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Herpes & Other Things
Hi all.
I cannot believe my stupidity.
On a night out with 'the lads' I met a girl (I don't know who she is, I don't have her number and she is from a City, over 100 miles away from mine). We had unprotected vaginal sex... Afterwards, I jokingly asked whether she had HIV, and she said 'No - I had a test 2 weeks ago'
...I left her hotel thinking...'why would she need to test for that...2 weeks ago???'
So 12 days after exposure I went for tests (swab, urine, blood).
The clinician said that she didn't think I had gonorrhoea, but due to the amount of 'pus cells' they discovered, they gave me a dose of to combat NSU/NGU/Chlamydia.
I'm a married man with children, and I did something similarly ridiculous like this less than 12 months ago (albeit protected sex) - fortunately it seems like I 'dodged a bullet' on that occasion... There is nothing wrong with my marriage and I had never done anything like that and as I type this email, I am shaking my head - asking myself WHY WHY WHY would I do something like that again?...
My current symptoms are as follows:
- Sore throat & swollen-ish glands
- Neck ache
- Lower back & leg & buttock pain
- Left side of my groin feels swollen (clinician said I shouldn't worry, but I'm not convinced)
- Spot/lump in my groin - no ooze, no blister (same side as swollen groin)
- Spot in my pubic region, above my penis (clinician said this was an ingrown hair)
- Strange tingling in knee joints and feet
- Slight headache (I appreciate this could be due to the stress of the situation)
No - individually, I'd look at these things and say; tiredness, stress from work, pain from the gym...but they are all happening at the same time.
I am planning on taking an HIV and Herpes test in 3 months time - but in the mean time it is going to be virtually impossible not to sleep with my wife without raising alarm bells.
Do my symptoms sound like Herpes, Syphilis or HIV?
What can I do in this predicament?
Please help!!
I cannot believe my stupidity.
On a night out with 'the lads' I met a girl (I don't know who she is, I don't have her number and she is from a City, over 100 miles away from mine). We had unprotected vaginal sex... Afterwards, I jokingly asked whether she had HIV, and she said 'No - I had a test 2 weeks ago'
...I left her hotel thinking...'why would she need to test for that...2 weeks ago???'
So 12 days after exposure I went for tests (swab, urine, blood).
The clinician said that she didn't think I had gonorrhoea, but due to the amount of 'pus cells' they discovered, they gave me a dose of to combat NSU/NGU/Chlamydia.
I'm a married man with children, and I did something similarly ridiculous like this less than 12 months ago (albeit protected sex) - fortunately it seems like I 'dodged a bullet' on that occasion... There is nothing wrong with my marriage and I had never done anything like that and as I type this email, I am shaking my head - asking myself WHY WHY WHY would I do something like that again?...
My current symptoms are as follows:
- Sore throat & swollen-ish glands
- Neck ache
- Lower back & leg & buttock pain
- Left side of my groin feels swollen (clinician said I shouldn't worry, but I'm not convinced)
- Spot/lump in my groin - no ooze, no blister (same side as swollen groin)
- Spot in my pubic region, above my penis (clinician said this was an ingrown hair)
- Strange tingling in knee joints and feet
- Slight headache (I appreciate this could be due to the stress of the situation)
No - individually, I'd look at these things and say; tiredness, stress from work, pain from the gym...but they are all happening at the same time.
I am planning on taking an HIV and Herpes test in 3 months time - but in the mean time it is going to be virtually impossible not to sleep with my wife without raising alarm bells.
Do my symptoms sound like Herpes, Syphilis or HIV?
What can I do in this predicament?
Please help!!
The rash on your forearm and the other symptoms have anything to do with hiv or hsv. Just try and relax as everything is not related to the exposure you had. This is assure you
No those are not a symptom of the first outbreak at all. These are symptoms of stress plain and simple.
Classic example of things being taken out of context. That'said why I tell people to stop reading so much.
Yes those symptoms "can" be a sign of an outbreak but a future outbreak after the primary. Tingling and nerve pain are when the virus is crawling along the nerve path on its2 way back to the skins surface. For a primary or initial outbreak the virus is already there. The first thing you will notice is lesions forming. Then usually flu like symptoms set in. These include high fever, swollen painful lymph nodes and body aches. These are awful and won't be mistaken.
Like I said after 14 days you can be confident you are just fine.
Classic example of things being taken out of context. That'said why I tell people to stop reading so much.
Yes those symptoms "can" be a sign of an outbreak but a future outbreak after the primary. Tingling and nerve pain are when the virus is crawling along the nerve path on its2 way back to the skins surface. For a primary or initial outbreak the virus is already there. The first thing you will notice is lesions forming. Then usually flu like symptoms set in. These include high fever, swollen painful lymph nodes and body aches. These are awful and won't be mistaken.
Like I said after 14 days you can be confident you are just fine.
1 Comments
Hi 'feelingundone.
I appreciate from this 'forum' I can only expect 'sound and solid advice/opinion' and not a 'scientific/medical conclusion' on my symptoms, but I hope you can help further.
Since we last spoke, I have developed a small, raised rash on my left forearm. I applied some cream and it seems to have gone down a bit but still tingles. (I was in the garden cutting the grass yesterday, so it could be an insect bite - but so was my son and daughter - and they don't have a bite) The back of my throat is still a bit red. I have a 'dry' cough' and the insides of my thighs and my neck have a 'dull' ache to them.
I am desperately trying to stay positive - but this does sound a bit like either HIV or the making of a Herpes outbreak.
I'm planning a 4th generation blood test on 1st July (27 days after exposure) for HIV and Herpes - but in the mean time I am absolutely losing my mind.
Please advise.
I appreciate from this 'forum' I can only expect 'sound and solid advice/opinion' and not a 'scientific/medical conclusion' on my symptoms, but I hope you can help further.
Since we last spoke, I have developed a small, raised rash on my left forearm. I applied some cream and it seems to have gone down a bit but still tingles. (I was in the garden cutting the grass yesterday, so it could be an insect bite - but so was my son and daughter - and they don't have a bite) The back of my throat is still a bit red. I have a 'dry' cough' and the insides of my thighs and my neck have a 'dull' ache to them.
I am desperately trying to stay positive - but this does sound a bit like either HIV or the making of a Herpes outbreak.
I'm planning a 4th generation blood test on 1st July (27 days after exposure) for HIV and Herpes - but in the mean time I am absolutely losing my mind.
Please advise.
You can actually test for hiv at 28 days with a 4th generation duo test. Being from England that test is available. 6 weeks if you do a regular antibody test.
It's all coincidence I believe as this does not suggest sars.
Like I said the odds of her having it is slim to none. Combine that with your slim to none chance if she had it. Spells good news. Hiv is not an easy infection to get. Vaginal sex with a woman is very low risk for hiv. In fact if I were you that wouldn't even be a concern of mine.
At 14 weeks and no herpes outbreak I would say you are out of the woods my man.
Protection is a must for any casual sexual encounters. I know you realize that but I just feel better saying it.
It's all coincidence I believe as this does not suggest sars.
Like I said the odds of her having it is slim to none. Combine that with your slim to none chance if she had it. Spells good news. Hiv is not an easy infection to get. Vaginal sex with a woman is very low risk for hiv. In fact if I were you that wouldn't even be a concern of mine.
At 14 weeks and no herpes outbreak I would say you are out of the woods my man.
Protection is a must for any casual sexual encounters. I know you realize that but I just feel better saying it.
1 Comments
Thanks 'feelingundone'... I feel a bit calmer after your words...
It's the lower back pain and leg pain, and tingling in my feet that is FREAKING me out (I understand these are symptoms prior to a Herpes outbreak, right?)
Why would I get these now? It seems like too much of a coincidence - but I hope you're right.
I will be counting down on the 14 weeks like nobody's business, and I'll be challenging myself to NEVER, EVER do something like this again...
It's the lower back pain and leg pain, and tingling in my feet that is FREAKING me out (I understand these are symptoms prior to a Herpes outbreak, right?)
Why would I get these now? It seems like too much of a coincidence - but I hope you're right.
I will be counting down on the 14 weeks like nobody's business, and I'll be challenging myself to NEVER, EVER do something like this again...
How long ago was the exposure? This does not sound like any std. Your correct that the stress is wreaking havoc on you right now.
You can test for hiv and syphilis at 6 weeks and those tests will be conclusive at that time. Your risk of either of these is so incredibly small that I wouldn't worry at all.
Same goes for your risk of hsv from this one time exposure. Your odds of contraction from this encounter is around 1 in a 1000. Primary outbreaks average 4 days from exposure but in rare cases can take up to 20 days. That's rare though. After 10 days if not outbreak happens you can be confident you're OK.
You can test at twelve weeks for hsv.
All in all your odds are very good you came out the same way you went in
You can test for hiv and syphilis at 6 weeks and those tests will be conclusive at that time. Your risk of either of these is so incredibly small that I wouldn't worry at all.
Same goes for your risk of hsv from this one time exposure. Your odds of contraction from this encounter is around 1 in a 1000. Primary outbreaks average 4 days from exposure but in rare cases can take up to 20 days. That's rare though. After 10 days if not outbreak happens you can be confident you're OK.
You can test at twelve weeks for hsv.
All in all your odds are very good you came out the same way you went in
1 Comments
Hi 'feelingundone'
Thank you for your response.
The exposure was exactly 14 days ago; my tests were 12 days after exposure (2 days ago).
6 weeks!? I can be tested for HIV & Syphilis 6 weeks after exposure? (so 1 month from now?). Ok, I never knew that I could test for HIV so quickly, so I will definitely be doing this.
The back pain, the leg pain - the sore throat (I now have tooth ache - I know I sound like a hypochondriac) - but all at the same time? Can this really be a coincidence, or could it be my body creating antibodies against HIV?
Thank you for your response.
The exposure was exactly 14 days ago; my tests were 12 days after exposure (2 days ago).
6 weeks!? I can be tested for HIV & Syphilis 6 weeks after exposure? (so 1 month from now?). Ok, I never knew that I could test for HIV so quickly, so I will definitely be doing this.
The back pain, the leg pain - the sore throat (I now have tooth ache - I know I sound like a hypochondriac) - but all at the same time? Can this really be a coincidence, or could it be my body creating antibodies against HIV?
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You are reading content posted in the Herpes Community
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
