Aa
AM I AT RISK? PLEASE HELP ME IM ABOUT TO BREAK DOWN
A month ago i had 4 different encounters with 4 guys within a week. I met them online. I am heterosexual male, but I got crazy and all of the sudden i wanted to try things out ( i am 20 years old) . all 4 of them performed an oral sex on me, 2 protected anal sex and I performed an oral sex once. these was my only sexual encounters in years before i got tested for hiv (work-related) which is neg.
Here are my exposures:
1. 4 unprotected insertive oral sex
2. 1 unprotected receptive oral sex
3. 1 protected insertive anal sex
4. 1 protected receptive anal sex
( all these happened only with 4 guys)
Another question is that is it true that getting a tetanus shot prior to your exposure makes you more susceptible for contracting HIV??
Ive been doomed for the past few weeks. I cannot eat, I lost appetite, I even lost my sense of taste, my hands and feet are cold and I am so scared of dying. I think about HIV constantly. My coworkers told me I look tired and I look different now. and btw doc when I was under that extreme stress I lost 4 lbs but now i gained it back again but I still have the coldness on my feet and hands whenever I think of hiv. I feel disoriented everytime I think of it.
this is the 4th week from my exposures and this is the symptom that I may associate with ARS. I had swollen lymph nodes submentally and a few days i had a mild sorethroat. I just had my braces on 2 weeks ago and before I had 2 protruding wires in my inner cheeks which scratch my inner cheeks but I dont know if that causes my lymph nodes.Does getting the ARS symptoms should always include high-grade fever and all the other symptoms or is it possible to just develop few of the symptoms? is a mild fever (99F) a symptom too?
I had been tested for syphilis and gonorrhea and came back neg. I am now scared of gettng a test for HIV. Please tell me if I am in big trouble? this anxiety will break me apart.
have u ever had hiv positive patients that contracted the infection this way?thx
Here are my exposures:
1. 4 unprotected insertive oral sex
2. 1 unprotected receptive oral sex
3. 1 protected insertive anal sex
4. 1 protected receptive anal sex
( all these happened only with 4 guys)
Another question is that is it true that getting a tetanus shot prior to your exposure makes you more susceptible for contracting HIV??
Ive been doomed for the past few weeks. I cannot eat, I lost appetite, I even lost my sense of taste, my hands and feet are cold and I am so scared of dying. I think about HIV constantly. My coworkers told me I look tired and I look different now. and btw doc when I was under that extreme stress I lost 4 lbs but now i gained it back again but I still have the coldness on my feet and hands whenever I think of hiv. I feel disoriented everytime I think of it.
this is the 4th week from my exposures and this is the symptom that I may associate with ARS. I had swollen lymph nodes submentally and a few days i had a mild sorethroat. I just had my braces on 2 weeks ago and before I had 2 protruding wires in my inner cheeks which scratch my inner cheeks but I dont know if that causes my lymph nodes.Does getting the ARS symptoms should always include high-grade fever and all the other symptoms or is it possible to just develop few of the symptoms? is a mild fever (99F) a symptom too?
I had been tested for syphilis and gonorrhea and came back neg. I am now scared of gettng a test for HIV. Please tell me if I am in big trouble? this anxiety will break me apart.
have u ever had hiv positive patients that contracted the infection this way?thx
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Symptoms never make a difference; testing tells the truth, reardless of symptoms. Your symptoms suggest a cold or other garden variety, mild virus.
You don't mention your HIV test result. If the result is negative, it proves your symptoms cannot be due to HIV. If you haven't been tested yet, do it now. You may not return with any more questions until you have been tested and can report the result.
You don't mention your HIV test result. If the result is negative, it proves your symptoms cannot be due to HIV. If you haven't been tested yet, do it now. You may not return with any more questions until you have been tested and can report the result.
Doc I have been relaxed for a few weeks and I notice my diarrhea goes away everytime I am not tensed or anxious. But I have another question, three days ago my throat feels uncomfortable and my right ear feels warm, (feels like its a little clogged) and when I try to spit out something, there's like a hard ball of phlegm coming out. I have been checking my temp for days and the highest was 99.1. I also have swollen lymph nodes submentally. Are these symptoms look like ARS? I just want your opinion. Thanks doc.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You don't have to trust anybody, and it is wise to be skeptical when dealing with a deadly infection. Still, most people don't lie when asked directly. Their claims to be HIV negative don't prove it, but they improve the odds by a large amount.
No, I have never had a patient who was positive following such low risk as you describe. Every positive gay patient I have ever known had many episodes of unprotected anal sex with multiple partners.
I won't have any further comments.
No, I have never had a patient who was positive following such low risk as you describe. Every positive gay patient I have ever known had many episodes of unprotected anal sex with multiple partners.
I won't have any further comments.
Thanks Doctor. Yes I have been sort of asking questions like are they disease free , etc to 3 of them and they said im freaking them out they said they were tested and it was safe sex. do i have to believe them? i mean atleast trust them?
And also, have u ever had a patient that tested hiv positive that went through same exposures i had?
SORRY for that comment about answering my queries I just dont want my thread to be buried with new ones.
And also, have u ever had a patient that tested hiv positive that went through same exposures i had?
SORRY for that comment about answering my queries I just dont want my thread to be buried with new ones.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I know you are anxious, but is 2 hours really so long to wait for a reply? Dr. Hook and I do have things to do other than sitting at our computer terminals waiting for new forum questions.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I'll try to help. You are overracting and have no serious worries about HIV. The main thing you need to do is have an HIV test. I suggest it not because you are at high risk of being infected, just because you obviously are going to remain frightened about it until you have a negative test result. Enough time has gone by for fairly reliable testing, since 90% of newly infected persons have positive antibody tests at 4 weeks. However, 6-8 weeks would be best; or do both, i.e. get tested now for initial reassurance then again after another month to nail it down for sure.
Your risk of having HIV is extremely low, since the anal exposures were protected and oral sex carries very low risk for HIV transmission in either direction. I don't know where you read the BS about tetantus shots, but that is ridiculous; no immunization or medication alters the risk of catching HIV. Finally, your symptoms almost certainly are not due to HIV. They don't particularly suggest HIV -- but even if they were classical, it wouldn't matter, since other things remain much more likely causes of the same symptoms that ARS causes. Your symptoms are most suggestive of anxiety or depression about these cirucmstances, nothing more.
Don't be scared of HIV tesitng. Even in the exceedingly unlikely chance it were positive, it isn't the test that causes the problem -- it is having HIV. There is nothing but trouble from delaying knowledge of it. But don't get me wrong: your HIV test is going to be negative.
Finally, if/when you decide on similar experimentation in the future, do the common sense thing: do not have sex, even safe sex (which you had!) without first assuring that your partners are HIV negative. Online partner seeking represents an ideal opportunity for that; all in all, it has improved HIV safety for many people because it allows people to be honest (while still anonymous) about their HIV status. Even face to face, most people don't lie. It isn't foolproof, but think how much better you would feel now if you had confidence your partners weren't infected.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Your risk of having HIV is extremely low, since the anal exposures were protected and oral sex carries very low risk for HIV transmission in either direction. I don't know where you read the BS about tetantus shots, but that is ridiculous; no immunization or medication alters the risk of catching HIV. Finally, your symptoms almost certainly are not due to HIV. They don't particularly suggest HIV -- but even if they were classical, it wouldn't matter, since other things remain much more likely causes of the same symptoms that ARS causes. Your symptoms are most suggestive of anxiety or depression about these cirucmstances, nothing more.
Don't be scared of HIV tesitng. Even in the exceedingly unlikely chance it were positive, it isn't the test that causes the problem -- it is having HIV. There is nothing but trouble from delaying knowledge of it. But don't get me wrong: your HIV test is going to be negative.
Finally, if/when you decide on similar experimentation in the future, do the common sense thing: do not have sex, even safe sex (which you had!) without first assuring that your partners are HIV negative. Online partner seeking represents an ideal opportunity for that; all in all, it has improved HIV safety for many people because it allows people to be honest (while still anonymous) about their HIV status. Even face to face, most people don't lie. It isn't foolproof, but think how much better you would feel now if you had confidence your partners weren't infected.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I HOPE MY QUERIES WOULD BE ANSWERED.
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