. I am not 100% sure if it didn’t quickly penetrate her vagina or anal opening. I hope not, but I can’t really say because it happened suddenly for 1 microsecond. Three days later I had irritated foreskin which later disappeared. The real hell started one week after the exposure. I started feeling very tired, fatigue, started having night sweats and lost 16 pounds within 6 weeks. This continues until today (9 weeks after the exposure) except my weight stopped dropping. My main problem is tiredness and fatigue. I can’t concentrate, I can’t really work or enjoy my life because I become tired quickly. I sleep 10-12 hours every day and 2 hours after I wake up, I feel tired like after having party the whole night. I took antibody test and P24 test 3.5 weeks after the exposure and both were negative. I took another antibody test (rapid HIV finger test) 6.5 weeks after the exposure and it was negative as well.

I am also worried about my wife. 5 days after my visit at massage spa, I had oral sex with her (I was giving). Two weeks later she started having headaches, night sweats and she started feeling tired too. I have to say however that she doesn’t experience these symptoms as strong as I do.

My questions:
- Based on my above description, do you think this may be HIV?
- Can I be optimistic if my test results after 4 and 6 weeks were negative?
- If my symptoms and my wife’s symptoms are not HIV infection, what else it can be?

Thank you in advance for your answers, doctors!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Your lethargy has nothing to do with any virus.  It is a classical emotional/psychological symptom.

Thanks for your kind words about the forum, but that will end this thread. Do your best to move on.

[peterg532]

Sorry, I just add this small paragraph to clarify more.

What I feel every single day the last 8 weeks (9 weeks after the exposure) can be described as lethargy. I can't think clearly. It is like this virus or whatever it is was hitting my brain.

[peterg532]

Thank you Dr. HHH. Just for my own piece of mind I'll go for one more test 12 weeks after the exposure date. If I am negative, I will have your picture in my office and will pray in front of it every morning until the end of my life. You will be my God. :-)

I was tested for all common STIs 3.5 weeks after the exposure and re-tested for syphilis 6 weeks after the exposure - all negative results.

All AIDS helplines I called told me exactly what you are writing. The first 3 weeks I believed this may have been anxiety, but now, after 9 weeks I am in doubt. It doesn't seem to be anxiety. I feel like after having 2-3 beers, I feel this dizziness for the most part of the day. It doesn't matter if I am with my friends, playing golf or working in the office. Suddenly this feeling "I need to go to bed" comes out of the blue. I am tired to go out for a walk, I am too tired to finish my hockey game with friends.

If you are interested, I'll keep you posted about my test results after 12 weeks. It is bad if people in these forums don't add the information once their problem is solved or conclusive testing has been done. This would be most helpful for everyone searching in this forum.

Thank you, Dr. HHH for helping people online. It's a great job. This forum is the most reliable one I found on internet after searching two months.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.

The most important part of your question is your test results.  They prove you did not catch HIV.  And I mean truly prove:  it is impossible you have it.  The blood tests (including the rapid fignerstick test) are entirely reliable at 6 weeks, despite official advice to wait 3 months for definitive results.  For more detail, see the thread linked below:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/1704700

But even if you had not been tested, I would have reassured you there was no chance you caught HIV from the exposure described.  And your symptoms also are not particularly suggestive of HIV.  (They are, however, typical for the physical manifestations of anxiety, stress, or other psychological issues -- which would be consistent with your concerns over a sexual decision you appear to regret.)

As for your wife, HIV has never been known to be transmitted by cunnilingus (oral-vaginal sex); and as already discussed, you definitely do not have HIV.  I'm sure her symptoms are entirely unrelated to your sexual indiscretion.

So don't worry at all about HIV.  If your or your wife's symptoms continue, of course you should be professionally evaluated.  But there is no chance this is HIV from the events described.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD