Aa
Finally ready to confront my fear and am just looking for guidence....
Hello,
I posted a bit over a year about a single receptive oral sex MSM and the risk of my incident. I described symptoms relating to ARS: very painfull oral ulcers around seven to eight weeks post act, two or three weeks after a painfull sore throat. I was told that it is very unlikely that i had hiv from this sexual act. Still, i have remained worried and it has been a few months over two years since this experience. I am now prepared to get tested. I have experienced several symptoms that lead me to believe that there is a good chance that i acquired the virus. These symptoms include white spots throughout my mouth, during which it was extremely dry and when they were scraped at there was removal with slight bleeding, this seemed to indicate oral thrush which occured around a year and eight months post exposure. These symptoms were coupled with what seem to be chronic genital herpes or constant pain in the area surounding my genitals that burns and itches. Most of my concerns regard planning for a possible positive test and what help is available for me in the event that the test results are unfortunate.
If i am positive could i already be in the late stages of the virus considering my symptoms of oral thrush and genital pain which began at less than 2 years post exposure?
If i do test positive, are there any emergency psyciatric places that could help me cope with the reality of being positive?
Are there typically group meetings where people with the virus can interact with eachother in dealing with the stigma of being positive?
I smoked alot of pot a little while before the incident and deepthroated the person's penis several times during the act but that it didnt involve ejaculation. Being that the throat is supposedly the most common route of entry for hiv in oral sex could smoking marijuana have made my mucos membranes much more vulnerable to the virus?
Also are oral ulcers the most specific sign of acute hiv virus?
Thank you!
I posted a bit over a year about a single receptive oral sex MSM and the risk of my incident. I described symptoms relating to ARS: very painfull oral ulcers around seven to eight weeks post act, two or three weeks after a painfull sore throat. I was told that it is very unlikely that i had hiv from this sexual act. Still, i have remained worried and it has been a few months over two years since this experience. I am now prepared to get tested. I have experienced several symptoms that lead me to believe that there is a good chance that i acquired the virus. These symptoms include white spots throughout my mouth, during which it was extremely dry and when they were scraped at there was removal with slight bleeding, this seemed to indicate oral thrush which occured around a year and eight months post exposure. These symptoms were coupled with what seem to be chronic genital herpes or constant pain in the area surounding my genitals that burns and itches. Most of my concerns regard planning for a possible positive test and what help is available for me in the event that the test results are unfortunate.
If i am positive could i already be in the late stages of the virus considering my symptoms of oral thrush and genital pain which began at less than 2 years post exposure?
If i do test positive, are there any emergency psyciatric places that could help me cope with the reality of being positive?
Are there typically group meetings where people with the virus can interact with eachother in dealing with the stigma of being positive?
I smoked alot of pot a little while before the incident and deepthroated the person's penis several times during the act but that it didnt involve ejaculation. Being that the throat is supposedly the most common route of entry for hiv in oral sex could smoking marijuana have made my mucos membranes much more vulnerable to the virus?
Also are oral ulcers the most specific sign of acute hiv virus?
Thank you!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
No, her symptoms in no way change my opinion.
The symptoms you describe in your partner are non-specfic. She is seeing a doctor who is evaluating her. For me to try to do better than that over the internet is silly.
No, condoms are excellent protectikon from herpes.
Oh please. We have literally said thousands of times there are no proven cases of HIV transmission by oral sex. There is no need to say this again.
Your fears are unwarranted. Get the test and then believe the result. EWH
The symptoms you describe in your partner are non-specfic. She is seeing a doctor who is evaluating her. For me to try to do better than that over the internet is silly.
No, condoms are excellent protectikon from herpes.
Oh please. We have literally said thousands of times there are no proven cases of HIV transmission by oral sex. There is no need to say this again.
Your fears are unwarranted. Get the test and then believe the result. EWH
Hi Doc a few more questions before i go in for my test tomorrow,
One of the reasons i have become so concerned is that i started seeing a new girl and after having sex with her a couple of times, she came down with quite a few symptoms, which include a painfull yeast infection, fluxtuating slight fever, extreme lower back pain in the kidney areas and a very swollen lymph node in her upper thigh, as confirmed by her OBGYN. We always used protection for everything but oral- only i on her. she has had this ongoing pain for a bit of time now.
Would her symptoms in anyway change your opinion of my hiv risk and are they in any way indicative of acute HIV?
Are her symptoms in any way likely to be genital herpes as we did use protection but as i have mentioned i do have long periods of genital discomfort?
Is genital herpes commonly transmitted when protection is used?
Lastly are there any confirmed cases of hiv transmission to the woman recieveing cunnilingus?
I know these questions are often redundant and a sign of someone with OCD but I am going in tomorrow and I am hoping to be prepared for the worst as now this may not only effect my life.
One of the reasons i have become so concerned is that i started seeing a new girl and after having sex with her a couple of times, she came down with quite a few symptoms, which include a painfull yeast infection, fluxtuating slight fever, extreme lower back pain in the kidney areas and a very swollen lymph node in her upper thigh, as confirmed by her OBGYN. We always used protection for everything but oral- only i on her. she has had this ongoing pain for a bit of time now.
Would her symptoms in anyway change your opinion of my hiv risk and are they in any way indicative of acute HIV?
Are her symptoms in any way likely to be genital herpes as we did use protection but as i have mentioned i do have long periods of genital discomfort?
Is genital herpes commonly transmitted when protection is used?
Lastly are there any confirmed cases of hiv transmission to the woman recieveing cunnilingus?
I know these questions are often redundant and a sign of someone with OCD but I am going in tomorrow and I am hoping to be prepared for the worst as now this may not only effect my life.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the Forum. In preparing to answer your questions I read some of your interactions with others on the HIV Prevention Community site and thank you for the level headed advice you have given to others. At the same time however, it also surprises me that you have continued to worry about the exposure that we discussed so very long ago without getting tested. I am quite confident that your test results will show you that you did not get HIV and hope that it will allow you to put your worries behind you.
Before answering your questions, I will point out that most thrush occurs in people who do not have HIV and if what occurred was thrush, it by no means is an indication that you get HIV. It takes years for HIV to progress to the stage where it leads to increase rates of thrush. Similarly, while I do not know why you have had chronic genital discomfort, I do know that pain alone is not a sign of herpes, whether or not a person has HIV.
Let’s work through your questions:
1. No, HIV is a slowly progressive infection in which it typically takes several years for T cells to even get below the normal range and more than 5-7 years before people start to get thrush.
2. Testing should be performed at a location where counseling is offered. Most Health Departments have low or no cost, highly confidential HIV testing available which is backed by crisis intervention services if needed, not that I think that will be needed for you.
3. Yes, there are many such groups and services available in nearly all communities.
4. Smoking pot has not been showed to increase risk for HIV acquisition of any sort. Your question supposes that you can get HIV from the throat/.oral sex- as you know, we do not accept this as a realistic route of infection.
5. No. mouth ulcers are non-specific. Please remember, what HIV does to people as it advances is to make things that happen rarely in normal people happen more commonly. As a result, the fact is most things which we see with increased frequency in HIV still most commonly occur in persons without HIV until the infection is very, very advance.
Please go get tested. It will be negative and it pains me to see that you have suffered over these unnecessary concerns for so long. EWH
Before answering your questions, I will point out that most thrush occurs in people who do not have HIV and if what occurred was thrush, it by no means is an indication that you get HIV. It takes years for HIV to progress to the stage where it leads to increase rates of thrush. Similarly, while I do not know why you have had chronic genital discomfort, I do know that pain alone is not a sign of herpes, whether or not a person has HIV.
Let’s work through your questions:
1. No, HIV is a slowly progressive infection in which it typically takes several years for T cells to even get below the normal range and more than 5-7 years before people start to get thrush.
2. Testing should be performed at a location where counseling is offered. Most Health Departments have low or no cost, highly confidential HIV testing available which is backed by crisis intervention services if needed, not that I think that will be needed for you.
3. Yes, there are many such groups and services available in nearly all communities.
4. Smoking pot has not been showed to increase risk for HIV acquisition of any sort. Your question supposes that you can get HIV from the throat/.oral sex- as you know, we do not accept this as a realistic route of infection.
5. No. mouth ulcers are non-specific. Please remember, what HIV does to people as it advances is to make things that happen rarely in normal people happen more commonly. As a result, the fact is most things which we see with increased frequency in HIV still most commonly occur in persons without HIV until the infection is very, very advance.
Please go get tested. It will be negative and it pains me to see that you have suffered over these unnecessary concerns for so long. EWH
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