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Mild symptoms or no symptoms at all
I hope I am not violating any rules, since I have posted before and received an answer, but I still have some worries.
In brief - 26 yo healthy hetero male. Had one time unprotected insertive vaginal intercourse with a girl of unknown status. Tested negative at 38 days post exposure using a rapid HIV test. No previous risks, not in any risk group (don't use drugs, always used condoms before that). No symptoms until week 6-7 when I began feeling slight heaviness in upper left abdomen (what I believe is my spleen but cannot be sure). I have felt that heaviness a few times prior to this incident. But now it has been constant for 3 days.
I was advised to retest at 12 weeks. Will do so. But wanted to know before that:
1) Could this heaviness/discomfort (if due to enlarged spleen) and slight weight loss without any other symptoms (no fever, rash etc.) be due to mild primary HIV infection?
2) Should I simply ignore this and wait for the 12 week mark and retest. Or should I seek medical advise from an STD professional, i.e. would these symptoms be viewed as worrying?
3) To those of you who are more knowledgeable: how common is lack of symptoms during acute HIV? And what would mild symptoms be?
In brief - 26 yo healthy hetero male. Had one time unprotected insertive vaginal intercourse with a girl of unknown status. Tested negative at 38 days post exposure using a rapid HIV test. No previous risks, not in any risk group (don't use drugs, always used condoms before that). No symptoms until week 6-7 when I began feeling slight heaviness in upper left abdomen (what I believe is my spleen but cannot be sure). I have felt that heaviness a few times prior to this incident. But now it has been constant for 3 days.
I was advised to retest at 12 weeks. Will do so. But wanted to know before that:
1) Could this heaviness/discomfort (if due to enlarged spleen) and slight weight loss without any other symptoms (no fever, rash etc.) be due to mild primary HIV infection?
2) Should I simply ignore this and wait for the 12 week mark and retest. Or should I seek medical advise from an STD professional, i.e. would these symptoms be viewed as worrying?
3) To those of you who are more knowledgeable: how common is lack of symptoms during acute HIV? And what would mild symptoms be?
Acute HIV infection does not always appear with symptoms. HIV does not have any specific symptoms.
Thank you for your answer.
I followed your advice and visited a venereologist who examined me. He ignored my complaints about a heaviness in the upper left abdomen and reassured me that all HIV cases present with a combination of flu-like symptoms, which I do not have, and that I should simply get tested and get it over with.
He added that acute HIV infections always present with symptoms, but these are quite often ignored as a simple cold or a flu, and that is the reason behind the reported asymptomatic acute HIV phase.
Would you consider that statement valid?
I now realize the only thing which can give me peace of mind is a test result.
So I hope if anyone reads these comments, they realize that they need to get tested.Symptoms are no real indicator. Trust only test results!
I followed your advice and visited a venereologist who examined me. He ignored my complaints about a heaviness in the upper left abdomen and reassured me that all HIV cases present with a combination of flu-like symptoms, which I do not have, and that I should simply get tested and get it over with.
He added that acute HIV infections always present with symptoms, but these are quite often ignored as a simple cold or a flu, and that is the reason behind the reported asymptomatic acute HIV phase.
Would you consider that statement valid?
I now realize the only thing which can give me peace of mind is a test result.
So I hope if anyone reads these comments, they realize that they need to get tested.Symptoms are no real indicator. Trust only test results!
Seaching online for symptons will make a sane person go crazy. You need to remember that the symptoms of HIV are nearly identical to a million other things, some of which are not serious at all. Best bet would be to re test at the 3 month mark and accept the test results.
stop with the internet self diagnosing and see your doctor if you feel you are having health issues.
12 weeks will give a conclusive result.
12 weeks will give a conclusive result.
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