Restart pep?
About two months ago, I had sex with an African sex worker till I realized the condom had torn. The exposure was very brief before I noticed it. I went to the hospital around 24 hours later, and the doctor started me on a 28-day TLD course (PEP), along with 7 days of doxycycline and one ceftriaxone injection. My baseline HIV test was negative. They also found my anti-HBs level was low, so I started the hepatitis B vaccine series (only took the first dose so far, second is overdue).
I completed the 28-day TLD course last month.
Today, I completely lost my mind in the moment and knowingly agreed to one full round of unprotected sex with a North Eastern Indian sex worker. I genuinely don’t know what I was thinking, and now I’m panicking and regretting it badly.
I consulted a doctor (MBBS, MD General Medicine, 16 years experience) through an online consultation app. He told me I do not need to restart PEP because the medicines still have some lasting effect. But ChatGPT suggested the opposite and said PEP should usually be restarted after a new exposure.
I’m confused and would really appreciate advice from people who are experienced with HIV/PEP guidelines or who work in healthcare. Should I restart PEP or trust the doctor’s advice?