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Worried sick...Is it HIV?

Can anyone help? Sorry this is long but i am really stressing out so want to write all my symptoms ...I regret my actions terribly and i wish i could turn back time....

3 months ago i had unprotected sex twice with a new male partner (i am female) He did not ejaculate in me but there was pre-***...A few days later i noticed a niggling pain in my groin area.. 2 weeks post exposure i noticed a node behind my left ear that only normally comes up if i have a cold but i did not have one. Approx 4 weeks post exposure i developed a very bad case of Tonsillitis that grew worse over a few days and had to be treated with antibiotics on a high dosage as the standard dose did not work. My daughter had Tonsillitis 2 weeks prior to me having it and my son was currently ill at the time of my Tonsillitis with a fever of 99+ & sore throat etc. With my Tonsillitis i had a low grade fever 37.1 - 37.6 max with mild headache, neck pain and block ears. NO aching muscles or night sweats etc.

After this i became even more paronoid that i am infected so began checking for nodes and other symptoms. I cant remember how many weeks post exposure but i noticed 2 peanut sized nodes in my groin (1 on each side) and also had some armpit pain, mainly on my right side, at some point but unable to feel nodes.  (but i have had this armpit pain before my exposure mainly before i menstruate) Went to see my doctor and she said that nodes in my groin are NOT enlarged. As i never checked before i dont know if i have always had them or if they are new. But this is where i feel the niggling pain in my groin from time to time. Since my Tonsillitis my right tonsil feels a bit enalrged at times even though it looks normal.

Presently i am 3 months post exposure. Approx 4 weeks ago i noticed another node behind my LEFT ear so i now have 2 nodes there and today i have discovered a 3rd node also on the LEFT side at the base of my skull which is painfull. Since childhood i have always had a node in my hairline on the base of my skull on the LEFT above this new node and for many YEARS i have had 1 node at the base of my skull on the RIGHT. These 2 "OLD" nodes are the same size as usual. The peanut nodes in my groin are also still there. Also the nodes behind my ear and skull change size at different times of the day and are always more prominent after i have been lying down, especially in morning but they shrink within 5-10mins of me being upright.

Do my symptoms sound like HIV?

I am worried sick and i am still plucking up the courage to be tested. I have two young children and the thought of me having this terrible illness terrifies me, for their sake. I have been so stupid and if i could turn back time then i would.

Please, please help me with any advice. It will be very much appreciated. Thank you.
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Avatar universal
hi here is my story..i had protected sex with two escorts in canada 10 weeks ago. My first sex was with a VIP escort who put a condom on me provided by her and then gave me a BJ, i fingered in her while she was sucking me, then i had vaginal sex with her with the same condom for about 5 min till i ejaculated. then she went away leaving me to remove the condom. i did not remove the condom immediately but wore my shorts on with the condom still on. then i went to the toilet and went to the toilet and removed the condom after about 5min and cleaned my penis with a tissue paper. I did not wash it neither did i take a bath after that. My second exposure was with another escort. same protected oral and vaginal. but this time she changed the  condom in between to lower down my foreskin. i remember that even after ejaculating i continued vag sex with her for about 1min after which she noticed and we stopped. as far as i remember the condoms in both these events were intact from start till end but i really dont know what kind of condoms did they use. at week 2 i had a fever which lasted 1 day and 1 night ,which i think was due to me getting wet in rain a day ago or was it ARS fever?? then at week 6 i started having burning/tingling sensation in my hands and feet. it was then this HIV thing came into my mind. my tounge also started looking whiter than before and is still white .i started having bad breath even after brushing which i still do have. my mouth doesn't remain as fresh as before. i also started having a continous feeling of something being stuck in my throat. i then started having a deep pain in my right groin area however i could see no visible swelling or lump there. the pain isn't pinpointed but just like a dull ache which is there most of the time but sometimes disappears. this pain is mostly in the right groin area but sometimes it switches to left groin area too. i think this has something to do with my lymph node in the groin area. after searching the net for symptoms i was horrified and wet to a doctor and took a HIV ELISA antibody test at 7 weeks which came back negative. as peripheral neuropathy is also caused by diabetes's i also took a diabetics test which came back negative too. he told me that there is nothing to worry about and all this was due to vitamin B deficiency. he gave me some vitamin B1 and B12 capsules. after taking them my burning/tingling sensation significantly reduced in two weeks, i also had few episodes of night sweats but they are gone now. my feet are still numb and the pain in the groin area is still there at 10 week and doesn't seems to go away. also i cannot feel any visible lymph node swelling in my neck and armpit area. my neck seems to be stiff though along the right side. i never had fever again after the one that i had at the 2nd week for 1 day, nor did i had diarrea or any vommiting and my weight has been constant for the past 2months. what is worrying me is that all this started suddenly and within my window period. could these be ARS symptoms? had that fever at 2nd week and the symptoms i started experiencing at 6th week been ARS symptoms then shouldn't my 7th week ELISA test have been positive? please help me with your advice and also tell me if any further testing is needed in my case.
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Avatar universal
no i am a male. i had a test for hiv and syphilis at 7 week mark, both came back negative.  now i m at my 10th week.
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Avatar universal
Im new to these forums and came across them after reading them whilest searching for HIV symptoms. Will the Doctor reply on my post or is it only on certain posts?
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Avatar universal
Ps. Thanks for your luck and well wishes. I really need it, especially for my children. What's your story?
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Avatar universal
I dont kno if you are male or female but this sounds similar to PID (Pelvic Inflamatory Disease) Which is a complication of STI's. But only if your are female. Did you have a full screen for STI's and how long post exposure are you?
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Avatar universal
good luck stressingoutbad i m sure u will test negative :))
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Avatar universal
no i cant feel them even on pressing. i just feel a pain deep inside which is always there and does not increase or decrease on pressing. also my lower abdomen area seems to be full and tight even when my stomach is empty.
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Avatar universal
Thanks again. Yes your right. I was meant to get tested on Monday gone but chickened out. I feel if i didnt have kids i wouldnt be so scared to find out what the verdict is, if that makes sense? I will go for a test, will ring on Monday to arrange. I know nodes are generalized in HIV but as i have more than 1 node present that is why i am fretting. 3 new ones on left side of head and 2 groin that dont know if are new or not.

Thanks for your support. Means alot. Wish me luck.
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Avatar universal
Hi godsaveme. Thanks. My pain is not a constant dull ache, just a twinge every now and then, not neccessarily everyday. On and off over the 3 months. I dont see any visable lump. I have to press down to feel them so therefore i dont know if i've always had them because i only started checking post exposure. Can you feel any lumps on your groin even though you cant see any?
Helpful - 0
188761 tn?1584567620
COMMUNITY LEADER
Nothing changes, I still feel the only way you could put this behind is by getting tested or you'd just keep frenzying the rest of your life to discover some time in your future that you are HIV negative and you look back and say, "I wasted my precious time scared about some thing which never really existed"

Lymph nodes related to HIV are generalized (all over the body, one swollen node in the body is not an indication of HIV)

Please get tested, that's the only way out of this ****. I'm sure you'll be fine.
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Avatar universal
hi stressingoutbad i am also almost going through the same situation as u. i too have a constant dull aching pain in my groin area mostly on the right side but sometimes in the left too. however i do not see any visible lump there. are the groin node that u r referring too visible from outside as a lump or something or u r just telling by feeling them with hand.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you for your swift comment. I know the best thing for me to do is to get tested but i am scared stiff. I feel sick everytime i think of it because i know i was so so stupid. I only had sex with this guy as it was building into a relationship but he put pressure on me to go unprotected and stupidly i did. I still cry at my mistake.

Your message has offered me some reassurance in this. My groin nodes are slightly bigger than pea-sized. More like kidney bean/peanut size but are not visable through skin. I have to press down to feel them. My other nodes (ear/head) are roughly same size as groin...sometimes slightly bigger and only one is visable through skin. What do you think now? I will be greatful for your reply again!

If anyone else can give me their opinion on my whole topic i would be really, really greatfull. Thank you again.
Helpful - 0
188761 tn?1584567620
COMMUNITY LEADER
....and  yea, forgot to mention that swollen nodes related to HIV are not pea sized and one doesn't have to feel them by pressing but should be huge and ,are easily seen when stood in front of the mirror.

Every one had lymph nodes in their body and are easily felt in the groin, neck and the arm pits, they are normally bean/ pea sized.
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188761 tn?1584567620
COMMUNITY LEADER
1. Unprotected sex would warrant HIV testing however that doesn't mean that the risk is high.

2. The symptoms that you have mentioned here are too irrelevant  when it comes to HIV. Symptoms are not the indicator of HIV and never will be, only an HIV test can determine one's sero-status. I can tell you from what I have learned so far from this board is that symptoms means "jack sh!t", I have seen people complaining about all the symptoms that the book reads but running around with the negative at the 3rd month singing Twista's "I'm a winner".

3. Stop reading and googling about HIV symptoms, they have not helped any one, any where, they can only add up to anxiety which directly leads to stress.

4. You need to go about this sensibly, it's already been 3 months post exposure, all you gotta be doing now is get your self tested, get a rapid 20 mins test.

Get your conclusive, put this incidence behind you and move on, the odds are very much in your favor and you should be fine.

Mike
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