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Brief encounter - unprotected insertive anal
Hey, there.
On April 1st I hooked up with some dude (HIV status unknown) in a bookstore/movie theatre. After messing around for awhile, and in the heat of the moment, I put approximately 2" of my unprotected penis (i.e., the head, and a little bit of the shaft) inside his anus (stupid, I know). Within five seconds (if even that long), I came to my senses and pulled out, and nothing else happened. (Well, I then put on a condom, but it broke before we could continue, so nothing else happened.) There was no ejaculation and, apart from what was required to enter him, no thrusting. And there were no cuts or sores on my penis. I cannot speak to the condition of his anus or rectum, i.e., whether he was bleeding inside or whether he still had sperm inside from a possible previous encounter the same evening.
Afterwards I didn't worry too much about it since I hadn't deeply penetrated him and since what penetration there was had been so brief, but--here it comes--on April 8th, seven days post-incident, I started feeling ill--muscle/joint aches, a couple of bouts of diarrhea, a swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck, slight fatigue, and some unattributable sweating (I have no thermometer, so I couldn't take my temperature), all of which lasted 2-3 days. As of today, three weeks post-incident, I'm still dealing with joint pain (wrists, fingers, knees, ankles); neck pain; minor sore throat; nasal congestion; and I've just had a couple of days of fatigue. As you might imagine, I am now worried that I've acquired HIV. (Yes, I know that you can't diagnose HIV infection via symptoms, but for me, this is simply too much of a coincidence to be a cold or some other virus.)
(Some other guy fingered me that night, too, and I also gave a couple of blowjobs--with no pre-cum or ejaculation--but I know that, under most conditions, these are not considered to be high-risk, so I'm not worried about any of that.)
I will of course get tested, first at six weeks out (unless I totally freak out and decide to pay for a PCR test--which I know is not a diagnostic test, but which would tell me if HIV were present), then, if that test is negative, after another month or so, but for now, how high do you think my risk was? Do you think that it's possible that the bogeyman has finally found me? More specifically:
1. Are depth of penetration and length of exposure factors in assessing risk/likelihood of transmission?
2. I keep reading/hearing that symptoms of primary HIV infection appear within 2-4 weeks, but I imagine that there could be some variability among people in terms of this timeline, so if I were experiencing symptoms of HIV infection, could I be experiencing such symptoms just one week later?
Oh, in case it matters in the scheme of things, I'm also diabetic (type II, insulin-dependent).
I would appreciate anything that you can tell me (and that would ideally help me to not further freak out). Thank you very much in advance.
On April 1st I hooked up with some dude (HIV status unknown) in a bookstore/movie theatre. After messing around for awhile, and in the heat of the moment, I put approximately 2" of my unprotected penis (i.e., the head, and a little bit of the shaft) inside his anus (stupid, I know). Within five seconds (if even that long), I came to my senses and pulled out, and nothing else happened. (Well, I then put on a condom, but it broke before we could continue, so nothing else happened.) There was no ejaculation and, apart from what was required to enter him, no thrusting. And there were no cuts or sores on my penis. I cannot speak to the condition of his anus or rectum, i.e., whether he was bleeding inside or whether he still had sperm inside from a possible previous encounter the same evening.
Afterwards I didn't worry too much about it since I hadn't deeply penetrated him and since what penetration there was had been so brief, but--here it comes--on April 8th, seven days post-incident, I started feeling ill--muscle/joint aches, a couple of bouts of diarrhea, a swollen lymph node on the right side of my neck, slight fatigue, and some unattributable sweating (I have no thermometer, so I couldn't take my temperature), all of which lasted 2-3 days. As of today, three weeks post-incident, I'm still dealing with joint pain (wrists, fingers, knees, ankles); neck pain; minor sore throat; nasal congestion; and I've just had a couple of days of fatigue. As you might imagine, I am now worried that I've acquired HIV. (Yes, I know that you can't diagnose HIV infection via symptoms, but for me, this is simply too much of a coincidence to be a cold or some other virus.)
(Some other guy fingered me that night, too, and I also gave a couple of blowjobs--with no pre-cum or ejaculation--but I know that, under most conditions, these are not considered to be high-risk, so I'm not worried about any of that.)
I will of course get tested, first at six weeks out (unless I totally freak out and decide to pay for a PCR test--which I know is not a diagnostic test, but which would tell me if HIV were present), then, if that test is negative, after another month or so, but for now, how high do you think my risk was? Do you think that it's possible that the bogeyman has finally found me? More specifically:
1. Are depth of penetration and length of exposure factors in assessing risk/likelihood of transmission?
2. I keep reading/hearing that symptoms of primary HIV infection appear within 2-4 weeks, but I imagine that there could be some variability among people in terms of this timeline, so if I were experiencing symptoms of HIV infection, could I be experiencing such symptoms just one week later?
Oh, in case it matters in the scheme of things, I'm also diabetic (type II, insulin-dependent).
I would appreciate anything that you can tell me (and that would ideally help me to not further freak out). Thank you very much in advance.
Yes, you had a risk, and you already know how/when to test. A DUO at 6 weeks would be an excellent indication of your status, then follow up at 3 months with an antibody test.
1. Are depth of penetration and length of exposure factors in assessing risk/likelihood of transmission?
Yes, to a point, but a risk is still a risk, and unfortunately unprotected anal sex among men is one of the highest risks.
2. I keep reading/hearing that symptoms of primary HIV infection appear within 2-4 weeks, but I imagine that there could be some variability among people in terms of this timeline, so if I were experiencing symptoms of HIV infection, could I be experiencing such symptoms just one week later?
Symptoms are useless when assessing status and risk. They are too inconsistent. Yours sound more anxiety related.
The best thing to do is remain as busy as possible until you can test to ease your mind a bit. Stay OFF the computer and google, that will only fuel your anxiety, and from now on, you must insist on using condoms for any anal sex. Even brief, shallow penetration can lead to infection...if you continue to play with fire, you'll eventually get burned.
Nothing else you did that night was a risk for HIV (although you may want to test for all STD's when you test for HIV...you could be at risk for other STDs as well).
1. Are depth of penetration and length of exposure factors in assessing risk/likelihood of transmission?
Yes, to a point, but a risk is still a risk, and unfortunately unprotected anal sex among men is one of the highest risks.
2. I keep reading/hearing that symptoms of primary HIV infection appear within 2-4 weeks, but I imagine that there could be some variability among people in terms of this timeline, so if I were experiencing symptoms of HIV infection, could I be experiencing such symptoms just one week later?
Symptoms are useless when assessing status and risk. They are too inconsistent. Yours sound more anxiety related.
The best thing to do is remain as busy as possible until you can test to ease your mind a bit. Stay OFF the computer and google, that will only fuel your anxiety, and from now on, you must insist on using condoms for any anal sex. Even brief, shallow penetration can lead to infection...if you continue to play with fire, you'll eventually get burned.
Nothing else you did that night was a risk for HIV (although you may want to test for all STD's when you test for HIV...you could be at risk for other STDs as well).
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