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Should I re-test or move on?
Dr's, First of all Thank You. Wonderful service you provide here. I read a LOT of posts in the last 5 weeks before deciding to ask my questions.
Reason for concern: Broken condoms. Between meaningful relationships I indulge in CSW's, hundreds over the years. Never had STDs/UTI, test every 6 months.
In 2 months I had 2 condoms fail. I was not worried about HIV until I started reading about it.
Exposure dates: Oct. 25 and Nov. 9th.
About Nov. 14 I noticed some yellow discharge if I milked for it.
Nov. 21st I got sick. Sore throat, muscle pain, sinus infection, NO fever but I started taking 800 mil. of acetaminophen 3 times a day, (by the way, Wikepedia mentions sinus infection as an ARS symptom). After 2nd exposure I was informed by the CSW that she has had Clam. in the past but was treated.
I went in for a test 24 days later on Dec. 3. Gon., Clam., HIV neg.
I have recently noticed what I believe may be a swollen node, just right of center above my groin and below my stomach it is not in the crease of my legs/hip. It seems large to the touch and very soft. It moves around when i gently push and I can feel fluid in it. It does not hurt nor is it visible...UTI the reason?
My guestions are:
1. Is 11 days too soon to see signs of ARS and is there any known cases of ARS with sinus infection?
2. Can acetaminophen keep an ARS fever from presenting?
3. Should I be concerned about having contracted HIV?
4. Does having a UTI increase the chances of contracting HIV with a second exposure? It seems like it may.
5. Should I retest for HIV?
6. Should I start taking Flagyl for the UTI?
7. Should I test for something else before taking Flagyl?
8. Would you say that what I described sounds like a swollen lymph node?
9. 24 days after exposure and a negative HIV test...should I move on and what to do about the UTI???
Please add any advice you can think of.
Thanks again for your services and best to you all. Happy Holidays!
Reason for concern: Broken condoms. Between meaningful relationships I indulge in CSW's, hundreds over the years. Never had STDs/UTI, test every 6 months.
In 2 months I had 2 condoms fail. I was not worried about HIV until I started reading about it.
Exposure dates: Oct. 25 and Nov. 9th.
About Nov. 14 I noticed some yellow discharge if I milked for it.
Nov. 21st I got sick. Sore throat, muscle pain, sinus infection, NO fever but I started taking 800 mil. of acetaminophen 3 times a day, (by the way, Wikepedia mentions sinus infection as an ARS symptom). After 2nd exposure I was informed by the CSW that she has had Clam. in the past but was treated.
I went in for a test 24 days later on Dec. 3. Gon., Clam., HIV neg.
I have recently noticed what I believe may be a swollen node, just right of center above my groin and below my stomach it is not in the crease of my legs/hip. It seems large to the touch and very soft. It moves around when i gently push and I can feel fluid in it. It does not hurt nor is it visible...UTI the reason?
My guestions are:
1. Is 11 days too soon to see signs of ARS and is there any known cases of ARS with sinus infection?
2. Can acetaminophen keep an ARS fever from presenting?
3. Should I be concerned about having contracted HIV?
4. Does having a UTI increase the chances of contracting HIV with a second exposure? It seems like it may.
5. Should I retest for HIV?
6. Should I start taking Flagyl for the UTI?
7. Should I test for something else before taking Flagyl?
8. Would you say that what I described sounds like a swollen lymph node?
9. 24 days after exposure and a negative HIV test...should I move on and what to do about the UTI???
Please add any advice you can think of.
Thanks again for your services and best to you all. Happy Holidays!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I have nothing more to say. Move on.
Follow up...Dr. I realize you have no further comment but
thought I would post a follow up for readers whom, like
me, look for the end of a post and not a trail off of sorts.
I retested as schedule permitted at day 39 post exposure.
Oral swab...negative for hiv.
I am presuming that I am fully hiv negative at this point.
If I was infected and the symptoms I experienced at
day 11 were due to ars then by all accounts I should
have been positive in my first test, drawn blood, at day
24. That was 13 days after first sign of symptoms.
Add the new test at day 39.
I will move on unless you advise otherwise Dr's.
Thanks again for your services to all of us who seek it.
thought I would post a follow up for readers whom, like
me, look for the end of a post and not a trail off of sorts.
I retested as schedule permitted at day 39 post exposure.
Oral swab...negative for hiv.
I am presuming that I am fully hiv negative at this point.
If I was infected and the symptoms I experienced at
day 11 were due to ars then by all accounts I should
have been positive in my first test, drawn blood, at day
24. That was 13 days after first sign of symptoms.
Add the new test at day 39.
I will move on unless you advise otherwise Dr's.
Thanks again for your services to all of us who seek it.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I agree with your doctor both about your symptoms (the chills etc were not due to any STD, probably a non-sexually transmitted virus); and his experience with heterosexually transmitted HIV. I have seen such cases, but only in people who were the regular sex partners (for many years) of partners with HIV. I have never seen a case that occurred after a single sexual exposure.
That's all I will have to say. It seems your own doctor is quite knowledgeable about these things. She is the one to ask if you have further questions.
That's all I will have to say. It seems your own doctor is quite knowledgeable about these things. She is the one to ask if you have further questions.
Thank you for your professional opinion. It is appreciated.
I should have also added that the exposures were brief, under 45 seconds each, for what its worth.
I have had chills on and off and soft stool since being sick, but want to attribute that to the "NGU" or the virus/sinus infection.
I was seen by a Dr. for both the onset of being sick and the std's. First Dr. said I had a virus after checking for flu and strep. STD Dr. checked my nodes and stated she was not concerned re: HIV.
The counselor there also added that in his 20 yrs he has yet to see a confirmed case of insertive hetero HIV transmission. Have you?
I looked at some diagrams on the web for lymph node location. I do not believe what I am feeling in my groin is a node. It is not in the crease of my leg but above my genitals.
I will get tested again, of course.
Any further opinions/comments from you based on my additional comments is greatly appreciated.
Very best to you.
I should have also added that the exposures were brief, under 45 seconds each, for what its worth.
I have had chills on and off and soft stool since being sick, but want to attribute that to the "NGU" or the virus/sinus infection.
I was seen by a Dr. for both the onset of being sick and the std's. First Dr. said I had a virus after checking for flu and strep. STD Dr. checked my nodes and stated she was not concerned re: HIV.
The counselor there also added that in his 20 yrs he has yet to see a confirmed case of insertive hetero HIV transmission. Have you?
I looked at some diagrams on the web for lymph node location. I do not believe what I am feeling in my groin is a node. It is not in the crease of my leg but above my genitals.
I will get tested again, of course.
Any further opinions/comments from you based on my additional comments is greatly appreciated.
Very best to you.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the HIV forum. Congratuations for the "good news" part of a good news/bad news situation (frequent high risk partnerships, bad news; consistent use of condoms, good news). As for HIV, I see no serious concerns. But let's look at some of your questions.
"yellow discharge if I milked for it": You had urethritis, i.e. gonorrhea, chlamydia, or nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Nothing else causes discharge from the penis. Since the gonorrhea and chlamydia tests were negative, probably it was NGU.
"I have recently noticed what I believe may be a swollen node" probably doesn't mean much. Most people have slightly enlarged lymph nodes in the groin that can be felt if you look hard. As for HIV, a single enlarged node isn't a concern. HIV causes widespread lymph node enlargement, not just one or two nodes here and there.
Finally, most people with HIV have positve blood tests by 24 days. Not all of them, but the negative result tends to confirm what was already known: the chance of HIV from this sort of exposure is low.
1) ARS symptoms usually start at 10-14 days. But Wikipedia is wrong (you know of course that anybody can write whatever they want there); sinus symptoms are not common in ARS.
2) It is unlikely that acetaminophen would completely prevent ARS fever. Of course there has been no research so I can't be dogmatic about it.
3) I see no serious HIV concerns here.
4) You didn't have a UTI. You had an STD, probably NGU. That elevates the concern about HIV acquisiton. But still the odds remain strongly in your favor.
5,9) The 24 day result is reassuring but not definitive. Have another test after 6-8 weeks to be sure you weren't infected.
6,7) Trichomonas is not a likely cause of your urethritis. You don't say whether you have been professionally evaluated and treated. If not, obviously you need to do so. The standard treatment is doxycycline or azithromycin, not flagyl.
8) I can't tell whether or not you have an enlarged lymph node. If you do, it doesn't elevate the concerns about HIV. Other causes are far more common.
Regards-- HHH, MD
"yellow discharge if I milked for it": You had urethritis, i.e. gonorrhea, chlamydia, or nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Nothing else causes discharge from the penis. Since the gonorrhea and chlamydia tests were negative, probably it was NGU.
"I have recently noticed what I believe may be a swollen node" probably doesn't mean much. Most people have slightly enlarged lymph nodes in the groin that can be felt if you look hard. As for HIV, a single enlarged node isn't a concern. HIV causes widespread lymph node enlargement, not just one or two nodes here and there.
Finally, most people with HIV have positve blood tests by 24 days. Not all of them, but the negative result tends to confirm what was already known: the chance of HIV from this sort of exposure is low.
1) ARS symptoms usually start at 10-14 days. But Wikipedia is wrong (you know of course that anybody can write whatever they want there); sinus symptoms are not common in ARS.
2) It is unlikely that acetaminophen would completely prevent ARS fever. Of course there has been no research so I can't be dogmatic about it.
3) I see no serious HIV concerns here.
4) You didn't have a UTI. You had an STD, probably NGU. That elevates the concern about HIV acquisiton. But still the odds remain strongly in your favor.
5,9) The 24 day result is reassuring but not definitive. Have another test after 6-8 weeks to be sure you weren't infected.
6,7) Trichomonas is not a likely cause of your urethritis. You don't say whether you have been professionally evaluated and treated. If not, obviously you need to do so. The standard treatment is doxycycline or azithromycin, not flagyl.
8) I can't tell whether or not you have an enlarged lymph node. If you do, it doesn't elevate the concerns about HIV. Other causes are far more common.
Regards-- HHH, MD
O ya, I forgot, during the time I was sick I also had some severe cold sores.
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