STD symptoms

[pce50]

Exactly 7 days after sex [including oral] I had a sore throat, not very severe followed by severe malaise (a strange pressure sensation of the head), total anorexia for 7 days, eased the next week but still eating was a struggle, lost 7 lbs.  Strange urgency in the stomach but no diarrhea.  No fever and no rash.  I felt bizarre tingling in my cheeks and eye lids [exactly were the eye lashes are connected].  I felt little bumps on my hard palet in a swollen area but no pain.  Then the bumps disappeared but it still felt strange, so I reached in and pulled off a yellow crusty thing (thrush?).  Then managed to look in with a mirror and saw what looked like a huge aftous ulcer, again painless.  It took about a week to slowly shrink and disappear.  A gland swelled o my left neck at about the time the hard palet ulcerated and resolved when it started to heal.  No other glands swelled.  No scar.  I also had very red gums, soft palet and tonsils.  My gum over my canine teeth bled easily and often.  

At 7 days I felt better, scared and tired, worried but all the symptoms resolved.  I will get tested for HIV in 3 months, I am scared.  I am 45 male and only occasionally sexually active.  After this I will probably be celibate for the rest of my life.

I have never to my knowledge had cold sores.  But I am wondering, can these symptoms also be compatible primary herpes [at my age] or syphilis?  

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

It is too bad you didn't see a health care provider when you saw the ulcer in your mouth.  Its painless nature and association with a swollen lymph node is suspicious for syphilis.  You don't say whether you are male or female or the sex of your partner, but if you a man and so was your partner (or if you are a woman but the guy likely was gay or bi), my suspicion of syphilis would be even greater.  Herpes also is possible, even though the lesion was painless, which conceivably could explain the lesions on your palate.

Your other symptoms are nonspecific.  If your partner was particularly likely to have have HIV (the same risk factors as above, plus injection drug use), then I would be concerned about primary HIV.  The risk of catching HIV from any single sexual exposure is low, so don't panic, but you need to get it checked out--and even now, a standard antibody test will be useful in ruling out that possibility.  

You should do two things immediately:  See a health care provider knowledgeable about STDs and HIV; do not wait 3 months, do it in the next couple of days.  If not certain about your own doctor's expertise, go to your local health department STD clinic.  Second, if you can contact your partner from several days ago, do so and ask directly whether s/he has any known STD diagnoses, symptoms, etc and tell him/her about yours and suggest s/he also see a health care provider.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

[Imdumb]

It might help the Dr. if describe your sexual risks a little more.  What it protected vagingal?  Unprotected? Anal?  Condom did not fail, etc?

I say this beciasue there is now what he can diagnose your symptoms.  Does it hurt to pee?  Doe you have a discharge from your penis?  Do you have blisters, sores or lesions on your penis?  If so, get tested. If not, you probably don't have an STD.  If not, and if you had eiter protected vaginal sex or even unprotected oral, forget about it.  If you had unprotected sex, and have no symptoms, you stil might wnat to get tested. But that is up to you.  Again, of your sex has been with a condom and you have no genital symptoms, forget it amd get on with your life.  You would be STD free.

[neveragainunprotected]

I have wondered about the asymptomatic issue myself. as stated earlier, am in the process of receiving full panel of results. I am terrified. the last time I had sex was four weeks ago. I have zero symptoms, am feeling quite healthy. I have had chlamidia before years ago and I KNEW something was wrong. even as a female, is it a good sign if there are no symptoms?

[Imdumb]

I think some people are more self aware than others, but I would say without symptoms it is a hell of a good sign.

I think that many people who do not have symptoms just don't pay attention.  Allthough I am sure many people do not have any symptoms.  For men I have read not having symptoms is rare and most do. For women they have "less to see" and it isnlt as obviou since most STD's would infect the cervix and not the ureath as it does in men (IT HURTS LIKE HELL TO PEE!  WHAT IS WRONG, vs. My vagina kind of smells, it's probably nothing)

[pce50]

Hi all thanks for the feed back - I do not what to dwell on my risk of having contracted HIV - that I will find out in 3 months time with a blood test.  But 3 months is a long time and the illness I describe was severe and different, it was not an upper respiratory infection [cold or influenza] and unusual, i have never felt that way before.  I have no genital symptoms because I used condoms - there were condoms everywhere when it was all over but I was never in full control - get drunk, get stupid, get? ...  I do not know how risky things got - I don't remember.  My paranoia is in part ire with myself.  Neverhteless, I am interested in what that viral [?] STD disease could have been.  Afterall from my paranoid research a painless ulcer in the hard palet is unsusual as is the paresthesias of the face.  These are not listed in the ARS list of symptoms.  

So my question to the good doctor is only - is this compatible with primery herpes or syphilis?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

By now you have seen my main reply.  Do not wait 3 months.  And do not have sex with anyone else until you know what is going on.

HHH, MD

[pce50]

Hi Doctor, after a long struggle with myself I managed an HIV [Home Access]test and thank God - they say its negative!  It has now been 157 days [22.5 weeks].

Are the results conclusive or should I tests again at 6 months?

I have, as you recomend, made an apointment with a doctor [in 3 weeks !!]. I chose a Neurologist because I have neck pain, parethesias of the face still, muscle twitchings all over, jerks at sleep time and burning pains in the feet, arms and legs.  This was odd, it did not fit any of the HIV related neuropathies as far as I could see - but it also added to the fear.  I imagine the Neurologist will check for STD's as part of his workup.  I hope the neuro symptoms that started 30 days after the infection are all anxiety related, I have had allot of it.  

Is it possible Syphilis [secondary or latent] can also cause difused parethesias and something akin to perypheral neuropathy?

If it does turn out to be Syphilis, is it really rare that a secondary stage occurs just a week after infection concurrently with a primery lession?

Plase be asured that I have not had sex with anybody since this occured.  To wonder why I took so long to get a doctor's appointment is easily explained, HIV scared the hell out of me.

Thanks for the help!!