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Am I Sick? Please help!
Hi and good day to you all.
I am a 26 year old male who fears they could have contracted HIV. Four weeks and three days ago, I had an experience that exposed me to possible HIV infection. I had sex with a girl, whose history I did not know, and the condom broke, just about 15 seconds before I pulled out. (I think it is 15 secs bse i remember feeling a certain extra sense of pleasure, and came soon after.)
Three to four days later, I developed joint pain in the shoulders, which i wished away as an effect of the sex. Then abdominal pains followed on day five, giving me a rumbling stomach and a suddenly frequent bowel movements. Then, on day 9, i developed a sore throat. first it was mild, on the right handside, but it soon became extremely painful, all over the throat. The sore throat coincided with swelling of lymph nodes in the neck and then armpits. On day 11, low level fever and chills kicked in. they became more serious on day 15, becoming more pronounced in the afternoons when the tropical sun is up, or when i am hungry and my lunch has delayed. I now have a mild cough too.
Yesterday I noticed that i had a sort of rash on the forehead, and internet sites say that is a sure sign of HIV. There are three to four reddish bumps on the back of my tongue as well. Oh, it is very alarming right now, i tell you.
I know i have to take the test, but the earliest i can get any worthwhile results is over a month away. but i need some guidance on where this is headed. Am I sick? DO i have HIV? thanks
I am a 26 year old male who fears they could have contracted HIV. Four weeks and three days ago, I had an experience that exposed me to possible HIV infection. I had sex with a girl, whose history I did not know, and the condom broke, just about 15 seconds before I pulled out. (I think it is 15 secs bse i remember feeling a certain extra sense of pleasure, and came soon after.)
Three to four days later, I developed joint pain in the shoulders, which i wished away as an effect of the sex. Then abdominal pains followed on day five, giving me a rumbling stomach and a suddenly frequent bowel movements. Then, on day 9, i developed a sore throat. first it was mild, on the right handside, but it soon became extremely painful, all over the throat. The sore throat coincided with swelling of lymph nodes in the neck and then armpits. On day 11, low level fever and chills kicked in. they became more serious on day 15, becoming more pronounced in the afternoons when the tropical sun is up, or when i am hungry and my lunch has delayed. I now have a mild cough too.
Yesterday I noticed that i had a sort of rash on the forehead, and internet sites say that is a sure sign of HIV. There are three to four reddish bumps on the back of my tongue as well. Oh, it is very alarming right now, i tell you.
I know i have to take the test, but the earliest i can get any worthwhile results is over a month away. but i need some guidance on where this is headed. Am I sick? DO i have HIV? thanks
You may test 4 weeks after the initial exposure and confirm your negative result 3 months after the initial exposure. Till then keep calm.
Thanks, I will. But isnt the red bumps on the tongue and rash, not forgetting other symptoms, a sure sign of infection? are there any other illnesses with this array of symptoms, happening this way?
symptoms are not an indicator for transmission. take the test now. it will be an indicator and if negative confirm it.
ars symptoms come at 2-4 WEEKS post infection and last for 1-2 weeks. symptoms come at once...not one thing after another.
a DUO test taken now or an antibody test taken at 6 weeks will give you a very good indication of your status. at this point, it is unlikely that the results will change when you test at 3 months for that conclusive result.
a DUO test taken now or an antibody test taken at 6 weeks will give you a very good indication of your status. at this point, it is unlikely that the results will change when you test at 3 months for that conclusive result.
Thanks again. And I am sure someone in my state can easily sound nagging. But thanks for taking the time to read what I write. I plan on taking the test on six weeks. thanks again.
Thanks Lizzie. I will sure go ahead and take the test at 6 weeks, especially to avoid giving my self false hope. what worries me most now is the headaches, the rash, the tongue bumps and the fever. i am still hanging in there. thanks again.
it is unlikely that 15 seconds of unprotected sex with a female will result in infection.
your symptoms are NOT indicative of ars.
your symptoms are NOT indicative of ars.
Thanks again. interesting that you should say 15 seconds of exposure are unlikely to lead to infection with HIV! i have been wondering whether, the lubrication on the condom includes a sort of protective liquid that bars the virus from reaching the skin once the condom breaks? because, surely, in my experience, condom's safety rating falls below 50% because breakage is so possible and so easy. So, how long should unprotected intercourse be to put one at risk?
Then, I forgot to add that i also experienced muscle aches, especially of the upper torso, and, fatigue, some where after day 13. that has reduced though. actually, i have not had that for four days now.
Then, I forgot to add that i also experienced muscle aches, especially of the upper torso, and, fatigue, some where after day 13. that has reduced though. actually, i have not had that for four days now.
not as easy for a man to contract hiv from a woman, during vaginal sex, as it is the other way around.
once again...symptoms come at once.
just test to know your status. in the future...make sure you are using the condom correctly to avoid rupture.
once again...symptoms come at once.
just test to know your status. in the future...make sure you are using the condom correctly to avoid rupture.
hi, thanks again.
for me, it is probably the most shameful thing i have endured. that in all my life, all the way through school, i have been taught the dangers of unprotected sex. and i have largely avoided sex, because of such fears. even when i decided to do it, i, at the very least, tried to use protection. that it ruptured, and has led to these symptoms, is driving me crazy with fear, anxiety, guilt and a feeling of near self-hate. i talked to a friend about it all yesterday and he gave me this very tough "what were you thinking" kind of talk. made me regret why i even told him in the first place. he only made me feel more guilty.
today, i woke up to realise a whitish covering had started taking form, at the back of my tongue, just around the bumps. yesterday evening, the headaches went a noche higher; i have had a pounding in my head since yesterday evening. the anxiety too has had its effects, like low appetite.
dear oh dear!
but thanks for hearing me out. it helps just to be able to share with someone. thanks again.
for me, it is probably the most shameful thing i have endured. that in all my life, all the way through school, i have been taught the dangers of unprotected sex. and i have largely avoided sex, because of such fears. even when i decided to do it, i, at the very least, tried to use protection. that it ruptured, and has led to these symptoms, is driving me crazy with fear, anxiety, guilt and a feeling of near self-hate. i talked to a friend about it all yesterday and he gave me this very tough "what were you thinking" kind of talk. made me regret why i even told him in the first place. he only made me feel more guilty.
today, i woke up to realise a whitish covering had started taking form, at the back of my tongue, just around the bumps. yesterday evening, the headaches went a noche higher; i have had a pounding in my head since yesterday evening. the anxiety too has had its effects, like low appetite.
dear oh dear!
but thanks for hearing me out. it helps just to be able to share with someone. thanks again.
Why dont you take the duo test now? It will ease your anxiety and you will be aware of your status right away. Then if negative you can keep calm till the confirmation test (a negative result will difficultly change).
I sure as hell am going to have that test.
that test will, however, only be a confirmation of what i now know all too well. i caught the disease, and cant turn back the time to undo it. it is a fight to prep my nerves for a life i hadnt envisaged.
but thanks again.
that test will, however, only be a confirmation of what i now know all too well. i caught the disease, and cant turn back the time to undo it. it is a fight to prep my nerves for a life i hadnt envisaged.
but thanks again.
I would be rich if I got a dollar for every time I've heard anyone make that statement.
It is better to know your status that live in the dark. Every situation is manageable.
hi and thanks. here is a small update on my current state. it is eight weeks now. i took a test yesterday and it came back negative. i had also tested on six weeks and it was negative too.
but no, i think i have even got more worried, that maybe i am taking longer to seroconvert or something. the trajectory of my symptoms has followed that of what i read about ARS. the fever and muscle aches stopped around five weeks after start of symptoms. the headache has reduced but still comes and goes. the rash on the neck is still there. the sore throat has subsided to a lump i feel when i swallow. the red bumps at the back of the tongue still exist.
the pain in the neck and armpits comes and goes. there is pain that has started in my groin, and at times stretches to the left testicle. but there are no swellings.
that is my current state. it is simply not a great place to be for me now. but here i am. a girl i was starting to get to know now wonders why i have become so distant. but i do not want to lead her on, if i have a life threatening condition.
ah. that is me for now. a little screwed. i live in a third world country with very high prevalence rates, 7.1 per cent as national average, and about 13 per cent in the capital, where i live. when i look around everything says i am done for.
thanks for reading, and hearing me out. if ever you feel tired or fatigued by having to answer questions of people like me, just know that your contribution, even simple by reading, makes one's day better.
i thank you again. any advice is welcome.
but no, i think i have even got more worried, that maybe i am taking longer to seroconvert or something. the trajectory of my symptoms has followed that of what i read about ARS. the fever and muscle aches stopped around five weeks after start of symptoms. the headache has reduced but still comes and goes. the rash on the neck is still there. the sore throat has subsided to a lump i feel when i swallow. the red bumps at the back of the tongue still exist.
the pain in the neck and armpits comes and goes. there is pain that has started in my groin, and at times stretches to the left testicle. but there are no swellings.
that is my current state. it is simply not a great place to be for me now. but here i am. a girl i was starting to get to know now wonders why i have become so distant. but i do not want to lead her on, if i have a life threatening condition.
ah. that is me for now. a little screwed. i live in a third world country with very high prevalence rates, 7.1 per cent as national average, and about 13 per cent in the capital, where i live. when i look around everything says i am done for.
thanks for reading, and hearing me out. if ever you feel tired or fatigued by having to answer questions of people like me, just know that your contribution, even simple by reading, makes one's day better.
i thank you again. any advice is welcome.
your 6 and 8 week negative results are highly indicative of your status and unlikely to change.
the symptoms you are describing are not hiv related.
RELAX...test at 3 months for a conclusive result.
the symptoms you are describing are not hiv related.
RELAX...test at 3 months for a conclusive result.
Hi, it is now twelve weeks, and I have just tested negative on the determine hiv test strip, with a finger prick blood sample. Is this definitive, in any way? It is funny having to live like this because not even that result, fully comforts me. As for my body, i still have ocassional pains in the shoulders, armpits, neck and groin, which i think are lymphnodes, also, flu and cough that come and go. Internet sites say lymph nodes remain swollen after seroconversion, which i fear could have happened to me, especially as the more severe symptoms like headache and fever stopped. That is my story for now. What do you think of this state?
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