Please help doc worried sick!

[chrisscaredsick]

Dear Dr HHH

Thank you for commenting this site it has helped me immensly over the last few weeks. Please let me explain my problem, i stupidly slept with one girl unprotected whose status i did not know over thecourse of about two weeks, i then developed some funny symptoms about 4-5 weeks later so Googled them which was a big mistake as HIV flashed up so i went for a HIV duo test and full STD screen at a private clininc, it was all negative, however my sore throat continued so at 7 weeks i sheepishly returned and got another DUO test, again Negative. My sypmtoms have been ongoing though and at around 9 weeks my lymph nodes in my groin and neck started swelling and i had "sensations" for want of a better in the other nodes around my body. I again decided on an HIV DUO test at 9.5 weeks which was negative again. However i have had a rash, thrush, lymph nodes enlarged and a fever but keep coming up negative. The HIV consultant told me there was no chance i could have HIV after all these tests but i'm still worried as to why all these things are croping up, would you have any advice on what to do? please help?
Occasionally i have a slight pain in my testicle area and i have found a small lump, probablly smaller than a pea by the base of my shaft just were the pubic boe is on the left hand side. It's very hard and fixed in place.
P.s i'm ushally very athletic and haven't been ill for years!
P.p.s My doctor gave me no other possible cause either so any ideas would be welcome!!

Kind Regards Chris

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I'll try to help. However, since you have apparently read the forum quite a bit, I'm sure that you already know the answers to your questions.  Your problem is in intellectually applying the information in a way that relieves your anxieties.

Your fear of HIV is totally unwarranted.  You probably have seen many discussions about the fact that symptoms never make any difference in judging whether or not someone has HIV, and that test results always outweigh symptoms.  Your test results prove that you do not have HIV and that something else is causing all your symptoms.  Period.

You don't say whether or not your "rash, thrush, lymph nodes enlarged" were confirmed by your doctor -- but my guess is that, like the pubic area bump, he either did not confirm anything abnormal or is not concerned about those things.  Most nonprofessionals who believe they have thrush or enlarged lymph nodes in fact have neither one.  And if your doc wasn't concerned about your rash, neither should you be.  Your testicular symptoms don't sound like anything important either, certaily not HIV.

It is time to let HIV go, and to continue to work with your doctor about the actual causes of your symptoms.  If s/he continues to reassure you, you need to accept that reassurance at face value.  If you cannot, despite the reassurance you have had from your doctor, the HIV counselor, and now me, it suggests a need for psychological counseling about it.  Your inability to make the obvious facts reduce your fears is not normal, and indeed your emotional state might be the primary cause of most of the symptoms you describe.  I raise that possibility from compassion, not criticism.

Let's not have any follow-up "yes but" or "what if" questions.  It is unlikely there is any information you could provide that would change my opinion or advice.

Best wishes--  HHH, MD

[chrisscaredsick]

Thank you very much for your prompt reply it is very helpful to have a facility like this avaliable on the internet.

Just to follow up on two points i am already seeing a counseller who is a specialist in this area, she was the one who felt that the swollen lymph nodes were not being caused by anexitty but the rest alas could be. The doctor did comment on my glands but more have come up since the last visit to him.

Thanks for your answer above.
Chris