Acute HIV?

Hi All,
12 days ago I visited a strip club and had several lap dances. The girls at this club were very aggressive and what started out as unprotected oral (given to me) turned into unprotected vaginal sex with 3 different strippers. I normally would never do this but was slightly drunk and made a terrible decision. I looked up odds of contracting HIV and felt fairly good about my odds. But then 6 days after the incident I started getting nasal congestion, mild headache in the back of my head, fever between 98 and 99 degrees and very mild ear ache. Also, my head and feet have had a tingling sensation (hopefully just nerves/stress) Prior to this I had not been sick in at least 8 to 10 months. I am usually prone to at least one sinus attack every year. I know because of the unprotected sex with the stripper I need to test. My question is.....do these symptoms I describe sound like acute HIV? Thank all of you in advance for advice/comments.

[LIZZIE LOU]

ars comes at 2-4 WEEKS post infection and last for 1-2 weeks.   the symptoms that you are describing are not indicative of infection.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! Nerves seem to be getting the best of me. I will test at 6 and 12 weeks.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Hi Lizzie Lou,
I felt very comforted after your reply, however, this morning I woke up and felt an irritation on the right side of ky chest. I looked in the mirror and there is a 2 to 3 inch long and one in wide finish/red rash on the top right of my chest close to my shoulder. It has now been 14 days since exposure. I have continued with stuffy nose and mild headache. Fever has been low in mornings but yesterday got up to 99.2 in late afternoon. This rash has really gotten me worried. As for now it is only in the one location on my chest. To this point I have not experienced sore throat or fatigue. Thank you for any advice u can give.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Sorry, that was pinkish/red rash. Also, I never get rashes so it seems like it is more than a coincident. Thanks again!

[RainLover71]

you should be testing at 4 weeks with an HIV DUO test and then at 3 months with an antibody test.

[Teak]

Don't waste your money on an expensive test that will not give you a conclusive test result any earlier than any other HIV test result.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thank you RainLover71 and Teak. Is the fact that my temperature is not above 99.2 and that is usually only later in the day a good sign? Also, only other symptoms are small pinkish rash and nasal congestion. Sorry if I am redundant just trying to calm myself down. Thanks

[Teak]

Symptoms or lack of will never tell you anything about your status. The only way to know your status is by testing at the proper time.

[LIZZIE LOU]

everyone's temp is lower in the mornings and higher in the afternoon.  are you really taking your temperature every morning and afternoon?

a fever of 99.2 is not indicative of a fever associated with ars.

[RainLover71]

ARS fever is 101+ and an HIV DUO test is excellent at 4 weeks +.You don't have to suffer waiting for 3 months when we have excellent early detection tests avaliable to the public now.A negative DUO at 4 weeks will bring the anxiety levels right down,trust me,then you can follow up at 3 months.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thanks again RainLover71, Lizzie Lou and Teak. I have frightened myself beyond measure. It seems so strange though that these odd symptoms would arise right now at this critical time. To this point I would not describe them as flu like so hopefully my symptoms will not worsen over the next few weeks.

[RainLover71]

Are symptoms going to diagnose HIV without testing--No.So whats the answer at the end of the day--take a test to know your status.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Lizzie Lou,
Yes, I have been taking my temp several times a day with one of those digital ear thermometers. I am just trying to monitor things closely.

[LIZZIE LOU]

daily "monitoring" is doing nothing but fuel your anxiety.

you have been advised on when to test.  in the meantime...TRY to relax.

get off the internet reading about hiv...find something to occupy your time.  the odds that you contracted hiv from this are with you...most ppl don't have hiv.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thanks again Lizzie Lou....your kindness is greatly appreciated.

[pleaseforgiveme]

HiLizzie Lou,
I just wanted to tell you the small rash I had yesterday has diminished considerably. It's still there but not nearly as visible today. I have seen posts of people that are booted for being obsessive and I certainly do not mean to be and I am very thankful for your patience. If I may, one additional query before I begin an agonizing few more weeks before testing. Does a typical acute rash improve dramatically in one day? Does the rash come and go over the course of the entire seroconversion period?

[RainLover71]

No the rash doesn't come and go,it will only appear once.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thanks for the reply. Do they usually get better after one day like mine did?

[RainLover71]

No they last 1 to 2 weeks

[pleaseforgiveme]

Hi again,
I have a question regarding the events of the last two weeks. My confusion lies in the time frame of the symptoms.
If I may sum things up....I began having nasal congestion, mild headache and 99.2ish temperature about one week after exposure. These continued for approx one week and exactly 2 weeks after exposure (Sept 3rd) I woke up with a 2" long and 3/4" tall pinkish/red rash running horizontally across the top of my right peck close to my shoulder. The rash subsided greatly after only one day and is barely noticeable now. I basically have had no  symptoms since the two week post exposure mark.

I am wondering the likelihood of having ARS appear after only one week then symptoms ending at almost exactly 2 weeks post exposure with a chest rash that was short lived. (I read the rash generally comes at the end of acute symptoms)

I plan on testing at the 5 week mark and again at 12 weeks.

Thanks again for your valued opinions!

[Teak]

Your symptoms are not ARS. Reread Lizzie's reply to you.

[RainLover71]

A DUO now is the test for you--go take it

[Teak]

DUO tests are expensive and cannot detect HIV2 this early.

[RainLover71]

HIV2 is extremely rare in the USA UK and AUS

[LIZZIE LOU]

nothing that you have described sounds anything like ars.

either a duo at 4 weeks (MORE EXPENSIVE) or an antibody test at 6 weeks, will give you a very good indication of your status.  both need to be followed up at 3 months.

[pleaseforgiveme]

Thanks again everyone....I had blood drawn today. I didn't read all of your most recent posts this morning but if I had I probably would have ordered the DNA/Antibody combo test. Instead I opted only for the Antibody. Saved $120, though the savings really means nothing compared to the stress. Even though it has only been 18 days I figure that if all my "symptoms" were due to HIV then there is a decent chance my immune system has formed some antibodies by now.