Aa
Doctor, can you either help, reassure, calm, or...
Okay, Nov. 25 I performed fellatio without completion. The minute I left his place, I felt sick (nauseous). Since then, my neck nodes have been either sore or tender, with my throat being irritated. This pain radiates up and down the sides of my face. I first thought it might be sinus drainage, but the pain is still with me (Today is Dec. 10). Recently (last few days) I have had pain in my jaw muscles, but throat pain had subsided. No fever (slightly elevated[normally a 97.5 kinda guy, but it has been 99.3ish with certain times of day at 100.3]), rash, or diarrhea ever within the past two weeks. I have been getting single 'hive' on various parts of my body though, with a white coated tongue as well as chills in the days and sweats during nights. The tongue was tough to tackle, but made the white coating disappear with Listerine and brushing. Also, I can feel a tad sore in an armpit for a few minutes or groin for the same amount of time. Also, i have been recently been having testicular 'discomfort' (4 out of 10) and the back of my neck has been sore this whole time.
Monday (Dec 8, 13 days post exposure) i had an EIA HIV test which was negative.
Can you speculate what my jaw/node pain can be? Can I rest easy with the results of my EIA? When I go to the ER (I doubt there are STD clinics in my area) what should I tell them to look at? differential diag could be Pharyngeal Gonorrhea, mono, or anything else. im probably going to have a heart attack if i have to wait 2&1/2 months!
I need your advice... my jaw is killing me.
P.S. where actually are nodes in my neck? the bulk of pain i feel is directly inside my jaw line at the back of my face (under wisdom teeth area)
Monday (Dec 8, 13 days post exposure) i had an EIA HIV test which was negative.
Can you speculate what my jaw/node pain can be? Can I rest easy with the results of my EIA? When I go to the ER (I doubt there are STD clinics in my area) what should I tell them to look at? differential diag could be Pharyngeal Gonorrhea, mono, or anything else. im probably going to have a heart attack if i have to wait 2&1/2 months!
I need your advice... my jaw is killing me.
P.S. where actually are nodes in my neck? the bulk of pain i feel is directly inside my jaw line at the back of my face (under wisdom teeth area)
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
First and most important, relax about HIV. Even if your partner had HIV, the risk of transmission from a single episode of performing oral sex is estimated in the range of 1 in 10,000. Second, HIV cannot cause the symptoms you describe so rapidly; and absence of fever is strong evidence against it.
As for your sore throat and/or jaw, that issue is more interesting than you might think. Over 30 years ago, reports started to appear in the medical literature about the sore throat associated with performing fellatio. Specfically, among men and women attending STD clinics, complaints of sore throat were quite a bit more frequent among those who had performed oral sex on men in the preceding 1-2 weeks than in those who denied performing fellatio. That observation set off a round of research studies to find the cause. Those studies never came to anything: no STD (gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, syphilis, or anything else) was found to be more common in those with and without sore throat.
To this day, the issue remains mysterious: people get sore throats after fellatio, but no STD is known to be the cause. Jaw pain might be part of the same issue. People have speculated about trauma to the back of the throat, pain due to jaw muscle spasm during the event, and that sort of thing. In any case, nothing comes of it. The pain goes away in a few days and there is no apparent real health problem.
As for testicular pain, of course there is no way that could be related to performing fellatio, except for possible anxiety or other emotional reaction to the sexual exposure. Your immediate nausea also cannot possibly be related to the fellatio event, except through a psychological mechanism.
All things considred, I see no serious worries here. Your negative HIV test at 2 weeks doesn't mean much; the test was too early. If you remain nervous, you could have another HIV test at 4-6 weeks (you don't have to wait 2-3 months for reliable testing). And if your sore throat/jaw persists, see a provider about that as well. But you shouldn't expect any bad news from it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
As for your sore throat and/or jaw, that issue is more interesting than you might think. Over 30 years ago, reports started to appear in the medical literature about the sore throat associated with performing fellatio. Specfically, among men and women attending STD clinics, complaints of sore throat were quite a bit more frequent among those who had performed oral sex on men in the preceding 1-2 weeks than in those who denied performing fellatio. That observation set off a round of research studies to find the cause. Those studies never came to anything: no STD (gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, syphilis, or anything else) was found to be more common in those with and without sore throat.
To this day, the issue remains mysterious: people get sore throats after fellatio, but no STD is known to be the cause. Jaw pain might be part of the same issue. People have speculated about trauma to the back of the throat, pain due to jaw muscle spasm during the event, and that sort of thing. In any case, nothing comes of it. The pain goes away in a few days and there is no apparent real health problem.
As for testicular pain, of course there is no way that could be related to performing fellatio, except for possible anxiety or other emotional reaction to the sexual exposure. Your immediate nausea also cannot possibly be related to the fellatio event, except through a psychological mechanism.
All things considred, I see no serious worries here. Your negative HIV test at 2 weeks doesn't mean much; the test was too early. If you remain nervous, you could have another HIV test at 4-6 weeks (you don't have to wait 2-3 months for reliable testing). And if your sore throat/jaw persists, see a provider about that as well. But you shouldn't expect any bad news from it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
the oral was unprotected and i may have had a fever but didnt have a thermo for that first week.
actually, the whole 2 weeks have been constipation with a stomach that has been churning and churning (the rumbles).
and i remember the first week that a night sweat drove me from bed. the nausea was only the first day (actual day of the act).
Doc, I'm scared.
Doc, I'm scared.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The additional comments don't change my opinion or advice. There is no cause to be scared. Don't let your emotions run away with you. Almost certainly nothing bad is happening here.
Okay, it's now 20 Dec, and my throat pain has, for the most part, subsided (I saw an ENT who gave me Augmentin 1g, every 12hrs for 10 days) I have no fever or rash yet either, but now my neck nodes are somewhat stiff and my inguinal nodes are painful. Also, my chest (inboard from armpit) is sore and i feel pain once a day in armpit itself. I am planning on getting a test soon (exposure was 25 Nov) cause this is freaking me out (Dec 29 or Jan 5)
My question, are the nodes/somewhat swollen (my neck seem the usual 1cm size, my groin is painful but cannot feel size) and painful in primary/acute/initial HIV infection? I know there is a load of infections/conditions that cause Lymphadenitis, so what other STD's would you approach if I were your client? During the unprotected fellatio I preformed I did feel/taste a small bit/squirt of fluid.
I am scared because 1 in 10,000, means 1 person is infected while 9,999 don't. In my lifetime I have preformed fellatio on 50+ men (never anal), could the Nov 25 guy be the one that catches up to me?
Doc, I am scared and the inguinal pain reminds me rightfully so.
My question, are the nodes/somewhat swollen (my neck seem the usual 1cm size, my groin is painful but cannot feel size) and painful in primary/acute/initial HIV infection? I know there is a load of infections/conditions that cause Lymphadenitis, so what other STD's would you approach if I were your client? During the unprotected fellatio I preformed I did feel/taste a small bit/squirt of fluid.
I am scared because 1 in 10,000, means 1 person is infected while 9,999 don't. In my lifetime I have preformed fellatio on 50+ men (never anal), could the Nov 25 guy be the one that catches up to me?
Doc, I am scared and the inguinal pain reminds me rightfully so.
the neck 1cm size is 1cm hard... no heat/redness over any of the areas of "glandular" pain
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
This does not sound like HIV, but an upper respiratory viral or bacterial infection -- and the doctor obviously agreed or s/he would not have prescribed Augmentin. The only other STDs that comes to mind are gonorrhea and herpes -- but gonorrhea isn't an issue, because oral/throat gonorrhea usually is asymptomatic and in any case Augmentin would cure it. Herpes is unlikely if the doc didn't notice and comment about open sores in the mouth or throat. Of course the person you should be asking these questions of is the ENT doc. Please address any additional questions to him or her.
Of course you are afraid you will the the "one" in 1 in 10,000. Everybody in your situation is. But for obvious reasons it is far more likely you are among the 9,999, and absence of fever is strong evidncen against HIV as the cause of your symptoms. And your partner probably didn't have HIV anyway.
Feel free to return to post the result of a definitive HIV test, i.e. one done 4+ weeks after your exposure. But not until then. In the meantime, I still see no serious worries about HIV.
Of course you are afraid you will the the "one" in 1 in 10,000. Everybody in your situation is. But for obvious reasons it is far more likely you are among the 9,999, and absence of fever is strong evidncen against HIV as the cause of your symptoms. And your partner probably didn't have HIV anyway.
Feel free to return to post the result of a definitive HIV test, i.e. one done 4+ weeks after your exposure. But not until then. In the meantime, I still see no serious worries about HIV.
Six weeks post exposure EIA was non-reactive. My throat is still uncomfortable but it isnt from HIV. Through a low-risk exposure at 6 weeks, would you say that further testing is not needed? Only that this exposure hopefully has taught me something for future behavior... to think before acting?
The anxiety can be tremendous... why/how is the population of masses (myself included) so scared of this particular infection? Why is this so threatening? Tell me so that I may aid someone who might be in this position.
Besides knowing that certain sexual behaviors can damage health, what else can you teach me, the world? Give me something I can learn from this.
Thanks...
AnonGuilt
The anxiety can be tremendous... why/how is the population of masses (myself included) so scared of this particular infection? Why is this so threatening? Tell me so that I may aid someone who might be in this position.
Besides knowing that certain sexual behaviors can damage health, what else can you teach me, the world? Give me something I can learn from this.
Thanks...
AnonGuilt
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Thanks for letting us know your test result. I see no need for additional testing, but follow your own health care provider's advice.
That's all for this thread.
That's all for this thread.
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