Hello Doctor

[UNC22]

Hello Doctors:

I need some very candid advice and professional opinions. Prior to meeting my fiance I had a one time encounter of unprotected vaginal and oral intercourse with a female. at the time we were both 20 and from dayton ohio. after she told me she has been with 20 men.

2 weeks later I had NSU and pain after ejaculation. another week went by and I became sick with swollen lymphnodes, white spots on my tonsils(pus pockets) , dry cough, stuffed nose, conjuctivitis in both eyes, etc.

I started testing for around 7 weeks at my university health clinic. all STD's neg.

at 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1011,12 MONTHS all NEG HIV 1/2 tests. I will also note an Undetectable viral load done at 11 weeks past this .

It has been 3 years and 6 months since this and I still have swollen nodes everywhere, and I also developed a pyogenic granuloma on my shoulder about a year back and had it lanced off.

Met my fiance 9 months after this encounter, she is a Nurse we are now both 24. After both testing neg.....we have had unprotected sex for about the last year. we are 100% monogamous  Since this she has had several bowl problems happening and NOW she to has swollen lymphnodes in her neck and I continue to get prickling sensations in my toes and everynow and then a few toes will be numb . I had her test via a Home access HIV test and it was NEG. I also tested ICMA lapcorp HIV1/2/0 neg again this was 3 YEARS AND 4 months past this.

Do I need to get another Viral load preformed?
Please advise me.

Is there any chance this could still be HIV and not showing up?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, your test results are to be believed and do not need repeating.  Your been tested with ifferent tests and gotten the same answer. This confirms that you do not have HIV.  EWH

[UNC22]

Okay doc thanks you , so you feel  no need for an additional PCR or HIV test?

No chance this could be delayed or test jut not picking them up?

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum. Your swollen nodes are not due to HIV acquired through the exposure you describe ( which was, statistically, low risk fo begin with).  Believe your test results, they are highly reliable.  The traditional and most widely used tests for HIV are tests for antibodies to HIV which are available both as so-called "rapid" or point of care tests which can be done in the clinic and laboratory based antibody tests. For all practical purposes both of these types of test perform comparably and provide accurate information on the presence or absence of HIV infection in virtually everyone at 8 weeks following exposure.  The recommendations for testing at 3 and even 6 months are the result of two factors- data from older tests no longer used (you really do not need to worry about which generation of tests you were tested with, at this time virtually all tests are far more sensitive that they were even 2-3 years ago when the 3 month recommendation was made) and secondly, the fact that some, mostly governmental agencies which have to provide recommendations for virtually everyone without the sort of interactions such as those you get with your doctor or on personalized sites such as this one, feel the cannot "afford" to be wrong and therefore make recommendations and guidelines which leave most people unnecessarily nervous for 4-6 weeks longer than the 6-8 weeks it takes virtually everyone to develop HIV antibodies.  

If you are feeling ill and have clinically significant lymph node swelling (your doctor is the one to determine this), you should be evaluated but worrying about HIV is not needed.  I hope this comment helps.  EWH