Night Sweats and ARS

Dr Handsfield-

About 8 + weeks ago, i had an encounter with a man which involved unprotected receptive anal intercourse for about 30sec-1 min without ejaculation, as well as oral sex- again, no ejaculate shared.

2 weeks ago, i woke up with a fever, muscle aches, and i was sweating.  Two days later, i went on a conference and the fever and sweating appeared to be gone.  Upon coming home, i began feeling hot once again and the night sweats began.  In fact, i would even sweat anytime i was drinking something warm (like coffee) despite the room temperature being cool.  

So, now it is 16 days after my initial fever and symptoms and i still have night sweats. Usually, i don't feel feverish before i go to bed, but it seems like i begin to sweat within the first hour or two of sleep.  As for the night sweats, they are mild to moderate, meaning that i wake up sweaty and cold and my shirt and pillow is damp, but i dont have to change sheets.

I don't have any of the other symptoms of ARS such as fatigue, muscle ache, sore throat, lymph nodes,etc.. When i ask myself "do you feel ok?"  95% of the time, i can objectively say "Yes".  besdies the first day, i never felt like i had the flu or something like mono.

I know one-hundred times over that symptoms are not reliable, but i am concerned about my health and am trying to get the facts about these sweats.  


so my questions are this:
1) Do ARS symptoms come and go? or once you get them, do they just stick around?  How common are night sweats in ARS?

2) Is 6 weeks too late to begin experiencing symptoms? the boards and forums on th internet seem inconsistent

3) Is it likely that my night sweats could be caused by anxiety about being infected?  if so, could they REALLY go on this long if it was simply anxiety (>1 week)?

Doc, please helep me with info re: these sweats. I try to calm myself everynight, thinking that if i am calm, i wont sweat. it hasnt worked and has only made matters worse.  last night, i think was the sweatiest of all. it is embarassing that i wake up next to someone covered in sweat while they aren't.


thank you so much for your time

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

True night sweats occur only when there is fever, usually pretty high fever.  The sweats occur when the fever breaks during the night.  If you don't have fever, your night sweats do not indicate infection with HIV or anything else.  To my knowledge, night sweats never are the only symptom of ARS.  And no, ARS symptoms generally do not come and go, and 6 weeks is pretty late for onset of ARS symptoms, which usually begin 10-20 days after infection.

But of course the answer to your concerns is to get tested for HIV.  As to whether anxiety is contributing to your symptoms, it seems likely, since you raise the possibility yourself.  See a health care provider soon.

Good luck-- HHH, MD

[confused516]

Is there anything else besides HIV that would cause night sweats?  Excattly what you said happened to me when I thought I had the flu.  I had a high fever for about 10 hours and then after taking Tylenol the fever broke and I woke up drenched but feeling much better.  Could this have been the flu or ARS?  My only exposures before this would have been deep kissing and receiving oral sex.

[FULLOFREGRETS]

Dr.

Did you delete my thread? if so:why? this was a new concern(6months after my last thread). I needed a response from you please.

Thanks

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

This is not an emotional support site.  See the warning after you click the Post a Question link:

"If you have not done so, please review other threads in our archives and the FAQs for questions similar to yours and Dr. Handsfield's replies.  Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE.  YOUR DONATION WILL NOT BE REFUNDED.  The most common examples of such questions are those about low risk exposures to HIV, such as oral sex, hand-to-genital exposure, and nonsexual contact with possibly infected blood or body fluids."

[confused516]

DR. H

Can you comment on my question above?  Can any illness that causes a fever also cause a nightsweat?

[confused516]

I am pretty sure that the doctor has said in the past that any virus that can cause a fever can also cause nightsweats, but I cant find the actual post.

[Worriedalot2]

Last post was supposed to be to everyone. Sorry.

[Ronnie99]

Based on the comments I have read here, it sounds like it would be very late for acute HIV flu-like symptoms to occur 2.5 months after a possible infection. Is that correct?

[FULLOFREGRETS]

Dr.

Maybe I didn't pose my question correctly; sorry....not looking for emotional support.

Here is my question again;

About a month ago I had unprotected vaginal sex. Over the last 3 weeks I have experienced extreme fatigue which lasted about a week, but am still experiencing a form of diarheah(real loose/soft stools as well as recurring slight fever. I appear to have no other symptoms.  

So my question is; Does any of this sound like ARS? & would ARS Symptoms keep me sick this long (3-4weeks)---Thank you.

Please elaborate and I will not ask any further questions.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

I repeat:  "Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE. YOUR DONATION WILL NOT BE REFUNDED."

HHH, MD

[FULLOFREGRETS]

Dr.

I get the impression you are being evasive with me; which scares me. If I could find any questions & answers in the archives that resemble my question to you, I would certainly have used them instead of spending $15.

I have never experienced the fatigue and sickness that I described. I think these are legitimate questions that I obviously don't have answers to.

Why can't you answer them for me?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Oh, good grief.  Do not read between the lines.  The rules are the rules, that's all.  Search for "HIV symptoms" and "ARS symptoms" for giant numbers of discussions about how symptoms NEVER are a reliable indicator that someone has early HIV infection.

This is my last comment to you, and your last on this prolonged thread jump.  I will delete further ones.

HHH, MD

[victor933]

Seeing your case is very reassuring to me, because I have been having night sweats in a very similar manner, right down to the starting right after I go to sleep thing, and having no fever, even when I wake up in the middle of one.

I also had an Oraquick at just 2 days shy of 7 weeks, done with fingerstick because I knew it had a lower false positive rate....and it was negative.

I think it's just anxiety.

[nenzi]

I have a question about a possible exposure. Back in March I had protected sex with a hooker in Tijuana. It was a latex condom. It was mostly oral and some vaginal. The condom had some KY jelly on the outside. When I took it off when I was done some of the jelly accidentally smeared on a portion of the lower half of my penis. I quickly wiped it off.I tested negative via oral rapid test 6 weeks later and when I told the counsellor what happened he told me not to worry about it at all that there was almost no risk.I felt like I had lost weight but the scale ws the same I had no fever or any obvious outward sickness and my strength and energy were good. Now 6 months later I have dropped 4lbs. and I  frequently break out into good sweats about my head area a lot and do feel heat but with no real fever.(maybe 99.5 tops). Was I infected and should I retest again? Everyone tells me I am ok. I am under lots of stress from personal matters and can get anxious at times and I just think it is HIV. What do you think?

[nenzi]

I have a question about a possible exposure. Back in March I had protected sex with a hooker in Tijuana. It was a latex condom. It was mostly oral and some vaginal. The condom had some KY jelly on the outside. When I took it off when I was done some of the jelly accidentally smeared on a portion of the lower half of my penis. I quickly wiped it off.I tested negative via oral rapid test 6 weeks later and when I told the counsellor what happened he told me not to worry about it at all that there was almost no risk.I felt like I had lost weight but the scale ws the same I had no fever or any obvious outward sickness and my strength and energy were good. Now 6 months later I have dropped 4lbs. and I  frequently break out into good sweats about my head area a lot and do feel heat but with no real fever.(maybe 99.5 tops). Was I infected and should I retest again? Everyone tells me I am ok. I am under lots of stress from personal matters and can get anxious at times and I just think it is HIV. What do you think?

[worriednscared]

A related discussion, worried about hiv was started.