Aa
HIV, Diabetes or Cancer (or Anxiety)
Hi Doctor HHH and Everyone Else Who Can Help:
I am a male adult 30 yrs old.. 4-5 weeks ago I had protected sex with a young female prostitute in Thailand. She performed oral sex and then intercourse for 2 minutes and I came. She seemed to be careful with the condom and took precautions.
Q 1) I don't believe the condom broke but what are the chances for a leak? Does a blowjob on the condom cause it to tear?
Just a few days later I had liposuction surgery at a well known hospital there. I am also afraid that maybe I contracted the HIV virus during the surgery as well. They did some anti-hiv tests before the surgery but obvioulsy it was too soon to catch anything (not even sure why they call it 'anti-hiv').
This past week I have been developing symptoms that indicate HIV and I am going crazy with worry. First, I had a rash on my upper chest, part of neck and stomach. Tiny red itchy spots that were initially raised but disappeared within a day or two. Well, they are flat now, harldy visible but sometimes itch if I scratch them. I thought it might be due to the compression garment I had to wear as part of the surgery recovery and that it was causing heat or sweat rash (I had been wearing it continuosly for a month without washing it). I removed the vest and the rash did not recur although I do get one or two spots here and there later. I checked my neck and armpits and did not feel any swollen lymph nodes.
2) But how can I tell? What size do these lymph nodes swell to?
The rash was folllowed by high fever for the past 4-5 days, on and off. I have been really stressed out and don't know if this is causing further symptoms. I had some sweats and chills. I cannot sleep and this is causing me to become more fatigued in the mornings.
Recently, I have been urinating frequently (upto 8 times a day) but it is painless. Today, I experienced mild diarrhea for the first time. I have a somewhat dry mouth now and have been checking my tongue and I seem to have some small white patches around the edges but not sure it is thrush. I don't know if I have real aches or imagined aches in my back and legs. I don't feel nauseous and have not lost my appetite, no weight loss or gain.
Normally I would dismiss many of these symptoms but since it happened right 4 weeks after the intercourse, there seems to be few other explanations.
Q3) Can you offer any other explanations that explain these symptoms? Would stress or diabetes type 2 or even cancer cause any of these symptoms? Some of them seem similar to early HIV symptoms but others indicate full blown AIDS.
Please help. I am currently living in a small town where everyone knows everyone and I have to wait for 2 weeks before moving to another city and getting the tests done. I am going crazy in the meantime.
I am a male adult 30 yrs old.. 4-5 weeks ago I had protected sex with a young female prostitute in Thailand. She performed oral sex and then intercourse for 2 minutes and I came. She seemed to be careful with the condom and took precautions.
Q 1) I don't believe the condom broke but what are the chances for a leak? Does a blowjob on the condom cause it to tear?
Just a few days later I had liposuction surgery at a well known hospital there. I am also afraid that maybe I contracted the HIV virus during the surgery as well. They did some anti-hiv tests before the surgery but obvioulsy it was too soon to catch anything (not even sure why they call it 'anti-hiv').
This past week I have been developing symptoms that indicate HIV and I am going crazy with worry. First, I had a rash on my upper chest, part of neck and stomach. Tiny red itchy spots that were initially raised but disappeared within a day or two. Well, they are flat now, harldy visible but sometimes itch if I scratch them. I thought it might be due to the compression garment I had to wear as part of the surgery recovery and that it was causing heat or sweat rash (I had been wearing it continuosly for a month without washing it). I removed the vest and the rash did not recur although I do get one or two spots here and there later. I checked my neck and armpits and did not feel any swollen lymph nodes.
2) But how can I tell? What size do these lymph nodes swell to?
The rash was folllowed by high fever for the past 4-5 days, on and off. I have been really stressed out and don't know if this is causing further symptoms. I had some sweats and chills. I cannot sleep and this is causing me to become more fatigued in the mornings.
Recently, I have been urinating frequently (upto 8 times a day) but it is painless. Today, I experienced mild diarrhea for the first time. I have a somewhat dry mouth now and have been checking my tongue and I seem to have some small white patches around the edges but not sure it is thrush. I don't know if I have real aches or imagined aches in my back and legs. I don't feel nauseous and have not lost my appetite, no weight loss or gain.
Normally I would dismiss many of these symptoms but since it happened right 4 weeks after the intercourse, there seems to be few other explanations.
Q3) Can you offer any other explanations that explain these symptoms? Would stress or diabetes type 2 or even cancer cause any of these symptoms? Some of them seem similar to early HIV symptoms but others indicate full blown AIDS.
Please help. I am currently living in a small town where everyone knows everyone and I have to wait for 2 weeks before moving to another city and getting the tests done. I am going crazy in the meantime.
Thanks for your help everyone. It's definitely reassuring to hear your comments on this forum and to read about all the other people with similar symptoms who ultimately tested negative. I just don't understand the sudden coincidence of all these symptoms in this critical time window - hopefully it is all just stress related and just that - a coincidence. To answer your comments, I am more worried about the prostitute than the surgery since it was more in my control not to engage her. I guess I am feeling very guilty and this worry is my punishment.
Will definitely get tested in 1-2 weeks. (I should mention I am living in India, and medical records are hardly confidential like in the US. Worse is my uncle is a doctor and all the other doctors know him and me in this small town.) Anyway, will keep you and all other readers updated. Thanks again.
Will definitely get tested in 1-2 weeks. (I should mention I am living in India, and medical records are hardly confidential like in the US. Worse is my uncle is a doctor and all the other doctors know him and me in this small town.) Anyway, will keep you and all other readers updated. Thanks again.
First of all, your question confused me a bit. I can't tell if you are afraid that you contracted hiv through liposuction surgery or if you are worried about the protected sex.
I do not have knowledge of thai medical procedures, however; a well known hospital anywhere in the world is likely to follow proper guidelines to prevent such things as passing along hiv during a surgery. You should not waste your time worrying over such matters.
Protected sex, is just that--protected. Protected sex is safe sex and does not carry a measurable risk for transmitting hiv. No worries here as well.
Your symptoms could be due to many garden variety viruses coupled with some residual side effects from surgery. I suspect that guilt and anxiety are playing a major role in your malaise. It affects most of us here, and can cause all kinds of wicked side effects.
The moral of the story....HIV is not your concern based on the incidents you described. I would reccomend that you get a test performed at 6 weeks after the incident purely to ease your mind. The CDC reccomends that all sexually active people have a yearly hiv screening, so this is as good a time as any for you to cover that base. You can expect negatvie results unless you have had other exposures which you do not mention. Your medical records are confidential, and should not stop you from performing a test that will ease your mind.
All that said, I nor anyone on this forum are doctors or hiv experts. We are just knowledgeable due to our research into the matter. You should consult a physician about your concerns, but again they are most probably not due to HIV.
Be Well FFP
I do not have knowledge of thai medical procedures, however; a well known hospital anywhere in the world is likely to follow proper guidelines to prevent such things as passing along hiv during a surgery. You should not waste your time worrying over such matters.
Protected sex, is just that--protected. Protected sex is safe sex and does not carry a measurable risk for transmitting hiv. No worries here as well.
Your symptoms could be due to many garden variety viruses coupled with some residual side effects from surgery. I suspect that guilt and anxiety are playing a major role in your malaise. It affects most of us here, and can cause all kinds of wicked side effects.
The moral of the story....HIV is not your concern based on the incidents you described. I would reccomend that you get a test performed at 6 weeks after the incident purely to ease your mind. The CDC reccomends that all sexually active people have a yearly hiv screening, so this is as good a time as any for you to cover that base. You can expect negatvie results unless you have had other exposures which you do not mention. Your medical records are confidential, and should not stop you from performing a test that will ease your mind.
All that said, I nor anyone on this forum are doctors or hiv experts. We are just knowledgeable due to our research into the matter. You should consult a physician about your concerns, but again they are most probably not due to HIV.
Be Well FFP
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the HIV Prevention Community
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.
