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petrified with anxitey attacks on possibility of HIV contraction
Hi Doctor, i am a 30 year old Indian male and inadvertently exposed myself to chance of HIV contraction. currently the exposure that is now 48 hours past. i had vaginal intercourse with a sex worker in Pattaya and during the intercourse for approximately 30-40 seconds i did not realise that the condom had torn apart. I immediately came out of the situation and moved away from the sex worker. However, i am petrified at the thought of getting HIV especially given that my wife wants to plan a baby. I am in no position to tell her about this and already panicking with severe anxitey, body tingling sensation and gastric issues with low bp. I have read several posts but i wanted your help in understanding a couple of things which may help me live through the period before specific tests can be done
1) In your years of experience, how likely is it to get HIV from the exposure of 3-40 seconds especially given that the female is a sex worker. I spoke to her and she said I am safe and do not have anything. However, I cannot force her to take any tests and she can easily lie to me.
2) what is the timeline for testing for the gamut of STD tests. Should I start with gonorrhoea and chlamydia and then herpes and syphilis and HIV?
3) i know that i have to look for rashes and warts but frankly most of the HIV symptoms apart from these are so generic that they could be anything but HIV. What should i do?
1) In your years of experience, how likely is it to get HIV from the exposure of 3-40 seconds especially given that the female is a sex worker. I spoke to her and she said I am safe and do not have anything. However, I cannot force her to take any tests and she can easily lie to me.
2) what is the timeline for testing for the gamut of STD tests. Should I start with gonorrhoea and chlamydia and then herpes and syphilis and HIV?
3) i know that i have to look for rashes and warts but frankly most of the HIV symptoms apart from these are so generic that they could be anything but HIV. What should i do?
@hopeful8019 thanks a lot for your wishes. I really hope things get better and I can move on. Appreciate your reply.
I agree folks here are really helpful. Honestly this is the only place and people I've mentioned about my fears. I will update once I get the results.
I agree folks here are really helpful. Honestly this is the only place and people I've mentioned about my fears. I will update once I get the results.
@anxiousnomore I m sorry to bother you again. I spoke to a private clinic for testing and they said that 14 days post exposure for a duo test is as good as 28 days or beyond. Do you think that is correct?
4 Comments
Duo test is considered conclusive, ONLY after 28 days or 4 weeks.
@diver58 thanks for reiterating this. may be its just a rip off scheme to earn money. I am just unsure of my situation and frankly everything now is either a symptom or anxiety. i hope my odds of survival are strong as i did not have the money to buy PEP medicine which here is $20K
Wishing you all the best, keep your fingers crossed. You will be fine
@deeshu1987- I’ve been in your shoes. The folks here on the forum are amazing. Sending you positive vibes that everything will be ok.
@anxiousnomore I don't know how well she understands English so I can only guess that she meant and understood what she said
1 Comments
Hope for the best and remember if she is negative you had no risk, plus the male doesn't often get Hiv from vaginal.
@anxiousnomore I have called her several times and she said if you die I also die I am not dying I am ok I am safe and I am clear. So its her word now but given that these girls are so poor I am not sure if she ever had a test done. She also said that she has been in this profession for 7 months and does not regularly do this. She only goes to clubs to party and this is rare for her as well and that she always uses condom. Basically its her word which I have to rely on.
@ANXIOUSNOMORE the condom was already in the room. It was a room taken by friends. I asked the person who booked the room and he said that condoms were bought by him.
@anxiousnomore thanks for your feedback. I am currently ignoring any and everything that my body is doing differently and will wait for test date. I am also opting out from PEP medication and maybe its a gamble but I am not sure how useful it will be given that I am unsure of the status of HIV from the CSW and maybe its time to gamble. I have no idea of what the correct step is so I will just wait for destiny to bring it out.
1 Comments
Did she supply the condom or did you?
@anxiousnomore the PEP drugs as per HK government website are given to in cases of high risk exposure which for them is when one person is HIV + which I don't know about her. I called her several times to confirm and she said that she is clean but she does not speak good English and kept on saying not to worry and vaguely referred to a test that she may have done.
I am currently just very anxious u believe and have low BP from anxiety. Could you please elaborate on what symptoms I should look for?
I am currently just very anxious u believe and have low BP from anxiety. Could you please elaborate on what symptoms I should look for?
1 Comments
Symptoms are not useful as a diagnostic, so you shouldn't spend any time Googling for symptoms and should not examine your body looking for them because that will just make you more anxious the more you search fruitlessly. Everyone posts about their ARS here but in the time I have been here no one has actually had ARS because no one was positive.
Try to relax until you can test.
Try to relax until you can test.
@guyfromindia, i understand that HIV is non-discriminatory and thanks for your response. I will look for a clinic in HK that provides PEP drugs as i am unaware of this completely. As far as total exposure time is concerned it is about 43 hours currently and best case i can find a clinician to help is 12 hours from now which again is out of my control and i do not know any of the medicines involved in PEP. i also do not know if i can take them myself without consultation. I am currently mentally dead and in oblivion
1 Comments
PEP is generally only given when the other person is a known to have HIV. It can have permanent side effects and you have to take it for 4 weeks. A duo is not conclusive until after 4 weeks and if you take PEP the 4 weeks starts when you finish PEP, so that totals 8 weeks.
Likely she didn't have HIV, otherwise why would she pay for condoms? She doesn't care about your safety, just hers so that is why she is likely negative and paying for condoms.
Since you had a risk you need to use a condom with anyone until you have had an HIV test proving you are negative.
Likely she didn't have HIV, otherwise why would she pay for condoms? She doesn't care about your safety, just hers so that is why she is likely negative and paying for condoms.
Since you had a risk you need to use a condom with anyone until you have had an HIV test proving you are negative.
hiv doesnt discriminate. it doesnt depend on if she was a CSW. hiv depends on pratices you indulge in. Sex wokers in pattaya are pretty clean because of such a big market. consult a doctor and take pep drugs if you are before 72 hours mark. tests are accurate depending upon type of test . pcr dna tests are accurate after 10 days and 4th gen tests are accurate after 2-3 weeks. hiv is a difficult virus to catch . chances are you didnt get it. get complete std test after 4-6 weeks
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