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Please assess my risk - strange symptoms
I am a female, tested negative for HIV in March 08 and had not had unprotected sex for a while before that or after up until this summer. I had about 2-month long relationship around June with a hetero male, low risk as far as I can tell. We had unprotected sex about 2 - 3 times a week. Also, I had unprotected sex twice with a different hetero male in the beg. of August. If that matters, he travels to India and Western/SouthWestern Europe often.
A few days ago I started having subtle numbness in the left part of my body and face. Will be seen my a neorologist but wanted to ask here too. No other symptoms. I would like to know my risk. I will get tested anyway but is there a test that can determine the result sooner than 6 months after a potential exposure? Thank you very much!
A few days ago I started having subtle numbness in the left part of my body and face. Will be seen my a neorologist but wanted to ask here too. No other symptoms. I would like to know my risk. I will get tested anyway but is there a test that can determine the result sooner than 6 months after a potential exposure? Thank you very much!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Your doctor is not up to speed on modern HIV tests and how quickly they turn positive. The older tests, not in use for many years, sometimes took 3 months and maybe 6 months very rarely.
Lists of HIV symptoms on most websites are pretty useless. The sites fail to make clear that almost all symptoms of new HIV infection occur in combinations, never alone; and that almost every listed symptom (there are 50 or more of them!) occurs more commonly due to other conditions, most of them more common than HIV. And one symptom is paramount: fever. Without signficant fever, HIV is very unlikely to be the cause of any other symptoms.
In brief, your assumption is correct: my opinion still stands. You had a low risk exposure and it is exceedingly unlikely you caught HIV. (And if you happen to have HIV, it still won't explain the numbness!)
Lists of HIV symptoms on most websites are pretty useless. The sites fail to make clear that almost all symptoms of new HIV infection occur in combinations, never alone; and that almost every listed symptom (there are 50 or more of them!) occurs more commonly due to other conditions, most of them more common than HIV. And one symptom is paramount: fever. Without signficant fever, HIV is very unlikely to be the cause of any other symptoms.
In brief, your assumption is correct: my opinion still stands. You had a low risk exposure and it is exceedingly unlikely you caught HIV. (And if you happen to have HIV, it still won't explain the numbness!)
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the forum.
The odds a partner like yours has HIV are exceedingly low, under 1 chance in many thousand. Your symptoms do not suggest HIV, not even close.
All standard antibody tests in routine use are just about 100% accurate at 6 weeks, not 6 months. A negative combo test (also called a duo test) -- which measures both HIV antibody and p24 antigen, a marker of the virus itself -- is virtually 100% reliable at 4 weeks. The combo test was recently approved for use in the US, but may not yet be available in your doctor's office. But you could ask for it.
Bottom line: It is very unlikely you have acquired HIV from your recent partner, but once beyond 4-6 weeks after your last sex with him, get tested for additional reassurance. You can expect negative results.
Regards-- HHH, MD
The odds a partner like yours has HIV are exceedingly low, under 1 chance in many thousand. Your symptoms do not suggest HIV, not even close.
All standard antibody tests in routine use are just about 100% accurate at 6 weeks, not 6 months. A negative combo test (also called a duo test) -- which measures both HIV antibody and p24 antigen, a marker of the virus itself -- is virtually 100% reliable at 4 weeks. The combo test was recently approved for use in the US, but may not yet be available in your doctor's office. But you could ask for it.
Bottom line: It is very unlikely you have acquired HIV from your recent partner, but once beyond 4-6 weeks after your last sex with him, get tested for additional reassurance. You can expect negative results.
Regards-- HHH, MD
Thank you. Your citing "Without signficant fever, HIV is very unlikely to be the cause of any other symptoms" is very helpful. In my 12th day of experiencing a very sore throat (along with urethritis and a faint lip "blister") and no other symptoms, hearing HIV usually presents with Fever is somewhat reassuring... until I can test.
Thank you for your opinion. The reason I got scared of HIV was because when my PCP and I were going through all possible causes of my symptoms, she casually asked me whether I thought I might have HIV because "it can cause all sorts of strange symptoms" and that I should get tested. It kind of scares you! And she mentioned that test results aren't good for 6 months after exposure. And of course I found all sorts of information on web about numbness being one of the HIV symptoms. So, I am assuming your opinion still stand?
Thank you for your cool no-nonsense attitude and for dealing with with all our anxieties. It is very helpful because as you can see there is all sorts of info on the web and even in doctor's offices.
Thank you for your cool no-nonsense attitude and for dealing with with all our anxieties. It is very helpful because as you can see there is all sorts of info on the web and even in doctor's offices.
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