is this ars or caused by stress ?

[neibet_ashira]

Hi

   _12 weeks ago:  I had a sexual encounter with a girl with unknown HIV status. I had an open injury in the palm of my right hand and my knee, as we hugged, other parts of my skin were in direct contact with her skin and swett...   as she approached me she dropped a big drop of saliva on the side of the head of my penis (circumsized); I went straight to the bathroom and washed out the saliva... I put on a condom and she gave me oral sex, we had no other form of sexual intercourse...
  The day after I had a cold, went to the doc and said it is a standard summer cold.

  _4 weeks later i developped s.thg that seemed like ARS with low grade fever and fatigue, at the start I had a soar thorat but then the soar throat went away but still felt fatigue for the next 4 days, I was sweeting a lot during the night,
_  I recoverd from the flu, but still was feeling frequent non identifiable funny pains in my granular areas, round the groin and under the arms
_   My condition improved for 2 weeks stress free
_   Last week i was over stressed again due to work dead lines  and suddenly I felt like my nodes got swollen under my arm pits and neck... I have a funny little cramps under my hands close to the arm pits and in the upper part of my legs, i have totally lost my appetite and was feeling like throwing up for a day...  I also have lost 3kgs for the last months
  I undertsand that stress can cause many of thesr symptoms, but I am mainly concerned about my sowllen glands, as I heard thats stress can induce the process of HIV duplication in the glands...  Do you think I could have caught HIV or any other STD?  If so what tests do you recommand me to take?
Thanks a lot for your help

[goodwill72]

I was in a very similar situation you are now. I had some sexual encounter with a partner with unknown HIV status and then I was feeling absolutely the same way. Sweating at nights, swollen glands and fatigue  ... you name it. I took me 3 month to understand and to be able to SEE it's got nothing to do with HIV or anything like that but may be some minor viral infection plus stress + anxiety that makes me think it could be HIV. It might sound plain stupid but the things like biking and weight lifting got me out from that cycle. I'm not trying to tell you how to treat anxiety that's a different issue but you should trust Dr. Hooks recommendation and yes stress may bring those kind of physical symptoms  and lot's more so you better reflect on that and try to make your life less stressful.

[alienshadow]

Your main problem here is anxiety related issues nothing else. Dont let this exposure get the best of you Dr. Hook has reassured you you dont have hiv from this exposure. Stress will also bring you down I would suggest if sex is going to make you flip out like this then just dont have it. Sorry if I sound rude but thats how I see it.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Sorry to hear abou this.  I however have little more to offer to you.  You may wish to take your situation to MedHelp's HIV Prevention Community (there is a link on the side of this post).  The moderators are highly knowledgable and quite helpful.  EWH

[neibet_ashira]

Till today, I still feel muscle pain in my hands and legs, I have light stool, I feel weekness in my hands and legs after waking up after sleep, and I feel in general tired and exhausted... I was having a headache for the last week as well but seems to be gone away now... it is an over all feeling of malaise, and need for sleeping, I have no fever or soar throat... i am confused about my situation, and i still can't get the idea of HIV out of my head... I have been taking a pill of Q10 in the mornings and a pill of multivitamine round lunch time to get me going,  I am worried about my condition as it is impacting my work and life in general...

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Sorry, you need to work with your doctor to sort out the casue of your swollen glands.  Some illness make glands in distant parts of the body swell and in some people there are swollen glands presnt as a normal finding.  There are jst too many possible explanations to deal with in this setting.  Good luck.  EWH

[neibet_ashira]

Thanks for your reply, I still have one question; I am feeling swollen nodes all round my neck arm pit and groin since 3-4 days now; I had few dirarheas, if this is not caused by ARS what could be the reason for this... My understanding all other infections have localized gland impact and not as generalized as this one. Could stress cause a generlized swollen gland effect. I been to my doc today he checked my throat and he said it seems like a tonsils infection, he totally igonred my remark about my other swollen glands and did not even check them; he measures my temp and I had none...

[Edward W Hook, MD]

There is simply no way that your symptoms are due to ARS.  The extent of your contact was hugging and skin to skin contact, having a single drop of her saliva on your penis and receiving protected oral sex from her.  None of these have any risk whatsoever for HIV.  

Since then you have had several sets of symptoms over the past three months - a summer cold, then a month later a sore throat, then, more recently a sensation of swollen nodes.  While some of these symptoms, at different time, could be components of an ARS syndrome but, when taken together do not fit the description of ARS, nor the timing.

This is not ARS.  Your exposure to your partner did not give you HIV.  You have nothing at all to worry about.  For you to get tested because of this exposure is a waste of time.  If my assurance does not help, then you should have a single HIV blood test.  It will be negative and at this time, that result can be believed with complete confidence.  Hope this helps.  EWH

p.s. Please do not respond telling me why this seems like ARS to you - it is not.  EWH