Do I have HIV?

[gottabelieve]

This is my previous post. I guess it was in the wrong forum

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/565647

This is where i am at now:

I recently came down with a cold again. Dont feel as weak this time. Mainly stuffy nose and somewhat of a sore throat. There are swollen glands. The reason I brought this up is I find it odd that I have a cold again. Grant the past few weeks I have been without a lot of sleep. But I still find it very odd. I dont remember the time i got sick multiple times within a small time period. As previously menitoned I took the test 6 weeks after exposure. I am worried that there is something going on. Last night for the first time I had to urinate and even though i felt the pressure to go it didnt seem to flow out like it usually does. It took longer also. Do you think any of this is related to possible HIV infectioin? Thanks.

[LIZZIE LOU]

dont go thinking that every time you get sick or feel bad that it is hiv.  have you NEVER been sick before?  we are human...we get sick!

what do you mean by you noticed the condom had come off a few times?  was that during withdrawal?  not being funny here...but maybe you should buy a smaller condom...seriously :)  in order for a condom to work correctly...the right size needs to be worn too.

you had a test at 6 weeks...and that is a GREAT indicator of your final result.  follow that up with a 3 month test for a conclusive result.  expect another negative.

[gottabelieve]

yeah i know  one time being sick doesnt mean anything but i have been sick a few times lately.....i just got over being sick about a month ago......i just thought that its odd....as for the condom thing i know your not trying to joke...it seemed snug when i put it on......meaning it was tough getting it on and had to stretch it so i figured it was good to go. and it was during the act not at withdrawl....thanks for the help

[gottabelieve]

I know you think I am overreacting but the truth is friday and saturday and early sunday i had body aches and was really tired so i bascially slept....i think there was swollen glands in the groin but not sure. The glands in the throat seemed tender. The past few nights i have had night sweats where I woke up with sweat......I havent lost my appetite which i guess is good. I feel better for most part. I was having mainly respitory issues with some weezing and stuffed nose. I am really worried now especially since i read a site that says the respitory is a main issue. How do you explain where I get sick for a week or so including cough and body aches (the body aches went away shortly but the cough lingered on for almost 2 weeks.) and now recently i got sick which was only a month later.......doesnt seem to be any other reason in my opionion.......

[Teak]

ARS symptoms have 2-4 weeks post exposure and last from 1-2 weeks. If you have a concern see your doctor.

[gottabelieve]

well for most part the flu like symptoms have gone away.....like i said the past few night i have had night sweats.....it could have been due to the fact that it was hot in my room but i am not sure that is the case. I still feel a little bit of the flu but it has seemed to settle. I went to the doctor last time i felt sick and he gave me some antibodics. that is when i got my 6 week negative results.....the 12 week will be at the end of the month.....so i probably will get tested again........but its been tough.....i dont see any other reason why i would get sick twice like that a month apart....i am usually pretty healthy and dont get sick often......

[alienshadow]

dont expect your negative status to change Anxiety seems to be your main symptom here my friend

[gottabelieve]

well thanks for the support........i am hoping its nothing but i guess i will have to wait for the next test...

[gottabelieve]

I have recently been getting heat flashes or chills.....i guess i know if it is one or the other or both....also i seem to get "warm" easier. This leads to more sweating then I use to deal with. Grant it sometime its because its warm outside or in my house....but i never dealt with this before. typically i tend to sweat more on the back side..its really weird. I was wondering if this has to do anything with HIV. I had an encounter 12 weeks ago and 6 weeks ago. I took a blood test that was 6 weeks after the first encounter and 10 days after the second. I just took at test this last week which would be 12 weeks after the first and 6 weeks after the second. First encouter was protected but the condom slipped off and had to be replaced. The second envolved numerous protected and one unprotected. I am scared as usual. Does anyone have any opinon. Thanks.

[Teak]

Opinion? You are trying to contract HIV is my opinion.

[gottabelieve]

ok....not what i was looking for but thanks i guess......

[gottabelieve]

beside me being an idiot.....could you answer the question above?

[gottabelieve]

i forgot to add.......the first test I took was negative. the second test i just took but do not have the results yet....it will take a week for the results. So I was hoping someone could tell me if my symptoms are due to HIV. I also read that these symptoms are a cause of TB and that TB can easily infect people with HIV

[Teak]

You can't diagnose HIV by symptoms or nor can you diagnose TB.

[gottabelieve]

yeah thats true i guess........im just looking for answers

[gottabelieve]

Well I talked to the person who I had my recent encounter with. She said she gets tested every year and usually is in relationships…..she was actually hurt that I asked her that and said she doesn’t do many random hook ups. So I guess I will just have to go by her word for now. The one whom I had the previous encounter with in which the thing came off claims she was tested before and after she was with me and that she usually has a boyfriend and that it was a drunken mistake. I guess she has a boyfriend now. Obviously when she got tested and the time from her previous would determine if the test was accurate. So I guess at least for now it sounds somewhat promising. I have to wait till Friday to get the results back. I seem to feel somewhat alirght….though I still seem to get these chills and/or hotflashes and seem to sweat more than usual when I it is warm out…..maybe this has nothing to do with it…I don’t know. But between getting the flu a few times in a small time frame and this it makes me worry.

[joggen]

It sounds like you have nothing to worry about, based on your description of your partners and your test results.

If I were you I would consider your latest test to be conclusive.You should expect to receive a negative result on Friday.

Just be more careful when using condoms in the future. And contrary to what you may think, you don't have to get tested after every "slip-up", everything you describe points to very low risk despite your unprotected episodes. Just get an annual test as long as you are sexually active with multiple partners.

[Teak]

There are no tests approved to give a conclusive negative test result earlier than 3 months post exposure.

[gottabelieve]

I understand the 3 month rule for the test...I wasnt questioning that. This test will be 3 months from the first encounter and 6 weeks for the second. I was just stating that my encounters might be low risk......i know that doesnt guarantee anything.

[joggen]

You should follow the testing advice of whatever doctor is administering your tests, rather than anybody here on the public forum considering nobody that posts here is a doctor (especially me!)

However, if your doctor is an expert in HIV testing like Dr. HHH he or she may not necessarily adhere to the 3 month rule.

Dr. HHH has discussed HIV testing in the context of risk repeatedly. See the thread below. However, it's two main points are:

"one size does not fit all:  the need for testing at various intervals depends on the overall context of HIV risk."

"Wise clinicians and other experts do not rigidly adhere to any particular timeline for testing."

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/619123

[gottabelieve]

i appreciate the advice and I have also discussed it on doctor forum....i asked the question a while back and Dr. Hook wont answer anymore more posts on my question. In fact he just deletes them even though my new information raises a possible question. Also you can only ask a certain amount of questions within a certain time period. So I figured i would try the public forum. I understand where both you and Teak are coming from and I appreciate that. I hope your right...My only concern is are the two people telling me the truth and when they took these tests was it enough time after their last encounter....otherwise it would make sense it is a low risk...and if I hadnt gotten sick more than once and had these other weird symptoms I might not think anything of it....the problem is i put myself in this situation in the first place.....thanks for being supportive.....it helps

[joggen]

I've just read through some of your previous posts. Two observations:

First, you have been posting on various public and expert forums (HIV, herpes, STD, and Mens Health) for quite some time about fears of contracting STDS. I haven't read through all your posts but you seem unusually fearful about contracting something.

From this objective observer, you might want to consider counseling if you are this concerned about contacting a disease that every time you have sex you get anxious and come to the forums for relief. I suggest this out of concern. You shouldn't let these fears interfere with having a normal sex life.

Second observation is that you have had at least two occasions where a condom broke in the act. Thus, going forward you might want to refamiliarize yourself on techniques for proper condom use, such as using plenty of waterbased lube, etc.

[gottabelieve]

yeah i can see where you see that. its not just when i have a sexual encounter. you can see from the threads that at some point there was a reason for it......some symptom that could maybe lead to that thinking. Yeah some of it I might be jumping the gun but some of the reasons were legit to worry about....for example when you have a doctor tell you that you have hsv and gives you meds because he saw some bumps that came and gone in a day....but the tests also were negative and other doctors saying you dont have anything.....its tough because these tests especially for hsv are said to not be 100% accurate and you have one doctor saying this and the other saying that...so to this day I am unsure on the hsv2..all my tests have been negative.( I havent taken one since that incident where I thought it was a possibilty which was 17 weeks after that exposure.)  I use to not be this way about sex but the hsv incident scared me.

To this day I have discomfort in the pelvic area. In the past it was soreness in the pelvic area after sex to the point where its hard to walk or discomfort in the penis area. Lately I have had itchiness mainly in the scrotum so I had the doctor check it out and he couldnt find lice but did see a rash between the legs and scrotum. I also have had "pinching" in the penis or a quick mild pain that randomly comes and goes. Is this from an std? Maybe....I dont know, maybe its all anxiety.....the truth of the matter is its there. I still get some discomfort in that area...so my fear is still that I might have hsv....i dont get sores and dont take meds but from what i read you dont need to get the symptoms to have it and negative doesnt mean negative.....so I stopped taking those tests because it doesnt prove anything.
As for my problems I think I just need to stay away from sex for a while...until i find a long term relationship where there is trust. that is going to be my best std protection...

I just met someone who I really like. We havent done anything yet...but my fear is that I might have something and pass it on......so 1. I hope i dont have anything and 2. i dont want to pass anything on.

So there.....that is where I am at this point.....this craziness all started almost a year ago.....

[gottabelieve]

I also noticed that I sweat alot more....especially in the back.......whether its in my car when its warm or working out.....i never had that problem before....or i should say its never been that extreme before. I did have a few nights a while back where I woke up and i was soaked with sweat....didnt seem to have a fever.....there is all this different stuff that seems to be happening that never did before

[mistake428]

Why would you encounter in another sexual act if you were still in the process of thinking you had it from your first exposure?

Didn't you learn the first time, Most ppl who have a scare like this will learn from their mistakes.

now you have to go through the anxiety all over again