diff --git a/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py b/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
index 138cf1e..218a38d 100644
--- a/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
+++ b/src/mnemosyne/gateway.py
@@ -2707,17 +2707,17 @@ def create_app(
                 sse_buffer = bytearray()
                 usage: dict[str, Any] = {}
                 try:
-                    rate_limiter: OutboundRateLimiter = app.state.rate_limiter
-                    rate_limiter.acquire()
                     with client.stream(
                         "POST", upstream_path, json=outgoing_body, headers=headers
                     ) as resp:
                         status_code = resp.status_code
-                        retry_after = None
+                        # Record 429s for circuit breaker (non-blocking)
                         if status_code == 429:
                             ra = resp.headers.get("retry-after")
                             retry_after = float(ra) if ra else 1.0
-                        rate_limiter.record_response(status_code, retry_after)
+                            app.state.rate_limiter.record_response(429, retry_after)
+                        else:
+                            app.state.rate_limiter.record_response(status_code)
                         if status_code >= 400:
                             body = resp.read()
                             bytes_out = len(body)
@@ -2797,14 +2797,12 @@ def create_app(
 
         # Non-streaming
         try:
-            rate_limiter: OutboundRateLimiter = app.state.rate_limiter
-            rate_limiter.acquire()
             resp = client.post(upstream_path, json=outgoing_body, headers=headers)
-            retry_after = None
             if resp.status_code == 429:
                 ra = resp.headers.get("retry-after")
-                retry_after = float(ra) if ra else 1.0
-            rate_limiter.record_response(resp.status_code, retry_after)
+                app.state.rate_limiter.record_response(429, float(ra) if ra else 1.0)
+            else:
+                app.state.rate_limiter.record_response(resp.status_code)
         except httpx.HTTPError as e:
             emit_event(
                 "provider_error",