Aa
How worried should i be??? Can it really be HIV?
Hey Doc,
I'm hoping you can help me. I just got back from the doctor and have been told that i have pneumonia - i'm a healthy 24 yr old heterosexual man. She said that I tested negative for influenza and strep. My doctor surprised the hell out of me when she asked me 1) if i'm gay 2) if i'm a needle drug user and 3) if i have hiv. I repeatedly told her no...and she just kept saying are you sure are you sure. And of course i said yes I'm sure. So, I asked her if i should get tested and she said i was in a low risk group so i didn't need to get tested. When i left the hospital the nurse told me the doc said i should get an hiv test with my primary doctor because they don't do them at the hospital for one reason or another.
So. Now I'm basically freaking out! Why would she do this to me? Here are my possible exposures...
Mid July 06 - protected oral sex from stripper
Late September 06 - unprotected vaginal sex with 19 year old girl "friend"
Early October 06 - protected vaginal sex with a girl i'd recently met
I know what your gonna say - go get tested - My last negative was in Late August which was about 6 weeks after my protected oral exposure. Can you just give my your thoughts on what I've shared with you? Are rapid tests as accurate as standard blood tests, etc. What should i do? What are the odds that I've contracted HIV and that this is pneumonia in the early stages of HIV? I'm so nervous - I'm going to go get tested but I just need your advice.
Thanks.
Lost
Thanks.
I'm hoping you can help me. I just got back from the doctor and have been told that i have pneumonia - i'm a healthy 24 yr old heterosexual man. She said that I tested negative for influenza and strep. My doctor surprised the hell out of me when she asked me 1) if i'm gay 2) if i'm a needle drug user and 3) if i have hiv. I repeatedly told her no...and she just kept saying are you sure are you sure. And of course i said yes I'm sure. So, I asked her if i should get tested and she said i was in a low risk group so i didn't need to get tested. When i left the hospital the nurse told me the doc said i should get an hiv test with my primary doctor because they don't do them at the hospital for one reason or another.
So. Now I'm basically freaking out! Why would she do this to me? Here are my possible exposures...
Mid July 06 - protected oral sex from stripper
Late September 06 - unprotected vaginal sex with 19 year old girl "friend"
Early October 06 - protected vaginal sex with a girl i'd recently met
I know what your gonna say - go get tested - My last negative was in Late August which was about 6 weeks after my protected oral exposure. Can you just give my your thoughts on what I've shared with you? Are rapid tests as accurate as standard blood tests, etc. What should i do? What are the odds that I've contracted HIV and that this is pneumonia in the early stages of HIV? I'm so nervous - I'm going to go get tested but I just need your advice.
Thanks.
Lost
Thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I deleted your highly inappropriate comment. You're complaining that your $15.00 wasn't worth it??? MedHelp policy is that the medical monitors are under no obligation to respond to any follow-ups after the original question. I often do it because I care. You got a cumulative 30 minutes of my time and expertise. My salary is equivalent to around $90/hour. I am happy to let others decide whether or not you got a raw deal.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The purpose of this forum is not anxiety relief for inappropriately frightened persons, especially to repeated questions after initial reassurance. Try again and you risk being blocked from all participation in Med Help.
Whoops, guess we posted at almost the same time ;-)
I'm not the doctor, but jeez. Are you serious? Of course young healthy people get bacterial pneumonia. And the twitching sensation that lasted two days is NOT peripheral neuropathy.
You don't have HIV. Period. If you can't let this go, talk to your doctor about meds for your anxiety, and make an appointment with a therapist.
You don't have HIV. Period. If you can't let this go, talk to your doctor about meds for your anxiety, and make an appointment with a therapist.
Hey Doc,
I wrote you a few days ago talking about a bout of bacterial pneumonia i was dealing with and doc told me to get an hiv test.
Well...I went to the STD clinic and they did an orasure HIV-1 only blood test and it came back negative - my last possible exposures were protected vaginal 4 months ago and unprotected vaginal about 5 months ago.
What I'm worried about is the pneumonia...Healthy, young, athletic guys just don't get bacterial pneumonia without some underlying cause. Also, when i got out of the hospital I had 2 days of what i contributed to being peripheral neuropathy as my left foot would vibrate in one spot every 4 seconds. Not to mention, I've been having joint pain and have been a little fatigued over the past couple of months. Of course, all I can think of as being the cause is - you guessed it...HIV! I'm convinced I have some other group of HIV like group N or O that just wasn't picked up or that I have HIV 2.
So, what do you think? Can FINALLY put HIV out of my system or should I do more testing? I'm still very nervous doc and just need your reassurance and/or advice.
Thanks.
I wrote you a few days ago talking about a bout of bacterial pneumonia i was dealing with and doc told me to get an hiv test.
Well...I went to the STD clinic and they did an orasure HIV-1 only blood test and it came back negative - my last possible exposures were protected vaginal 4 months ago and unprotected vaginal about 5 months ago.
What I'm worried about is the pneumonia...Healthy, young, athletic guys just don't get bacterial pneumonia without some underlying cause. Also, when i got out of the hospital I had 2 days of what i contributed to being peripheral neuropathy as my left foot would vibrate in one spot every 4 seconds. Not to mention, I've been having joint pain and have been a little fatigued over the past couple of months. Of course, all I can think of as being the cause is - you guessed it...HIV! I'm convinced I have some other group of HIV like group N or O that just wasn't picked up or that I have HIV 2.
So, what do you think? Can FINALLY put HIV out of my system or should I do more testing? I'm still very nervous doc and just need your reassurance and/or advice.
Thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Young healthy people get pneumonia all the time; it is not a rare disease at all. If they don't have obvious HIV risks (sex with other men, injection drug use, etc), almost none of them have HIV.
I will delete any further follow-up comments. Just move on.
I will delete any further follow-up comments. Just move on.
Doctor,
I've read on CDC site that you can get HIV through french kissing...is this correct? Wouldn't more people be getting HIV if this were the case? Also, can you get HIV if you rub your penis on a woman vagina but don't actually penetrate?
I've read on CDC site that you can get HIV through french kissing...is this correct? Wouldn't more people be getting HIV if this were the case? Also, can you get HIV if you rub your penis on a woman vagina but don't actually penetrate?
Doc,
I took your advice and went and just got tested at planned parenthood for hiv1/2. Little did i know - they do the orasure gum swab test and not a blood test - Praise God it came back negative (assuming i did it right) but she didn't show me the result just said it was negative - i'm pretty sure she'd tell me the truth though about something like that...you would think anyway.
Well,
I guess what i'm trying to get at is....
1) I was told this test is about 99% accurate. Is that good enough?
2) Should i go to another clinic and get a rapid blood test?
3) Can i finally put HIV behind me? PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Thanks Again.
BD
I took your advice and went and just got tested at planned parenthood for hiv1/2. Little did i know - they do the orasure gum swab test and not a blood test - Praise God it came back negative (assuming i did it right) but she didn't show me the result just said it was negative - i'm pretty sure she'd tell me the truth though about something like that...you would think anyway.
Well,
I guess what i'm trying to get at is....
1) I was told this test is about 99% accurate. Is that good enough?
2) Should i go to another clinic and get a rapid blood test?
3) Can i finally put HIV behind me? PLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Thanks Again.
BD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The test is even better than 99% reliable. You're home free. There is only one person in the world surprised by the negative result--you. Congratulations.
HHH, MD
HHH, MD
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Standard medical practice recommendations are that every healthy person who develops unexplained serious infections, such as pneumonia, should be a) tested for HIV and b) asked about HIV transmission risks. So it sounds like your doc did everything right. Depending on the practice environment, some docs may press harder than others. For example, if you are a single man in a city where lots of gay men or injection drug users have HIV, and if your doc is experienced, you can understand why he might have tried to be certain that HIV isn't a concern. However, your doc should have done the questioning in a way that reassured you about the low risk of HIV if you didn't have the risk factors she asked about.
From your story, though, you really have no worries about HIV. The large majority of pneumonia cases do not occur in HIV infected people, and your sexual history clearly is low risk. Just follow your doc's advice and have the HIV test. You can count on a negative result.
It is, however, ridiculous that the first doc or hospital 'doesn't do HIV tests'. That is wacko, probably the result of overblown concerns about testing regulations, consent procedures, etc. It also is directly opposed to current CDC recommendations on routine HIV testing since September 2006; see the guidelines at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/resources/reports/pdf/rr5514.pdf. You might bring it to the attention of the first doctor. (Note the second author of the CDC document.)
Bottom line: Relax, get tested, and expect a negative result. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
From your story, though, you really have no worries about HIV. The large majority of pneumonia cases do not occur in HIV infected people, and your sexual history clearly is low risk. Just follow your doc's advice and have the HIV test. You can count on a negative result.
It is, however, ridiculous that the first doc or hospital 'doesn't do HIV tests'. That is wacko, probably the result of overblown concerns about testing regulations, consent procedures, etc. It also is directly opposed to current CDC recommendations on routine HIV testing since September 2006; see the guidelines at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/testing/resources/reports/pdf/rr5514.pdf. You might bring it to the attention of the first doctor. (Note the second author of the CDC document.)
Bottom line: Relax, get tested, and expect a negative result. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the HIV - Prevention Forum
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.
