HIV ARS Symptoms?

[worried9789]

Im a male and have been tested for HIV 3 times this year (negative).  I was doing fine and then had an affair with this woman at my office, shes been married for a number of years. We had sex (unprotected vaginal) 3 times and then 2 weeks later we went out drinking.  Had around 15 drinks or so and as soon as i got home I started vomiting. When i woke the next morning (thurs) I vomited again and then had diarrhea (really bad) for the next 36 hours. Fri night i had a very bad night sweat, but then felt better Sat.with just a headache.  The next week I had a cough that was bad in the morning and at night when I laid down.  My question is does this sound like ARS?  Im not sure if I had a fever because I didnt think to check cause I didnt feel like I did. But the night sweat got me worried so I took my temp sat and no fever detected.  Im worried that i had a fever during the 2 days I had diarrhea and just didnt realize it.  Also had a canker sore prior to all this too!  Ive read Dr. HHH responses to the diarrhea symptoms and know that ARS does not "typically" cause such, but its just got me worried that this all happened 14 days after the exposure.  I did speak with the lady and she told me not to worry. Your advise please.. Thank You for your time  

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Glad to have helped; thanks for the thanks.

Certainly nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are entirely consistent with excess alcohol.  Sorry I misunderstood the 14 day interval, but still the symptoms don't fit with ARS.  This doesn't change my opinion or advice.

[worried9789]

Thank you for your quick response! That does make me feel a lot better.. Just to clarify though that the symptoms started 14 days after exposure. Does that change your mind any?  Could all the drinking the night before be the cause of those symptoms too?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Oh, and by the way:  buy condoms and use them!  There is no excuse for not doing so, given the nature of the sexual exposures you describe.  And think how much less worried you would be about HIV if the sex had been protected.

Finally, although HIV is exceedingly unlikely, other STDs are not a bad bet.  Consider a urine test for chlamydia and gonorrhea and, after a few weeks, a syphilis blood test.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Welcome to the forum.

ARS does not cause vomiting and diarrhea, especially not as the initial symptoms; and ARS symptoms cannot start sooner than 7 days after exposure (usually it's 10-20 days).  Cough is not an ARS symptom either.

You are of course describing the symtpoms of a large number of garden-variety, mostly minor viral infections of the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, or both.  Canker sores can be triggered by any number of illnesses.

Further, you describe a partner who is exceedingly unlikely to have HIV -- both on statistical probabilities and her own confidence about it.

I have the impression you are quite a bit more concerned about the possibility of HIV than most people would be (or should be) in your circimstances.  Three HIV tests in a year's time is excessive, unless you have had especially high risk exposures, such as unprotected sex with men or with women known to have HIV.  In any case, don't assume that just because you have sex and then develop infeciton symptoms that HIV is likely.  It is virtually impossible in the circumstances you describe.

Of course you are free to be tested yet again if it would boost your confidence.  But if I were in your circumstances, I wouldn't do it -- and I would continue unprotected sex with my wife with no worries (except that I might give her my cold and/or gastroenteritis).

I hope this puts things into perspective for you.  Regards--

HHH, MD