u/No-Wrangler4358

Hi all, I hope you are all keeping safe and well.

I started pep around 59 hours after a high risk exposure (I tried to get it at 24 hours but emergency department told me to wait until Monday when the clinic opens because it's fine as long as it's within 72 hours. I didn't know that effectiveness decreases after 24-48 hours).

During pep I started getting sore throat and slightly tender feeling lymph nodes. Shortly after finishing pep I began getting heavy fatigue alongside the sore throat and lymph nodes, getting progressively worse over 2-3 weeks. Then I also developed nausea and diarrhea which has been going on for three days, alongside chills and feeling quite hot on my forehead.

Anyone else experienced something similar but tested negative? I'm waiting for RNA test results to come back and I'm thinking of sending off a blood sample for 4th gen testing soon. I was going to wait for 4 week post pep mark, but these symptoms have been stressing me out. I should hopefully receive the rna results back today or tomorrow, but now I'm feeling pretty sure that I will test positive.

Been so depressed lately, I think the fatigue has worsened it a lot, and my career is suffering a lot because of it. I'm pretty worried cause I took pep late towards the end of the window, and my exposure was much higher risk than most of the others I've seen here. Thankfully I've not had a rash yet, so I suppose the symptoms could still fit with mono or COVID etc. Just really concerning timing.

Sorry for the long post, but basically I'm a bicurious guy, only ever been with women and always practiced very safe sex. I had a bad experience with drugs when I was 18 so I've always stayed away from them as a rule. However, recently I was out drinking with some friends and I got way more drunk than usual (I've had lots of stuff going on in my life, so I think it pushed me to drinking a stupid amount) and someone offered me some lines which I stupidly took.

Long story short I ended up snorting a bunch of stuff and ended up going to some apartment with a bunch of random people I met at the pub. A few of them were gay and I remember one of them was flirting with me and I was kinda flirting back. I completely blacked out, but I have some memory fragments which suggest that I had sex with the random guy (aged about early 20s).

When I woke up the next day I freaked out cause I realised how dangerous the situation was. From the details that I do remember, some sexual stuff happened with him. I'm not sure if I actually penetrated him, but there's a high chance I did (and if I did it would have been unprotected). I managed to get PEP (although I started pretty late, towards the end of the 72 hour period). It's been a few days since I finished PEP and I've been feeling so anxious, I've been experiencing lymph node swelling and a sore throat, but I think it could just be from getting run down cause of the stress.

Basically what I was wondering is how common is HIV infection among young MSM in the UK, particularly those who are into partying/hookups? I know the prevalence is relatively high, but that's mainly concentrated in older guys who got it back before ART and PREP was a thing, and they're mostly all suppressed. I'm of course not trying to generalise and sound like I think having a sexual encounter with a gay guy = 100% chances that they have HIV. But I keep overthinking and obsessing, mainly due to the fact that he was into the whole drugs/party/random hookup scene, so I guess it's more likely than general MSM population.

My apologies if I'm being ignorant on any aspects of this. Happy to be educated more. Btw, I've quit drinking after this due to how it got me into such a risky situation, and I don't really intend on having any more LGBT encounters again (not against it, it just wasn't really for me tbh) so I don't need any advice to stop drinking or to get on PrEP, I've definitely learned my lesson. I also don't have his contact details so I can't ask him about his status. Also, I will test at 4 weeks and 6.5 weeks after finishing pep. It's just the wait that's causing me so much anxiety and causing me to spiral.

If anyone could give some insight as to how rare/common hiv transmission is in these circles in 2026 UK I would be greatly thankful. Or if you have any words of wisdom or support that might help me in this stressful time. Again, I know that I was really really stupid to get myself into the situation, and I apologize if I come across as adding to stereotypes/stigmas around hiv among gay men, it's really not my intention.

Thanks in advance!

M25 here. I had a risky encounter in which I got super drunk and 80% sure I did unprotected anal (insertive) with a random gay guy (aged 20 or so) who I met at a club. Never done anything like this before, and I was way more drunk than I've ever been, and barely even remember it. I took pep around 58-60 hours after exposure as I couldn't get it over the weekend. Initially when I did a bit of research it said there's less than 1 in 1000 chance for an insertive partner and pep is 99% effective when taken within 72 hours, so I felt pretty confident and relieved that my chances were about 1 in 100,000 worst case scenario.

I have a fiance and I'm working away in USA currently. I feel awful that a one off terrible mistake that I made when incredibly intoxicated (to the point that I can't even remember anything except flashes) will ruin her life as well as mine. Gone completely sober after this as a result. Terrified to ever drink again.

However, soon after starting pep I started reading about how after 48 hours effectiveness really drops off, and how transmission probability is 1 in 161 for uncircumcised men. A lot higher if they're acutely infected. The four weeks I was on pep I was struggling immensely with anxiety and constantly thinking about it nonstop. I've had swollen lymph nodes starting in my neck then moving to armpits and groin (started in first week or so of pep, groin swelling is still ongoing) plus sore throat.

I just want to know for certain if the pep has failed or not, but I keep reading conflicting reports on when the test is conclusive, and apparently 6 weeks after finishing pep is "conclusive" but then I read that it's only 99% but treated as conclusive by most clinics. I have a RNA test that I was planning on taking at day 15 post pep, but I've also read that it can take longer for viral RNA to rebound after pep.

Starting to wish that I never took pep, so I could have had a 99% accurate rna test 14 days ago and then have almost definite answer in a few days, instead of waiting in unbearable distress with all the uncertainty around how long pep will delay seroconversion.

Really struggling and in a dark place right now. Anyone got any advice on how to get through this period? Thanks in advance