r/pep

I had sex with a sex worker, just one encounter, I used condom throughout even changed into new ones and as far as I know there was no breakage.

When it came time to finish she used her hand to jerk me off with the condom on for a short while (give or take 3-5 minutes) then when i couldn't come she removed the condom and jerked me off (with the same hand, no washing) for about as much as the previous time.

I started pep the day after the encounter.

How much is the risk of this type of exposure ❓ ❓

Just some encouragement to everyone. I tested negative today (fourth generation test) 4 weeks after finishing pep. Potential exposure was high risk and pep was started relatively late. I had all sorts of flu like symptoms over the past 4-8 weeks.

I will test again in 2 weeks and 4 weeks to hit the 6 and 8 week marks. I believe 8 weeks is basically conclusive.

Keep up hope everyone! Don't stress too much. Pep and stress can do weird things to the body so don't get too worried about symptoms!

One night, I was chilling in my bedroom, playing the black myth of wukong, till my friend called and told me that he made some results online and he wanna celebrate. I was like okay, let's do it tonight. We went to a bar and the vibe was amazing as usual, till we got drunk and we decided to go to a club at 3 AM. Man, we had so much fun at the point we drew attention to all the girls who were there (they were prostitutes of course). My friend didn't wanna comeback home alone because there were attractive hookers in there and he proposed to me that he takes 2 (one for me and one for him). I KNOW for a fact and experience that sex workers, you don't wanna mess with them, you don't do mistakes with them, that is why i had a rule not hook up with sex workers. But that night, I got a nice one and she seems beautiful, classy and still young (23 24 yo). I didn't wanna leave him alone, so I was like okay let's go.

I think I forever will remember that night for the rest of life.

After 20 minutes sex, I didn't feel anything and I didn't enjoy it at all. I still don't understand till today why I came up with the idea of removing the condom and continue the sex unprotected. I never done it in my entire life, I have always been so cautious about condom whether I enjoy it or not. Never had sex without it till that night. AND WITH WHO?????? A F. SEX WROKER. My days.

I can't lie that I felt something I never felt before, a direct contact. So just because she seemed clean and beautiful (I know it's not an argument at all), I decided to have 2 acts with her. Once i was done, my head started rolling. Oh myyyyyyyy lord what did I doooooo???? Listen, not only I did have unprotected sex, I came inside her 2 times, WITH WHO???????? AA sex worker?????? I am already sick thinking of it. Not only I was exposed to possible infections, but also pregnancy was a real risk too...

My head started rolling, thinking and thinking, endlessly for 2 hours straight. At this point, I have no idea that PEP exists. So I was just thinking about how will I know in case I get infected. Went to chatgpt, because this is where i usually brainstorm my ideas and thoughts, till he asked me some questions like ''tell me when it happened, type of exposure, protected or not''... Right after I told him that I had 2 vaginal exposures and about 1 hour now, he immediately responded something like ''it's already considered low risk, but to reduce that risk drastically, you may consider taking PEP for 28 days to PREVENT the infection.

WAIT WHAT? IS THAT EVEN A THING?? DOES this even exist??? after 1 hour research, I understood that it is the modern regimen for emergency, along with PreP that prevents infection.

10 hours later, I know how to act. But I was scared, at the point that I delayed taking PEP because in my culture and religion, these are considered extreme, and only people that the society neglects and reject them, that goes to places like that. I was scared I come across someone I know once I step there, they will see me, I started scolding myself hard and even talking to myself out loud sometimes on the street. Literally I couldn't go to the association related to STDs/STIs. Out of fear, and just because I was at the point to accept my faith as a sort of punishment (stupid of me I know). I went back home but I couldn't sleep and decided to go in the morning.

FYI: I delayed because I was misinformed and I did not catch ''the earlier the better''. I only understood that it is taken within 72 hours, and therefore I thought i had enough time.

The day after, went directly to that place and I didn't give it a second thought. Started the regimen 32/33 hours after exposure, and took the pills consistently for 30 days, with excellent adherence without missing any doses.

After reading too much about PEP, I kind of got relieved about it for some time since I was taking the protection related to it. My anxiety only hit me so hard about other STIs/STDs and how I will deal with them when they appear, especially that I am living with my parents, I don't want them to notice anything, nor to accidently infect them. On the other hand, the risk of pregnancy ate me alive, Omgggg how am i gonna deal with it, especially that it just recently happened to my friend. What am I gonna do if she appears 2 weeks later?????

I am by nature anxious. With problems that are bigger than me??? Man, I am dead to depression and feel like just a living skeleton.

4 days later, Herpes started to appear and I my anxiety was like ''just wait for it''. I was mentally dead for 25 days, between thoughts of pregnancy, and STIs/STDs

ABOUT PEP: I am glad that I did not feel anything worth mentioning, just mild symptoms that i didn't even notice, except for dizziness where my eyes come and go sometimes. I DIDN't feel symptoms or let's say I wasn't hyper sensitive and focused on my body, because in my mind, I was worried about other stuff than the infection, and for me i was taking protection, so it eased my anxiety towards this one.

I am now 41 days post exposure, 11 days off PEP. And since my anxiety cleared suspicions from other diseases and the risk of pregnancy (i haven't heard from her till now), my anxiety came back to HIV, because it is the last one left unchecked.

I started analysing my body, and the hardest part wasn't the medication. The hardest part was my brain. Every sensation became: "Is this it? nausea, itching, hot flashes, red bumps, acid reflux, diarrhea, jaw pressure, lymph nodes, all this checked repeatedly, and each time one of it happens, I am like ''this is it''.

Where as what's really happening is little warmth, gone. lymph nodes for couple of minutes, gone. hot flashes, gone within minutes. This isn't worsening, but behind each symptom, my anxiety says this one will finally reveal the truth. All day, everyday. I am generally okay, and each symptom i feel fade away, instead of progressive worsening (no fever till now (41 days post exposure), no extreme fatigue, just side effects related to meds which tiredness is one of them).

I still haven't tested, waiting for my 6 week after exposure (2 weeks off pep) checkpoint, and I will let you know if PEP really worked out for me (well if there was infection in the first place, because i don't know her status).

After going through this experience, I realized something important: sometimes the biggest battle is not the disease we fear, but the fear itself.

Anxiety can make you become your own detective, doctor, and worst enemy at the same time. It can convince you that every sensation has a meaning. A warm face becomes fever. A runny nose becomes a sign. A scratch becomes a rash. A dream becomes night sweats. It can keep moving from one body part to another, while your mind keeps repeating the same sentence: "This is it."

The strange thing is that anxiety doesn't always create fake symptoms. Sometimes it takes normal body sensations, things that happen to everyone, and shines a spotlight on them so intensely that they become impossible to ignore.

I also learned that anxiety can steal more than peace of mind. It can steal sleep, concentration, motivation, enjoyment, and even your ability to prepare for important things in life. It can make you stop living and start waiting.

If someone reading this is in the same place I was: don't let your nervous system do the job that tests and reality are supposed to do. Fear can feel like certainty when you're living inside it.

I'll keep u updated if you are interested.

Hi everyone
It has been 17 days of stress and anxiety
Started pep within 24 hours .

I had my RNA test on day 12while taking pep and it’s negative. While I know it’s not effective but can reassure you.
I have to finish my treatment but my dr she reassure me. What I want to say to everyone just stated pep, you are doing well 100% ! Thousands of people they don’t even care about their health. So you did very good.
The stress and depression come from taking THE meds every single day.
But everything will be alright ! Keep taking your meds and we all gonna be fine ❤️ all my support 🫂
Ps/ i need therapy after this ! I don’t know how I’m gonna have sex again hahah

Hi everyone, I hooked up with a sex worker on April 18 and started PEP the next day, at 25 hours after the encounter. I was prescribed Truvada plus Isentress twice daily.

My exposure was oral and vaginal sex, both fully protected with a condom. I’m male, and I understand that using a condom makes the risk extremely low to negligible. However, when I got home, I noticed a recurrent sore on the upper shaft of my penis. It came from a previous partner who had a cold sore, which unfortunately transferred genitally. The sore looked healed at the time, as it was brown in colour, and because it was on the upper shaft, I believe the condom covered it.

Still, I panicked and went to the hospital. I took my first dose of PEP at hour 25 and completed the entire regimen without missing or delaying a single dose. I finished PEP four days ago.

On day 28, I noticed a few tiny red dots on the sides of my arms. Since then, I’ve also noticed two small spots on my chest, far apart from each other, and a few on my stomach. Last night, I had a mild night sweat, though I think it may have been because my room was hot and I was under a thick blanket.

I’m scheduled for testing in 10 days because of the guidelines where I live I can’t get tested anywhere sooner.

I’m extremely scared, and my anxiety is making it hard to breathe. Does this sound like I’m becoming positive, or am I overthinking this?

Hi all,

Throwaway account for reasons I hope you can understand.

I (19M) had a potential exposure (insertive anal) on the 14th April. I was really drunk at the time but came to my senses after about an hour. Headed to the hospital within about 2 and got on PEP (Acriptega) 3 hours after the exposure. I finished PEP on the 12th May and had a negative 4th gen (Ag/Ab) test 2 days after. I also had a negative PCR 15 days into my PEP but I’m pretty sure that now means absolutely nothing. I plan to get tested again on the 26th of May with another 4th gen test to hopefully put my mind a little more at ease. I’m aware with everything I have done (very early PEP initiation and low-er risk exposure) that my chances of contracting HIV are stupidly stupidly low. But about 2-3 days ago I developed an ulcer on the inside of my bottom lip. And today, this evening a smaller white little lump has formed just below it. I don’t usually get these and I’m sure they’re nothing but as with the majority in this group my anxiety about symptoms is through the roof. I’m aware that symptoms aren’t accurate for diagnosing but anxiety seems to always win, especially when these things don’t usually happen.

I’ll keep you guys updated about what happens on the 26th but any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

I had an encounter with a guy that I dont fully trust and decided to go on pep, but I ran into some trouble with clinics and now im worried I was too late

i think we had sex at around 4pm, but now im worried it mightve been closer to 330pm which is when I took my first dose, and which would be the difference for going over 72 hours. am I overthinking this? i know the chances for hiv are already slim but honestly above zero is bad enough

I’m a 25-year-old male and was with a sex worker. During the first round of vaginal sex we used a condom, but during the second round, which lasted about 3–4 minutes, we didn’t use one. (I was insertive) After talking with my friend, he recommended I get tested and start PEP. The exposure happened on May 8, and I started PEP on May 10, within 48 hours. All my initial tests came back negative. I’m also circumcised, if that helps. I’m currently in my first week of PEP and still feeling anxious, but I’m hoping everything turns out negative. Any words of encouragement or positive experiences? (Yes I learned my lesson and this will be a dark month for me)

Hey guys I finished pep on 14.04.
next week I have an appointment for an 4th gen lab test.
It is 6 weeks after pep do you think the result will be conclusive or should I get tested later on ?

I am so nervous and scared, I hate that I have to do pep all over again, I was free!!

Hi all, hope you are all managing well. I just wanted to share my experience now I'm at the 4 week post pep timepoint.

The past 8 weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. I had a high risk exposure (unprotected anal) with a random person when I was incredibly drunk (can barely even remember it happening). I wasn't able to start on pep until around 58-59 hours after the potential exposure. During the past 8 weeks I've had nearly all the symptoms during the pep regime, followed by two weeks of heavy virus symptoms that started around 15 days after finishing pep (I think this was likely caused by a flu virus, hopefully).

I've been incredibly stressed and thinking about it constantly. Not a 30 minute period goes by where I don't think about it at least once. The uncertainty and conflicting information about testing windows post pep, effectiveness of pep, and transmission probabilities have been driving me crazy. I took an RNA test 15 days after finishing pep and it came back negative, alongside all other sti tests which were also negative. This gave me a lot of reassurance but of course still didn't stop my brain from constantly stressing.

I'm happy to say that I'm not 4 weeks on from finishing pep. It felt like this day would never come. I collected my blood sample this morning and posted it to the lab for a 4th generation test. I should hopefully hear back before the end of the week. I know that if I receive a negative result at this stage, it still won't be 100% certain, but unless I'm mistaken it should detect infection in about 95-99% of the cases if that's correct? I will repeat tests at 6 and 8 weeks post pep (4th gen), maybe do an RNA test at 8 weeks too but at that point I will have spent upwards of 350 USD on tests alone. I've heard that 8 weeks after pep is basically 100% conclusive (can any experts here please confirm).

I'll report back when I get my results. Hoping it all goes well, and to anyone reading this I hope you are well too.

i received blowjob from a female sex worker, i saw her teeth were bad, although i think there was no blood, she was also iv drug user, the incident happened 34 hours ago, i got her tested and she came out negative on a rapid test for HIV but she is positive for HCV, should i start pep or not ?? i am getting anxiety about the window period of the rapid test

I had unprotected sex 2 nights ago, he didn't finish in me and it was purely vaginal. He seemed pretty confident he didn't have anything, but didn't really remember the last time he was tested, so I was suspicious. Not because I think he was lying, but knowing alot of them are asymptomatic and only him getting tested would he ACTUALLY know..

This was the first time me doing this with someone I just met, and possibly a lack of judgement. I became immediately anxious because I am infact in the medical field and because HIV is not completely treatable it scares me so bad.

I called my Dr.'s nurse and she seemed very non concerned about it since they usually treat for people knowingly exposed to HIV+ people, and that's she's very rarely seen an HIV+ pt.

This immediately calmed my nerves, but she ended up asking my Dr and he said to go ahead with the PEP (Biktarvy).. So then my anxiety came back.

Is this treatment valid for me? It's unlikely I caught anything from him but it's better to be on the safe side. right?

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?

Is taking pep for 21 days then stopping it sufficient.

I am thinking of stopping due to side effects.

Read somewhere about 21 days trial.

I'm writing this post to encourage all of those going through the same journey. The anxiety is real, but keep taking the medicine as instructed by your doctor and stay strong. Trust PEP, and you will be fine in the end.

My exposure was receptive anal sex with ejaculation for at least two times (don't remember the exact number because I was drunk). The source was with another man who said he was on daily PrEP, and have regular hook-ups.

I went to the doctor at 10 hours after exposure. The doctor recommended me Biktarvy to be taken as PEP. It was prescribed to me by the doc because of my very high risk exposure and the status of my contact cannot be traced.

During PEP, I experienced fatigue, extreme thirst and mild rashes over the whole body. Even at 12 weeks after exposure, I still have very mild rashes (the doctor suspected it to be related to environmental pollution because all my blood works are clear and it is more like vasodilation under subcutaneous tissue rather than typical rash)

I tested NEGATIVE with 4th gen lab test and HIV NAAT at 2 weeks after PEP. And today, 8 weeks after PEP, I also tested NEGATIVE with 4th gen lab test.

The anxiety is no joke, especially during the waiting period after PEP. I try meditation to relieve my anxiety, and I also told my family about the exposure. Thankfully, they supported me throughout this journey.

And also keep in my mind that symptoms cannot diagnose HIV. If you have doubtful symptoms, discuss with the doc and get tested. But mostly, it's just the anxiety messing with us.

I hope all of those going through this PEP journey come out clean in the end. Stay safe in the future, and make smarter choice as taking PrEP. Be also aware of other STIs.

A little backstory...

30yo in LE and I was exposed to a needle stick injury and the hospital would not release the suspect's HIV status. Out of an abundance of caution, I decided to do the PEP.

The very first day taking it I experienced slight nausea and an overall "sick" feeling but it was very manageable and I was still able to continue doing daily tasks and going to work. It was very minimal in terms of feeling sick. The rest of the week I had no side effects at all.

Day 7 I had a bad sunburn and I started feeling fatigued and drained all day long. At night, I had extreme chills but I feel like this was mostly due to my sunburn.

I am now on Day 15 and have had a relatively very easy going treatment. Not once did I feel the need to ever call in to work or like I could not accomplish tasks or skip social outings. However, one thing I did notice is I am very fatigued during my workouts as if I hadn't eaten all day.

A couple things that I believe has helped me so far in having an easy time with the treatment:

-pine pollen tincture (boosts testosterone and supports immune system)

-RYZE mushroom coffee (not an ad) I believe this has helped me due to the ingredients creating an outstanding gut microbiome. PEP disrupts your gut but with a good microbiome, it shouldn't phase it. I've been drinking it for 3 months now.

-workout 5x/week

-eat a balanced diet

-no alcohol/rec drugs/or smoking.

-water water water

Like many of you, I have heard terrible things about this treatment and every doctor/pharmacist/other victims I talk to they just look at me like I'm battling cancer.

Will update going forward weekly.

TLDR I had very easy going treatment with very little to no side effects possibly due to to my current state of health and supplements I take.

I had unprotected oral and protected vaginal (this last one like 1 min) with an Chinese massage escort

Condom was ok, no blood, I had microcut on penis (a little of balanitis) she didn’t loose blood at all

Should I go for pep? (24h passed)

I had sex last day and it was unprotected. I’m the top and cum inside him because he wanted it. I’m stressed right now because of possible infection or hiv. I’m not sure if he’s negative. What to do? Should I take PEP?

Is this almost conclusive?

Will test in at end of June too but just hoping this is almost there