Neurological symptoms - Early HIV?

I'd like to start off by thanking you Dr H. for the wonderful service you provide.

Let me remind you of my encounter.
I was with an escort on 10/15/2005.  Activities performed:
Two accounts of protected vaginal intercourse. Two accounts of protected oral sex. Mutual masturabation, fingering.

I had an oraquick blood HIV test at 8 weeks that came back negative.  I just recently had tests 4/25/2006 (aprox 6 months) for EIA HIV, syphillus by EIA, gonnarea, chlamedia.  All tests came back negative.

During the last few weeks, I have been experiencing continuous tingling in the fingertips of my left hand.  The tingling
is primarily felt in the first and middle fingers.  Also, both my hands and feet would become numb with the slightest amount of pressure.  I read that peripheral neuropathy was a sign of early HIV infection and that got me really worried. Is this true?

I also took the test around the same time as the symptoms started and so I'm not sure how realiable the test can be?

I have also had a migraine and a severe tension headache.  During that time i felt a little vertigo too.

My main concern is with the peripheral neuropathy and whether the neurological symptoms are infact a sign of HIV infection and weather my test at 6 months could be false?

How certain can I be that I do not have HIV from my 6 months negative test result despite the neurological symptoms?

Can you please let me know what you think?  Your advice and input will be greatly appreciated.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You have two ideas that are just plain wrong and nonsensical:  1) That HIV is the main cause of peripheral neuropathy.  It is not; many things cause it more commonly.  2) That is is possible to have HIV with a negative test 6 months after possible exposure.  It is not.  Your HIV test results prove that your neurological symptoms cannot be due to HIV.

I suggest professional mental health care.  Your irrational obsession with HIV is not normal.

HHH, MD

[oceans3]

something tells me that if you can SOMEHOW let this obsession with your health go out the door, into the wind, forget about it...all of your symptoms will go with it. you are allowing the thought of HIV to take over your life. the dr. has spoken! let it go and/or seek a therapist. seriously, you will find that your symptoms subside if you dismiss this. nerves and constant worry can do a number on your body and you are attributing those symptoms of stress to something else.

[Belge66]

Maybe~but I have to relate a similar worry and I will be getting tested again soon. I had very bad anemia in 2005 for which the cause was never found but was treated with simple a blood transfusion and simple iron supplementation-all levels rechecked last month and everything is in great shape. All counts improved, reds and whites, although whites were never a problem in the first place.

Two weeks ago I got a marked tingling in my foot which I went to the chiropractor for. He gave me strecthing exercises that have helped but the tingling is stubborn in my toe. My ankle reflexes were also weakened the chiro said.

I have engaged in some higher risk straight sexual behaviors, no unprotected anal sex (never received, given twice but always protected) and received unprotected oral on many occasions (ten-twelve). I always urinated quickly after these sexual encounters to clear my urinary tract of anything evil (so I thought it would) and washed. I got an HIV test in the spring of 2002 and was negative and never had any other STD ever.

The risks of my having contracted HIV are super low from what I can surmise-I am not gay, always used a condom with penetration with sex workers (all in the US) but occasionally unprotected vaginal penetration with girlfriends and have never used IV drugs.

I was not concerned until the PN showed up in my foot. I believe hetero contraction of HIV is almost impossible. I did more research though and got very very scared. Here are some links:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm-"The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, also causes extensive damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems. The virus can cause several different forms of neuropathy, each strongly associated with a specific stage of active immunodeficiency disease. A rapidly progressive, painful polyneuropathy affecting the feet and hands is often the first clinically apparent sign of HIV infection." Again I find this hard to believe as most nerve damage by HIV would be by severe immune problems which I find hard to believe that I would have with very good white counts but the above comments are spooky, especially when the article talked about a reduced ankle/Achilles tendon reflex response being another symptom which I have sadly.

I then went back to do work on the anemia and found this:
http://www.anemia.org/pdf/mon_Anemia_and_HIV_AIDS.pdf-wherein it says HIV can cause anemia. Nobody even thought to test for HIV when I was going through this anemia stuff last year.

What a worry. I am getting tested again as soon as I can. If I am HIV+ I am hoping that some treatment will forestall the advance of the PN and any other ill symptoms.

[anyzowka]

A related discussion, HOW ARE YOU?What about OTHER TESTING? was started.