Im very scared...questions about my lymph nodes

[queensragazze]

In Sept 05 I made out with a woman, 1-2 days later i got tonsillitus, with a fever and swollen glands. Months later i slept with 2 women but used protection each time. I also received oral from another woman, all used protection.

1) can you get hiv by making out, tongue, etc?
2) since i had hpv and molluscum in May 05 and got tested in may and everything came back normal.. but it cleared up does this mean since i used protection all times with these woman i am at risk of getting infected with hiv?
2)for about a month i have been noticing lymph nodes in my neck area. i only notice them when i feel for them, some are small others are a little bigger than normal. My armpits feel sore from time to time. my groin also feels sore from time to time, and i get cramps in my abdominal area. When I press down on my groin i feel pain. is this related to hiv at all?
3) how long would it take to get symptoms of this disease?
4) i hear if you get infected you almost always get fever? how long would the fever last and what is considered as having a fever?
5) I noticed my wife has larger lymph nodes in her neck area as well, and she just started getting cramps in her groin area. are these related at all? she has been week in the knees and have been having leg pain for a while now, and sometimes her body aches.
6) if you feel them in your neck area does that mean they are enlarged? I recently went to the doctor and he told me i have shotty nodes in my neck. can you please explain what that means?

I am so scared and very depressed, i can hardly eat anymore and im afraid. can you please help me doctor.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

No, you can't catch HIV by kissing, and oral sex is very low risk.  Search the forum for many other threads using search terms "HIV transmission risk", "oral sex", "fellatio", and "cunnilingus".  Regardsless of HPV and molluscum, if you used condoms you were entirely protected from HIV, even if the women were infected, which they probably were not.  Personal assessment that lymph nodes are enlarged is almost always totally unreliable; if your doctor wasn't concerned, you should not be concerned about "shotty" nodes, which are present in many people and rarely indicate any disease at all.  Return to your health care provider if you remain nervous about this.  (Your assessment of your wife's lymph nodes almost certainly is totally unreliable.  Stop trying to assess her health; if she is concerned, she should see a health care provider. See many other threads about "ARS symptoms" for discussions of timing, presence of fever, and other symptoms.  Your symptoms do not sound much like HIV.

Bottom line:  Very low risk situation, plus symptoms and concerns that sound like pure anxiety, nothing else.  But follow your own provider's advice.  If despite his and my reassurance you remain "scared and very depressed", ask your provider about referral to a mental health professional.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[wwarrior]

From the activities that you here describe, I'm sure the doctor will concur that there was no risk at all. However, I prefer you hear it from the horse's mouth.

Doc has posted on several ocsasions that the shotty lymph nodes can be for numerous reasons and not necesarally from ARS. Mononucleosis maybe Doc?

If there is nothing more to it other than the exposure that you describe, I'll grab a Pina Colada and relax.  The only open end is your wife, which I hope that you think for sure that you are covered in that corner.

Take care and good luck!

[queensragazze]

thank you very much doctor. can you please tell me because i cant find the information that would answer my question. how long would a fever last if you had HIV? is it possible just to get one symptom of hiv which is just the lymph nodes?

Also if someone has HIV, would the lymph nodes be felt in the neck groin and armpit, or can it just be in your neck area only?

Thanks again for your help.

[queensragazze]

can you also please tell me what are the symptoms of ars. both me and my wife has lymph nodes in our neck, her feel bigger than mine. can the tolsillitus i got when i first made out with a woman be HIV, or ARS, and i got the 1-2 days after i was with her?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

All symptoms of ARS--fever, lymph node swelling, skin rash, etc--typically start 10-20 days after exposure and generally last for 2-4 weeks.  Lymph node enlargement can persist longer than fever etc.  The lymph node enlargements generally are body-wide, but may be felt more prominently in one area or another.

But you have been told by your doctor you have "shotty" lymph node enlargement.  That is not a sign of ARS.

Repeat after me:  "I am healthy.  I am not at risk for HIV and do not have ARS."  Now go the the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and repeat it out loud 10 times.

HHH, MD

[queensragazze]

dr i am trying to understand what shotty lymph nodes means? i read a sign on hiv is swollen lymph nodes and my wife feels like bigger than my nodes.

When you say "The lymph node enlargements generally are body-wide, but may be felt more prominently in one area or another" what does this mean. We only feel them in our neck area, can this be what you are talking about?

Do you always get a fever once you get infected?

Sorry for the questions thanks for your time.

[wwarrior]

The doctor had me a Repeat after me... Did you do the excercise?  It only works if you do it.  I want you to run to the mirror and follow the Doctor's orders!!! Now!!!


Take and good luck!

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You are obsessing irrationally and unnaturally over this.  My mirror exercise was partly serious, partly tongue in cheek.  If it doesn't work, ask your provider to refer you to a mental health professional.  Your level of anxiety suggests a significant emotional disorder, whether transient or more long lasting.  I suggest it out of compassion, not criticism.  This will be my last respons to you.

HHH, MD

[queensragazze]

Guys i apologize for all this, but im just anxious and very worried since ive noticed lymph nodes in myself and my wife as well. Im just scared thats all. I just want to know what shotty lymph nodes mean and how long a fever would last if you get one from this.

Thank you.

[Willl]

"In Sept 05 I made out with a woman, 1-2 days later i got tonsillitus, with a fever and swollen glands. Months later i slept with 2 women but used protection each time. I also received oral from another woman, all used protection."

Give me a break. I am paranoid and even I can see you didn't get HIV from any of this.