{"id":20158,"date":"2022-07-06T10:14:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T10:14:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/?p=20158"},"modified":"2024-10-14T09:14:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T09:14:54","slug":"how-long-should-hiv-ars-last-when-pep-medication-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/20158","title":{"rendered":"How long should HIV ARS last when PEP medication fails?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi, how are you doing?<\/p>\n

As you have mentioned, ARS can last from a few days up to a few weeks. For most, 2 weeks is the earliest that ARS will resolve. It is not uncommon for ARS to last longer than this.<\/p>\n

Your doctors are right not to start you on ART yet. As you do not know if you are positive, ART can suppress how tests work in the earliest stage of seroconversion. This is for the same reason that testing while on PEP is not accurate.<\/p>\n

Starting treatment now may mean you are starting treatment that is not suitable for you. Waiting these few weeks will not have a harmful effect on your health.<\/p>\n

Why have you considered your exposure with this CSW as high risk? As you started PEP so soon it is much more likely that it was effective. There are many infections\/illnesses that can cause the same symptoms you are experiencing – a big one in this case is stress.<\/p>\n

Another factor could have been a poor reaction to PEP and you are experiencing side effects. Have you been able to discuss with your doctor any other causes for your symptoms?<\/p>\n

Please see this link for more information about PEP:
\nhttps:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/factsheets\/pep-faq<\/a><\/p>\n

Josh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi,<\/p>\n

How long should HIV ARS last when PEP medication fails?<\/p>\n

I had a high-risk exposure with an HIV+ CSW when the condom broke. I developed a bruise after the condom broke, due to poor lubrication, which increased my risk.<\/p>\n

I started PEP at six hours post exposure (TLD). I received 30 tablets and took them all religiously. However, after 16 days, I developed headache, diarrhea, night sweats, swollen lymph nodes in the groin, abdomen and neck, as well as body aches. The diarrhea stopped on day 18. On day 21, I developed a dry cough which was accompanied by an irritating sensation going deep down in the chest. On day 24, the irritating sensation whenever I coughed expanded to include the throat.<\/p>\n

On day 31, after completing the PEP dose, I went to a hospital for an HIV text, which came back negative.<\/p>\n

However, on day 33, the headache, swollen lymph nodes, and body aches intensified significantly and I also developed some minor chest pain. On day 35, I noticed a white spot at the back of my throat. Today is day 36; the cough has subsided but still lingers a little. However, the headache, lymph nodes and body aches remain significant.<\/p>\n

I am certain that the PEP failed and that I am undergoing HIV ARS. My question though is, how long should the ARS last? I have read that HIV ARS lasts one to two weeks but this has now lasted three weeks.<\/p>\n

This bothers me because I feel as though I contracted a really bad variant of the virus, for which the body is taking longer than usual to complete the seroconversion. I intend to go ahead and start my ARV treatment but the hospital will not give me ARV treatment before the tests turn positive, which can only happen after the ARS ends. Is it common for people to experience HIV ARS for longer than three weeks?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,22,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-topics","category-hiv-testing","category-peppepse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20158"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23884,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20158\/revisions\/23884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}