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Unexplained symptoms...
I am a 24 year old male and have posted on this forum before in the past but still haven’t totally eased my mind. About a year ago I had a very high risk exposure and developed some oral symptoms a few days later that still haven’t gone away. I was very intoxicated at the time of the exposure and am unable to recall what I did or didn’t do, and I am an alcoholic so the causes of some of my symptoms remain a bit murky. They include a grayish/whitish rash on my upper lip and corners of my mouth (hard to see unless up close), painless sores in my mouth that come and go, and erosive, whitish patches inside my mouth. Also I have some kind of chronic sinusitis that’s causing constant congestion and postnasal drip. I have been to many doctors, including ENT’s, an allergist, an internist, among a few others, and no one as been able to give me any kind of concrete diagnosis. I have been tested for HIV 3 times (neg at 2, 5 ½, and 8 1/2 –post exposure) and for syphilis (neg at 2 months post exp). I also had some general blood work done last week and all the results showed was that my cholesterol was a little high. To me, it seems very likely the symptoms were a result of the exposure. I told myself a number of times it’s time to move on, which might seem logical, but the symptoms haven’t gone away so it’s been very difficult. I’ve been reassured by several sources that my HIV results make me conclusively negative, but what about the syphilis? Should I be retested? Are there any other STD’s that may be causing these sort or symptoms? Like I said, I’ve explained my circumstances to many doctors without leaving anything out and haven’t been able to get answers. I think my biggest concern is passing whatever it is I might have to someone else, and that it’s irresponsible to date considering I still am inclined to believe something might be off, but I don’t know how to move on or what else I can/should do. Any advice? Thanks for reading.
I actually thought it was herpes when it first started developing because the rash looks almost like clusters of blisters. But doctors have not agreed and have told me that herpes would be much more obvious and would never last this long
None of your symptoms point to a STD. The only thing I can see that resembles anything is the lip bump and matching that to herpes.
I've tried, and I'm sometimes able to not worry about it for a while. It's been better since I got the 3rd neg HIV result, but it's still something that nags at my mind and drags me down sometimes. A full year is a very long time to regularly worry about your health. Do you have any ideas as to what it could be other than HIV or syphilis?
It does sound like a tough road to be going down. Maybe give yourself a break from it. Try not to think about it for a couple of weeks and just live life as normal.
Thanks for your thoughts, very much appreciated. You're right though, it's very frustrating to have this continue. I've spent a ton of money on copays and ineffective meds, not to mention the stress, but I guess it's what I get for acting irresponsibly. The worst part is that it's not like I'm just sitting back and worrying. I feel like I'm being as active as possible to figure this out, and having been to so many different people without any answers it almost feels like the end isn't even in sight.
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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.
