Aa
Overwhelming HIV anxiety, Doctor, please help!
I’m 40, hetero. Male, with HSV 1 & 2, last outbreak: May 06.
On the 15th Jul 08 I had my first penile yeast infection, was given one fluconazole & Lotrisone cream (14D), went away well.
14th August 08 I had some dizziness & dry long coughs, went away in few days.
On the 20th August 08 I had unprotected receptive oral sex w/ a female, ejaculated in her mouth, she was lactating, her breast milk may have come in contact with both my tongue and penis. Had unprotected receptive oral on the 27th AUG., 08, by another female. Had earlier unprotected Veginal intercourse with another person on 29th. Jul, 08.
On the 12th SEP 08 I had sudden flu like symptoms; fever, sweating, long dry coughs, dizziness, headache, soar throats and fatigue, most lasted for a week, GP prescribed Cipro. Once, after taking the Cipro, I vomited; later noticed what seemed like thrush on the middle of my tongue. On the 17th SEP 08, I had what seemed like another penile yeast infection, took one fluconazole 150 and Lotrisone, this calmed it but didn’t clear it.
On the 22nd SEP 08 did an HIV Ab test; result: negative. On the 23rd SEP 08 had an outbreak of herpes, treated it with valtrex, went away in just over a week. On the 2nd of OCT, 08 after stopping the Lotrisone cream, had a creamy discharge around the inner foreskin of my penis, was prescribed Pevaril cream for 13 days, it appeared to have helped at the time. On the 20th OCT 08 did another HIV Ab test; result: negative.
Still have fluctuating dizziness, same thrush on tongue and irritated edges of both penis glans and inner foreskin, lost fifteen pounds in 60 days (Anxiety).
1) Antibiotics never caused me oral thrush before?
2) Aren’t these accurate symptoms of HIV contraction/week immune system?
3) Does the herpes outbreak/persistent yeast infection indicate a higher possibility of HIV contraction?
4) Is it possible that I had swollen lymph nodes without noticing?
6) What are my chances of having contracted HIV please?
On the 15th Jul 08 I had my first penile yeast infection, was given one fluconazole & Lotrisone cream (14D), went away well.
14th August 08 I had some dizziness & dry long coughs, went away in few days.
On the 20th August 08 I had unprotected receptive oral sex w/ a female, ejaculated in her mouth, she was lactating, her breast milk may have come in contact with both my tongue and penis. Had unprotected receptive oral on the 27th AUG., 08, by another female. Had earlier unprotected Veginal intercourse with another person on 29th. Jul, 08.
On the 12th SEP 08 I had sudden flu like symptoms; fever, sweating, long dry coughs, dizziness, headache, soar throats and fatigue, most lasted for a week, GP prescribed Cipro. Once, after taking the Cipro, I vomited; later noticed what seemed like thrush on the middle of my tongue. On the 17th SEP 08, I had what seemed like another penile yeast infection, took one fluconazole 150 and Lotrisone, this calmed it but didn’t clear it.
On the 22nd SEP 08 did an HIV Ab test; result: negative. On the 23rd SEP 08 had an outbreak of herpes, treated it with valtrex, went away in just over a week. On the 2nd of OCT, 08 after stopping the Lotrisone cream, had a creamy discharge around the inner foreskin of my penis, was prescribed Pevaril cream for 13 days, it appeared to have helped at the time. On the 20th OCT 08 did another HIV Ab test; result: negative.
Still have fluctuating dizziness, same thrush on tongue and irritated edges of both penis glans and inner foreskin, lost fifteen pounds in 60 days (Anxiety).
1) Antibiotics never caused me oral thrush before?
2) Aren’t these accurate symptoms of HIV contraction/week immune system?
3) Does the herpes outbreak/persistent yeast infection indicate a higher possibility of HIV contraction?
4) Is it possible that I had swollen lymph nodes without noticing?
6) What are my chances of having contracted HIV please?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
1. No change in my assessment. If anything your risk is even lower.
2. Sorry, trying to type too fast. I meant that the risk from oral sex is less than 1 in 10,000 exposures.
3. The rash that you descibe has some characteristics of a fungal infection but the poor response to therapy makes me wonder if that is what it is. Despite your excellent description I cannot (and should not) make a diagnosis over the internet. You may want to see a dermatologist. EWH
2. Sorry, trying to type too fast. I meant that the risk from oral sex is less than 1 in 10,000 exposures.
3. The rash that you descibe has some characteristics of a fungal infection but the poor response to therapy makes me wonder if that is what it is. Despite your excellent description I cannot (and should not) make a diagnosis over the internet. You may want to see a dermatologist. EWH
Many thanks Doctor Hook,
I feel much better thanks to your kind reply; I will update the forum with my 13-week test results.
1) Where I live (150,000 population), by official account on [reported] cases -In October 2006-, “HIV prevalence rate was 0.12 percent. Twenty-five (25) percent of all reported cases are through heterosexual transmission, but in a vast majority of cases the mode of transmission is unknown…at the end of 2005 there were 546 reported cases” Does this put me -in this case- at a higher risk and what percentage please?
2) You mentioned ”Your risk form oral sex is very, very low, even if your partner had HIV -less than one infection per [1000] exposures and some experts think this is too high an estimate.” Did you mean 1 per 10,000 or –correctly- 1000?
Regarding my -supposed- penile yeast infection, do you think that I was diagnosed properly?
I’m used to getting fungal irritation on my inner thighs after going to the beach, I usually apply Lamisil cream once and it goes away, I also had a toe nail fungus a few years ago, I treated it with Lamisil tablets for three month, it took care of it very well.
On the ninth of Jun 2008 I was prescribed Norflaxacin for possible post ureteroscopy infection/pain.
On the 11/Sep/08 I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin for another possible post ureteroscopy infection/pain.
Strangely my penis head’s color looked more normal a couple of days after stopping the Pevaril cream (13 days) than, around a week later it came back.
Characteristics:
1) The only affected area is around and behind edges of glans and edge of foreskin
2) There is no smell from affected area, but if rubbed it can produce dry white stuff.
3) When irritated the glans edges can get swollen
4) The effected area is always marked by the outline of the foreskin (redness).
5) No internal discharge
6) No burning sensation during urination.
7) The tip of the glans seems unaffected, as the foreskin never reaches it.
Many thanks.
I feel much better thanks to your kind reply; I will update the forum with my 13-week test results.
1) Where I live (150,000 population), by official account on [reported] cases -In October 2006-, “HIV prevalence rate was 0.12 percent. Twenty-five (25) percent of all reported cases are through heterosexual transmission, but in a vast majority of cases the mode of transmission is unknown…at the end of 2005 there were 546 reported cases” Does this put me -in this case- at a higher risk and what percentage please?
2) You mentioned ”Your risk form oral sex is very, very low, even if your partner had HIV -less than one infection per [1000] exposures and some experts think this is too high an estimate.” Did you mean 1 per 10,000 or –correctly- 1000?
Regarding my -supposed- penile yeast infection, do you think that I was diagnosed properly?
I’m used to getting fungal irritation on my inner thighs after going to the beach, I usually apply Lamisil cream once and it goes away, I also had a toe nail fungus a few years ago, I treated it with Lamisil tablets for three month, it took care of it very well.
On the ninth of Jun 2008 I was prescribed Norflaxacin for possible post ureteroscopy infection/pain.
On the 11/Sep/08 I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin for another possible post ureteroscopy infection/pain.
Strangely my penis head’s color looked more normal a couple of days after stopping the Pevaril cream (13 days) than, around a week later it came back.
Characteristics:
1) The only affected area is around and behind edges of glans and edge of foreskin
2) There is no smell from affected area, but if rubbed it can produce dry white stuff.
3) When irritated the glans edges can get swollen
4) The effected area is always marked by the outline of the foreskin (redness).
5) No internal discharge
6) No burning sensation during urination.
7) The tip of the glans seems unaffected, as the foreskin never reaches it.
Many thanks.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
By my count you had three exposures, only one of which was vaginal in nature. Your risk form oral sex is very, very low, even if your partner had HIV -less than one infection per 1000 exposures and some experts think this is too high an estimate. As for the vaginal sex, again, if your partner had HIV, your risk would only be 1 infection per 1000 exposures, i.e. VERY low.
When you consider these risks of infection with an infected partner, then go on and realize that here in North America far less than 1% of women have HIV and if she wasn’t a drug user, odds are probably still lower - that 1 in a thousand or less. Putting these numbers together, your risk, at most is about 1 in 100,000 of having HIV.
As for your symptoms, take a look around our site. You will find that we repeatedly, several times every day, tell clients that symptoms are a waste of time and are far too non-specific to guide concerns about HIV. this is true whether we're talking about thrush., swollen glands, fevers or other symptoms. they are all just too non-specific to warrant concern.
As for your specific questions:
1. So you were unlucky this time. Still not a concern.
2. No, you probably have a viral, non-STD, non-HIV illness, i.e. the "flu".
3. No
4. If you did, it would not matter. Swollen nodes are also a non-specific response to irritation and in no way particularly suggestive of HIV.
6. You had a negative test on Oct 8. At this time 98-99% of all infections which had occurred 8 weeks or more before would be detected by the antibody test. When you consider this in combination with your low risk exposures, I can assure you that you do not have HIV. you need not be concerned. Please stop worrying. If some of these other concerns are still worrying you, I would suggest talking about them with your doctor. they however are no due to HIV. EWH
When you consider these risks of infection with an infected partner, then go on and realize that here in North America far less than 1% of women have HIV and if she wasn’t a drug user, odds are probably still lower - that 1 in a thousand or less. Putting these numbers together, your risk, at most is about 1 in 100,000 of having HIV.
As for your symptoms, take a look around our site. You will find that we repeatedly, several times every day, tell clients that symptoms are a waste of time and are far too non-specific to guide concerns about HIV. this is true whether we're talking about thrush., swollen glands, fevers or other symptoms. they are all just too non-specific to warrant concern.
As for your specific questions:
1. So you were unlucky this time. Still not a concern.
2. No, you probably have a viral, non-STD, non-HIV illness, i.e. the "flu".
3. No
4. If you did, it would not matter. Swollen nodes are also a non-specific response to irritation and in no way particularly suggestive of HIV.
6. You had a negative test on Oct 8. At this time 98-99% of all infections which had occurred 8 weeks or more before would be detected by the antibody test. When you consider this in combination with your low risk exposures, I can assure you that you do not have HIV. you need not be concerned. Please stop worrying. If some of these other concerns are still worrying you, I would suggest talking about them with your doctor. they however are no due to HIV. EWH
You are reading content posted in the HIV - Prevention Forum
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
Can I get HIV from surfaces, like toilet seats?
Can you get HIV from casual contact, like hugging?
Frequency of HIV testing depends on your risk.
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) may help prevent HIV infection.
