Help needed urgently please. HIV fear.

[sultan284]

Hello, exactly 55 days ago, one day short of 8 weeks I has brief, unprotected vaginal sex with an African male. He penetrated me for maximum of 30 seconds and thereafter wore a condom after which we engaged in full intercourse. Before we had sex I asked him about his sex life i.e. when last he had unprotected sex and when last he had a full STD/HIV test performed on him. He said the last time had unprotected sex was 10 years ago and that he goes for medical checkups including HIV tests once a year. His last test occurring feb 2012 i.e 5 months before we had sex. After sex I asked him again about his sexual history and he gave the same response. Anyway fast forward to our weeks later, I started getting paranoid and I freaked out calling him to ask him about recent exposures, he assured me that he doesn't engage in unprotected sex and that he go tested in Jan and hadn't been exposed since then. He also mentioned that he didn't pre-cum in me during the few moments of penetration because he wasn't  really aroused, (at the time I was very reluctant to have sex because I just got out of a relationship and I was still emotional). So yeah our sexual encounter wasn't really passionate.


Anyway I decided to go for some tests.

6 weeks- 2nd generation antibody strip test.

6 weeks 4 days- 3rd generation ELISA antibody test and a separate 4 th generation duo-combination test for antibodies and p24 antigen.
55 days i.e. 7 weeks and 6 days approx 8 weeks- 3rd generation antibody test.


All results are negative.

I have had no ARS symptoms except a runny nose and sneezing. I am a health individual, 26 year old female.

I am so terrified and this fear has taken control over me. I understand that the duo combination is conclusive at 6 weeks and that most people would have developed antibodies by 6 weeks. how reliable is my 8 week antibody result and the duo-combination. Can move on from this and start recovering psychologically from this ordeal?

[sultan284]

Error after 3 months or 12weeks

[sultan284]

Thanks so much for your responses Coffee and Vance. I intend to go for a test after  3months or 8 weeks but I'm just so terrified and trying to find ways to calm down. I know that people lie about HIV status but I have known this guy for a while even though we were never close and when I called him after freaking out he sounded very reassuring and told me that lying about one's HIV risk is as terrible as committing murder, in other words saying that he would never lie about such. He also assured me that he goes for annual tests once or twice year. Im trying desperately to believe him.

Also he said he didn't pre-cum because he wasn't very aroused and to an extent I can believe this because I was literally crying during the ordeal (guilt about having sex with someone else other than my ex-boyfriend if 3 years who broke up with me).

Also, Ive read that although Precum contains HIV, pre um presents a lower risk if infection due to it's volume and reduced amount of HIV virus in comparison to sperm. Despite this, I'm hoping he didn't Precum during those brief moments.

Lastly I'm trying to reassure myself with the thought that the HIV rate in the country he is from is 4 per cent of the total population as opposed to say 15 per cent. Gosh I feel like I'm going crazy. I just need to know that I'm most certainly okay. I will retest but the wait is agonising.

[Night292Rec]

Your risk now is on-the-order of dying in a car accident.
Unless you're going to stop driving and leaving your house, stop freaking out.

But you wear a seat-belt when you drive.
Get your 3 month test.
Expect it to be negative.

[Vance2335]

3 months is when you can obtain a conclusive negative test. 6 and 8 week tests are a very good indication and unlikely to change but 3 months is still conclusive.