Q and A

Question

Can I assume my symptoms while on PEP are seroconversion?

23 May 2022. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission, PEP/PEPSE.

Hi, I’ve taken PEP due to the fact our condoms broke. I didn’t know the status of the lady. I took the Ranega (TLD) as PEP, after a week after I finished PEP I had flu and sore throat. Now we are in the 4th week and my body is itching and I can start seeing a rash.

Can I assume this is a seroconversion status? I haven’t taken any test yet because I’m waiting for a total of 6 weeks then I can go do a test.

Answer

Answer: Josh Peasegood

Hi, how are you doing?

No. This is not likely seroconversion. These are too few and too general symptoms to be considered seroconversion.

The flu and the sore throat are common. Regardless of being on PEP it does not stop the flu being common. Do you still have these symptoms?

It is possible that this rash is a side effect of Ranega. Have you spoken to a doctor about this? A rash should be seen by a doctor from when you notice it.

Have you been able to speak to your partner about their status? There are a number of factors other than the use of a condom that can alter the risk of a transmission.

You are right that a test is conclusive after 6 weeks after PEP. But you can take a test at 4 weeks to help with stress. This test will be 95% accurate and the test at 6 weeks will be conclusive. This is a guide about dealing with test anxiety. 

Please see this link for more info on PEP:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

Josh.

137 comments

  1. J-Tech •

    Hi,

    I completed my PEP course, but towards the last days of it I developed really bad bone pain nearly all over my body. The pain massively subsided about 7 days after my PEP completed.

    I had momentary neck pain the other day (within 7-8 days of taking PEP) but that subsided on the same day.

    Now I’ve noticed I’ve had a tingly penis (the inside of the penis where the urine travels through). It isn’t painful or burning and this stuff has all happened within days of me finishing PEP.

    Around 6-7 days after PEP I’ve got a few spots on my leg, but my GP said that these look more consistent with bug bites/hayfever.

    My doctor said the side effects would have been present at the beginning of the therapy so she doubts these a side effects of PEP. However, all of this just seems very intense.

  2. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Morse, no these are not symptoms of seroconversion. If this continues you should speak with your doctor about possible causes of this pain you are experiencing while you eat.

  3. Morse •

    Good morning/good afternoon

    I had hiv exposure, which was human bite, with a broken skin. It was confirmed that she is hiv+.
    I started pep 22 hours after the incident. The adherence to pep was good I believe, except that 1 day I took my pep 3 hours late and another day 1 hour late. And I completed the pep, that is, 28 days of pep

    15 days after I finished taking the pep I developed 2 boils on my scalp and which are almost painless and pusless. And whenever I eat something my skull would be throbbing or pulsating but no pain, and I would feel a bit of nausea. This is happening only after I have eaten something.
    Are these the symtoms of seroconcersion?
    I have no fever, no swollen lymph nodes, no body aching, no diarrhea, no rash.
    Thanks

  4. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Porbian, please see here for more information: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

  5. Porbian •

    Good morning
    I had unprotected sex with someone who turns out to be hiv positive 20 days ago.
    I started PEP 19 hours after the incident.
    However after 10 days into PEP I got diarrhea and too much noise in my stomach and a rash. I have no fever at all.
    Some websites are saying that diarrhea is the main symptom in acute hiv stage and that PEP, if failed, would not delay seroconversion or mitigate its symptoms, while on PEP.
    But if I am taking PEP drugs, which fights hiv virus and blocks it from replicating, then why would I still seroconvert or have seroconversion symptoms while on PEP, assuming that PEP failed?
    If PEP fails, will the PEP drugs become so ineffective that it will let the virus replicate to the point of causing acute hiv symptoms while I am on PEP?
    Remember, they say the acute hiv symptoms happens because the virus is replicating rapidly soon after you get infected.
    Can you please clarify?
    Thanks

  6. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Chi, no this is not seroconversion. It is a viral tonsillitis as your doctor has mentioned.

  7. chi •

    hello
    i had tonsillitis with swollen lymph glands , but without fever and no sore throat. and other symptoms .
    could it be seroconversion?
    i do see the doctor and he said it was Chronic Tonsillitis
    please help me

  8. Simon Collins •

    Hi Patrick

    Please see this factsheet on PEP which answers your questions about symptoms:
    https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq

    thanks

  9. Patrick •

    Hello. I am taking the pep LTD but got absolutely no symptoms apart from a very slight stomach upset and not a daily one . So far taken 26 of the 30 tabs given . No side effects . What could this mean?

  10. Josh Peasegood •

    Hi Emmanuella, signs of seroconversion would not occur this early after an exposure. Your current symptoms are not caused by HIV. Do you know if the patient from which you had a needle stick injury is on treatment/has a suppressed viral load?

    Please see here for more information about PEP: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq