Concerned. Do I have herpes

[Davidb90]

Hi there I'm sorry if this is really long but I can't find an answer anywhere and this is just making me so concerned I really need some reassurance.

I am 21 year old man and I had unprotected insertive anal sex and gave and recieved oral sex just less than 2 months ago with another man which was of course a really bad idea. About 5 days after this I started getting cold like symptoms aching muscles tiredness etc. and two days later swollen red and painful tonsillitis. I went to dr. Next day who prescribed penicillin v for 7 days. The pain went after approximately 4-5 days but whilst the swelling went down it didn't ever go completely down. A week after completing antibiotic I got ulcer like sores around my lips and on my cheeks in a straight line which were not particularly painful (certainly less painful than normal mouth ulcers). Went to dr. again who suggested it might be a fungal infection due to antibiotic and gave me topical antifungal. The sores were gone within a week and didn't cause many problems. I continued to feel tired etc and only started to feel better after another two weeks or so.

Just over a week ago the muscle aches and tonsillitis came back and I felt shivery (all symptoms came at once, but only tonsillitis lasted more than a day) tonsils were bigger and redder than before and extremely painful. My right tonsil also had a White coating further back and is quite deformed. Went to out of hours dr following day who gave me 10 days penicillin V and told me to get blood test for glandular fever which I did 3 days ago and am awaiting results. However 2 days ago I started getting small blisterlike sores on soft palate and tonsils which are difficult to see but can be felt with tongue and are patchy red and feel like burning and make it difficult to swallow. I also have an ulcer on my right tonsil which looks exactly like a normal mouth ulcer. I have not had any cold sores around my lips now or ever, however I have had a red painless rash on the top of my glans which has not been itchy or caused any problems whatsoever. I feel like I have had abdomen pains but find it difficult to exactly pin down where abouts.

Four weeks after the unprotected sex I had an STI check with blood HIV and Syphilis negative as well as urine gonorrhoea and chlamydia being negative.

My anxiety has definitely not helped my condition whatsoever and neither has Reading up on the Internet. What I don't understand is if this is herpes why are there no typical lesions, is it likely to cause pharyngitis like symptoms more than once, why were the initial sores on my inner lips and inner cheeks and why were they practically painless. Also why have the symptoms been so prolonged? If it's not herpes what could this be? Does glandular fever sound likely or even possible? Is there any point in me even suggesting herpes to dr when there are no sores to take a sample from? If this is herpes am I likely to now have recurrent herpetic tonsillitis?

Sorry for such a long rambling post and sorry for all the questions but I'm sure you can appreaciate how concerned I am!

Thanks very much

David

[Davidb90]

I visited the sexual health clinic again today and this time described my recurrent tonisllitis and antibiotics although didnt get a chance to mention mouth ulcers as i was being a bit hurried, the nurse practioner asked if i have skin conditions which i do have eczema on my arms hands and feet and she look at my rash. Before she'd even looked closely she told me it was balanitis so i guess it must have been a typical presentation of this and she says its common in people with eczema. She also told me it definitely wasn't sexually transmitted.  This is certainly a relief but it leaves me in the position of having to find out what my oral symptoms are.  Im going to wait for the results of my glandular fever test, and if all is negative and this persists i will go back to my GP and tell him about my tonsils which are still swollen and tongue which still has a burnt

phoned my GP for test results and I have been told they show the signs of an infection but they did not tell me what kind of infection which I find worrying as they told me my full blood count was normal, and have told me to come in on thursday for another blood test to confirm if it has gone. Im now working myself up thinking its HIV even though i tested negative, it was only after 4 weeks and i know it can take up to 3 months.... wish this ordeal was over. most definitely i have learnt my lesson!

[Davidb90]

so i phoned dr. today, still no glandular fever results.... told me to phone back tomorrow.

Just a quick question, does the fact the 'rash' on my penis was painless have any effect on the likelihood of it being herpes? I know its possible but just wondering how likely?

Will get back tomorrow with results!!

David

[gracefromHHP]

let us know how things go :)

grace

[Davidb90]

Thankyou very much for your prompt answer! I can see what a good job you do on this forum. I suppose it's reassuring at this point that there are still other possible outcomes than that I've contracted herpes. I'm just really hopeful my test comes back positive this week and helps to explain these confusing symptoms! I'd never realised how anxious I was able to make myself and I guess I should see this as a good thing as I've certainly learnt my lesson about protection, I just hope I start to feel a little better about everything soon and that this depression does not last.

Once again thanyou very much for your answer and keep up the good work

David