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Avatar universal

HIV from fellatio?????

I have learnt a lot from the threads here-I thank everyone for this. I understand ONLY a test can confirm my speculations but I am waiting for the 3 month mark to be sure result is 100% accurate. I am 21, female in UK.
I had a full sexual health screening on Sep 1st everything Negative! While I was happy I got negative results I was still speculating over why I had
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Avatar universal
A related discussion, Oral sex and STDs was started.
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Avatar universal
Read up to the docs reply to my post. x
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Avatar universal
my partner just tested positive thursday last week, we have been together for about four months, we have had protected sex all through except for one oral sex when i *** when he was sucking.. we have also consistently had mouth deep kissing. i am so scared to do the test, and what is your opinion about a possible transmission?
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
That post is totally irrelevant to your situation.  The worst possible source for you to get information about your risks for HIV is looking for bad news on the web.  The more you look, the more you will find.

You do not have HIV from the exposure you describe, period, full stop.  Additional  "yes but" and "what if" questions really aren't welcome.  Have the final HIV test that I initially recommended--but except for coming back to post the negative result, there is no point in continuing this thread.

HHH, MD
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Avatar universal

Hi. I see from your posts that you are feeling very scared and nervous about HIV. You've heard a lot about it, but, probably like me, you don't know much about it. And thus your fear.

As the doctor has suggested, the incident you describe is very, very unlikely to have given you HIV. Read what the doc and others have said about oral sex in general: not one case, out of millions, has ever been proven to have been gotten by oral sex. That might reassure you. Then again, it might not.

If not, I might suggest that you head over to the HIV support forum. The doc has done what he can do for you, told you that basically you needn't worry about this. If you still feel afraid, or need emotional support, try consulting a counselor. And definitely go and hang in the new forum and try to talk it out.

Something else I will add: under no circumstances should you spend any time at all browsing the Internet for HIV symptoms. They are so many, and so varied, that you won't learn anything and you'll only wind up driving yourself nuts.

Good luck to you, UKGirl. You'll be just fine.
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Avatar universal
I found this in the neuropathy forum of this site...

"HIV seroconversion illness commonly presents as a flu-like illness with muscles aches, enlarged lymph nodes, and sometimes neuropathy."

This was an answer to a question posted by a patient who describes the same muscle and nerve twinges as I have!!!
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Avatar universal
I think you are the same as me, and if you read the archives, the same as countless others on the internet. You are cunjuring up this symptoms because you have 'researched' them and are over-scrutinising every little ache and pain because you think you know what signs to look for if you are infected.
I have spent hours doing the same and have had all the symptoms you describe and more besides at one time or another. Its gotten to the point that I will not read anything about symptoms anymore because I know it will be just one more thing to get stressed about. I went through all this once before. I was convinced I was dying with all the symptoms from swollen nodes (so i thought), to bad night sweats that continued for months on end. That was 20 years ago. Needless to say, I was wrong. I cant actually beleive im going through this same old **** again, but im obviuosly a worrier, as are you by the sounds of it. Dont do any more research, listen to the doc. If anybody knows about this tuff, its him.
All the best, although Im convinced you dont need it.
From a fellow UK worrier.
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Avatar universal
Your right I'm not sick but these changes are bothering me.
I wonder how different I would feel (if at any different at all) or if I would have even noticed any change in myself if I hadn't symptom searched on other sites!
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79258 tn?1190630410
"I just don't understand why I have had all these changes since! I've never felt so unhealthy in all my life!"

Well, anxiety can certainly cause all the symptoms you describe. And sometimes we just get sick--that's life. Anyway, you don't sound particularly sick to me, but since you're this freaked out, see your doctor.

You sound like you've convinced yourself you have HIV, although I can't imagine why. Honestly, your chances of contracting anything were minimal at best. And I completely don't understand why you're linking the sore throat/underarm pain to this event, when you said it started two weeks before. Relax. You're fine. Get tested, and let it go. If you can't, seek counseling.
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Avatar universal
Well unless I got a false negative in September I can only have been infected by the oral incident! I hadn't had ANY sexual contact with anyone in the 3 months prior to the test other than oral incident which was 17 days before.

I just don't understand why I have had all these changes since! I've never felt so unhealthy in all my life!
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Avatar universal
sweetie please stop worrying!! stop self diagnosing!! okay, maybe the risk isnt zero, but its pretty damn close, I understand that's why you are concerned, but you don't need to be. you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning then you do contracting hiv. you read what the doc said, if you did contract hiv, it wasn't from this encounter. no worries!! if a negative test result is going to stop you from worrying, and over assessing yourself, then go for it. If it were me, I'd go for the test right now, you've waited long enough, and get it over with. The full screening you had a month ago is a very indication, and the next panel will come out the same.

you do not need to examine your lymph nodes!!! yes you can feel them if you try, (and yes even more so if you are skinny), I can feel mine in my groin, I always have. It scared the hell out of me at first because I was doing the same thing you were, but now I know it's normal and it was no cause for alarm.  if you had ARS symptoms, which you don't, your nodes would ALL be swollen, groin, pits and throat, and they would be very swollen, not just hard or enlarged as you think yours are.
stay away from any other websites besides this one. I know you're scared, and I can guess the reason is you've read stuff that's freaked you out. stop that, stop the worrying. get one last test if you really want to, not because you need to for your health, but so you can kill the anxiety and get on with your life.
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Avatar universal
I am wondering today what exactly 'enlarged nodes' would refer to?

By just looking at the areas (underarms, neck, groin) I can't see any redness or any lumps (other than the one behind my ear which my mum has told me this morning I have had coming and going for some time since I was about 16 and had an infection that caused my nodes to swell) but when I feel the areas I can feel the nodes, sometimes more so than other times and the are loose/movable. They are not bigger than pea size and not painful to touch-Other than the ones close to my breast where I can feel them most but I'm generally feeling sore under my arm and in my groin, similar to a pain I would feel from excessive exercise. I am naturally very skinny so is it normal that I would feel them anyway?
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
None of those symptoms suggests HIV.  The only one that comes close is lymph node enlargement, which you probably don't have.  Your symptoms are totally meaningless in assessing your HIV risk.  Put them out of your mind, or see a health care provider to learn their cause.  It isn't HIV.

HHH, MD

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Avatar universal
Advice taken.
All I wanted was a professional opinion on whether my 'symptoms' were consistent or not as from my extensive symptom searching on the net I have placed them all in line with HIV but clearly they are not. As I have now reached the 6-week mark I will take the dreaded test next week and keep my fingers crossed that I get a negative result. I guess I would have to be extremely unlucky to contract HIV from this incident but as the risk is not zero of course I am concerned!

Thankyou
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Avatar universal
Take the test for piece of mind.  If this was your only exposure then you have no worries.  Good luck even though you do not really need it :)
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Avatar universal
Thankyou for your advice, I appreciate it.
I just wanted to ask what symptoms you was refering to as being consistent with ARS and which ones are not?
The symptoms concerning me the most are the white lesions on my tongue, vaginal thrush and the body tingles and muscles twitching!
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Doesn't change my opinion or advice.

HHH, MD
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Avatar universal
I forgot to mention-This man told me he had been ill in the previous weeks. I am unsure of what he meant by 'ill' but presuming he had recently been infected with HIV, from what I have read this would make it more likely for him to pass on infection? Sorry-I am so worried, to me everything seems to fot so well with HIV!!!!
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
A single episode of oral sex, especially without ejaculation, carries no realistic risk of catching HIV, even if your partner was infected.

You are correct that testing tells the story, and symptoms do not.  Even though some of your symptoms are consistent with acute retroviral syndrome (ARS) due to HIV, others are not; and ARS is hundreds of times less likely than other things that cause identical symptoms.  Self-assessment that lymph nodes are enlarged is rarely accurate; unless lymph node enlargement was confirmed professionally, I doubt you had it.  Most of your other symptoms simply do not suggest HIV at all,  That is, you are exactly right that your symptoms "could be due to a number of things, including the incredible amount of stress I have endured over this...."  As I have said innumerable times, when a person suggests his or her symptoms might be due to stress, s/he almost always is right.

So have another HIV test 6 weeks after the exposure. To relieve your anxiety.  Despite what you have come to understand, which apparently continues as the usual advice in UK, you do not need to wait 3 months for a reliable test result.  (For extensive discussion, search this forum for "time to positive HIV test".)  Almost certainly the result will be negative.  In fact, if you were my patient and your test returned positive, my first response would be to look you in the eye and say "OK, let's talk about your actual risks for HIV, because you didn't get it from the event in Spain."

Good luck--  HHH, MD
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