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Avatar universal

HIV symptom

Hello about 3 and a half weeks ago i had unprotected sex with a stranger.  I was really drunk and don't know how long i was exposed.  A day or so after that i started getting swollen tonsils and burning sensation on my penis.  I went to the doctors a few days after that and i tested positive for chlamydia.  I took the medicine and restested to see of i still have it.  Till now my tonsils are swollen not bad though i just notice them being larger than usual.  I took an HIV test and results came back negative but i know have to wait atleast 3 to 6 months for the virus to actually show ip if i did have it.  I also have been feeling a little weaker than usual and get hot flashes and some body pains.  Im trying not to ve stressed but its hard knowing might have hiv.  This is the first time ive had unprotected sex with anyone i wasbt dating for 4 plus years.  What is my risk of having hiv?  Does it sound like i obtained the virus?
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239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.  Thanks for your question.

Actually, you don't need to wait 3 months (and certainly not 6 months) for reliable HIV testing.  You don't say the exact timing of your first test, but if it was done about 3 weeks after the exposure, it's around 80% reliable.  It takes about 6 weeks for 100% reliability for the standalone antibody tests (below I have provided the link to a thread that describes why the official advice remains 3 months).  And if you make the effort to find a doctor or clinic that offers the combo test (for both HIV antibody and p24 antigen), the results are 100% reliable any time after 4 weeks.

You don't describe your partner, so I can't assess the chance she had HIV.  But if not a commercial sex worker or injection drug user, there's probably under 1 chance in a thousand she has HIV.  And a single vaginal sex exposure rarely results in transmission, even if the female partner is infected.  The risk could be a bit higher, given the apparent acquisition of chlamydia -- but still the odds are very strongly in your favor.

Finally, your sore throat and possibly enlarged tonsils don't concern me at all.  It is rare if ever that these are the only symptoms of a new HIV infection, and anyway they started much too soon.  HIV symptoms can't start sooner than 8-10 days after exposure.  And "hot flashes" and "body pains" are common with just about any minor viral infection and don't suggest HIV.

So all things considered, it is exceedingly unlikely you acquired HIV.  To be absolutely certain, have another test with the timing suggested above.  In the meantime, stay mellow.  I'll eat my hat if you turn out to have HIV.

Here is the thread with the discussion about timing of reliable test results.  Read it all; the important information is in the follow-up comments:

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/HIV-Prevention/-A-Question-on-Testing/show/1347755

Best wishes--  HHH, MD
Helpful - 1
239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Of course you are the only one who is surprised by your test result.  But congratulations, and thanks for the thanks about the forum.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Doc youre a smart man.  My test results came back negative!  I go to the doctors today to run more tests to see what's wrong with me.  I just started having night sweats yesterday.  Thanks for educating me and making me feel better.
Helpful - 0
239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Wrong.  "Has been known to get around" does not mark a woman as being at high risk for HIV. The chance she had HIV is probably no higher than 1 in several thousand.

You may also be interested to know that in the 8 years of this forum, there has never been anyeone who actually caught HIV from an exposure they were concerned about.  You're not going to be the first.  If and when it happens, it won't be from a low risk event like this one.

Don't post anything else until your test result is available.  It will be negative. Sorry, you just can't talk me out of it!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Doc a few of my friends told me today the girl i was with has been known to get around so i guess that makes her high risk and im not sure if she lied to me about her test results.  I hate this.
Helpful - 0
239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your test will be negative; when it is, it will prove HIV is not the cause of your symptoms -- especially since you now know your partner doesn't have HIV.  The minor irregularities you feel in the skin of your neck probably are not lymph nodes at all, and of course lots of things other than lymph nodes could explain tednerness in these locations.  Keep your hands off.  If your symptoms continue after the negative, see a doctor.  You can expect him or her to attribute most or all of them to anxiety.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Doc im going for my HIV test today I've had pain in my lymph nodes in my neck and armpit and groin and tonsils/throat are still kind of hurting.  The pain in my neck made it feel like it was super stiff and sore not so much anymore now the pain is mostly under my left armpit i can actually push the spot and it hurts but i dont feel any enlarged nodes besides the ones in the sides of my neck but they are tiny and i only notice them because i cant stop touching them.  I ask the girl to get tested again she said she did and everything came back negative.  Im extremely nervous which is probably making my nodes and throat hurt even more.  What is your take on this?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I don't think she was any of that.  Thank you so much doc you have really helped me out.
Helpful - 0
239123 tn?1267647614
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
It should be obvious that the important timing is when the blood is drawn, not when the result is received. One week is too soon; the negative result means nothing one way or the other.

HIV is extremely rare in university students, unless your partner also was an injection drug user, immigrant from an HIV/AIDS country (e.g. southern Africa), or otherwise at special risk.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you that really clears up some questions I was having.  I had the test done around a week after exposure and got the results back a week later.  So about two weeks.  I have no clue about my partner except she was a college student.  
Helpful - 0

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